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SPECIFICATION

Project Title:Provision of Banking and Cash Collection Services to Health and Social Care (HSC) andNorthern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS)

Project Ref:P18613

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Introduction and Overview – HSC/NIFRS

2.1 - Health and Social Care

2.2 - Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service

2.3 - Transaction Volumes / Estimated Usage

  1. Mandatory Requirements (MR)

[MR1] – Financial Systems

[MR2] – Branch Network

[MR3] – Internet Banking

[MR4] - Account / Account Maintenance / Debit Cards

[MR5]- Payments

[MR6]- Receipts

[MR7]- Internal Transfers

[MR8]- Cheque Encashment

[MR9]- Transaction Referencing

[MR10]- Stationery

[MR11]- Statements and Payment Information

[MR12]- Overdraft Facilities

[MR13] - Interest

[MR14]- Merchant Acquiring Services

[MR15]- ATMs

[MR16]- Invoices

[MR17]- Management Information Requirements

[MR18]- Performance Management

[MR19]- Exit Strategy

[MR20]- Night Safe Facilities/Deposit Box Facilities

[MR21]- IT and Information Security

[MR22]- Financial Standing

[MR23]- Prevention of Fraud

  1. Scored Requirements (SR)

[SR1]- Faster Payments or Alternative to Faster Payments

[SR2]- Signatories and Mandates

[SR3]- Contract Management / Customer Support

[SR4]- Cash and Cheque Collections and Deliveries

[SR5]- Transition

[SR6]- Contingency Planning

[SR7]- Service Improvements/Innovation

  1. INTRODUCTION
  1. The participants in this tender are Health and Social Care (HSC) in Northern Ireland (NI) and the NI Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS). It should be noted that the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) is not a participant in this tender.
  2. Central Procurement Directorate (CPD), acting as the Contracting Authorityon behalf of these participants, wishes to award a contract for the provision of Banking and Cash Collection Services which includes cash/cheque collections and deliveries. This specification details the banking and cash collection requirements of HSC and NIFRS.
  3. The scope of this tender for requires the Contractor to provide comprehensive banking services to fulfil their current and evolving needs. A range of bank account types are required with varying payment and receipt methods and systems and an internet banking solution is also required. Also included is the need to provide a cash/cheque collection and delivery service. The full details of what the requirement will comprise of, but not necessarily be limited to, is described in this document.
  4. Outside of the scope of this tender is the provision of Merchant Acquiring Services and Government Procurement Cards.
  5. Currently HSC and NIFRS have separate banking services contracts with the same supplier. Both of these current contracts expire on 31 January 2016.
  6. Currently there is no transactional costs payable by either HSC or NIFRS for its general banking services. There are however costs associated with cash/cheque collection and delivery.
  7. It is envisaged that the contract will be awarded in May 2015 and the 9 months (May 2015 to January 2016 inclusive) will be considered a transition period. It is envisaged that the contract start date will be 1 February 2016 and the contract will last for a period of 5 years. There will be provision for 3 x 12 month optional extension periods.
  8. The Contract will be awarded to a sole supplier.

2. INTRODUCTION and OVERVIEW - HSC / NIFRS

This section provides an introduction and overview of the HSC and NIFRS

2.1 Health and Social Care (HSC)

  1. HSC is effectively a federation of separate health organisations which includes six Trusts and a number of other health organisations. Trusts provide health and social care services to the NI public both on a local and on a regional basis. It is worthy of note that HSC in NI differs from NHS in England, Scotland and Wales in that HSC provides not only health care but also social care.
  1. The 6 Trusts and the geographical areas they are located in are as follows:
  • Belfast Health and Social Care Trust – Belfast area
  • Northern Health and Social Care Trust - local areas of Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Cookstown, Larne, Magherafelt, Moyle and Newtownabbey.
  • South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust – local areas of Newtownards, Down, North Down, Lisburn, Downpatrick and Bangor.
  • Southern Health and Social Care Trust - local areas of Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon, Dungannon and Newry and Mourne.
  • Western Health and Social Care Trust – local areas of Limavady, Derry, Strabane, Omagh and Fermanagh
  • NI Ambulance Service (NIAS) – this is a regional organisation that covers the whole of Northern Ireland
  1. The other Health organisations include
  • Health and Social Care Board (HSCB)
  • Public Health Agency (PHA)
  • Business Services Organisation (BSO)
  • NI Blood Transfusion Service ( NIBTS)
  • Regulation, Quality and improvement Authority (RQIA)
  • NI Practice and Education Council (NIPEC)
  • NI Social Care Council (NISCC)
  • NI Guardian Ad Litum Agency (NIGALA)
  • NI Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA)
  • Patient Client Council (PCC)
  1. Due to the changing nature of HSC, organisations may be added or removed from the above lists.
  2. The Northern Ireland Executive through its Health Department (DHSSPS) is responsible for the funding of the HSC service. Trusts / Health organisations are the statutory bodies responsible for the day to day provision of health and social care services. Each organisation is a separate entity which manages its own resources and staff and has control of its own budget.
  3. HSC operate a shared service model where there has been centralisation of most of the transactional financial processes including Payments, Income and Payroll, with the Business Services Organisation (BSO) hosting the shared services centre(s).
  4. HSC has approx. 60,000 employees, the majority of which are paid via BACS on a monthly basis.

2.1.1 Accounts/ Ring Fenced Accounts

  1. For the purposes of this tender HSC accounts are split into different types. Within each organisation there are sterling business accounts which hold and manage public money which is derived from the funding and income streams detailed in 2.3. In addition to these sterling Business accounts there are other specific types of accounts including accounts which are ring fenced e.g. Supported Living accounts, Patients Private property accounts, Charitable Trust Fund accounts and the HSCB Euro account. The funds which sit in these ring fenced accounts cannot be co-mingled with funds held in any other HSC accounts and vice versa.
  2. Some organisations also have Euro accounts. Due to grant restrictions for the Health and Social Care Board its Euro account must not attract any charges. However other Euro accounts held by other organisations may attract charges if applicable. See Annex A for full details of all HSC accounts and the split between the ring-fenced accounts and the HSC business accounts.

2.1.2 HSC Business Accounts /Funding & Income Streams

  1. HSC receive £4.1 billion per annum in government funding, this funding is divided between each health organisation and drawn down individually, on an as and when required basis, to the value required. In addition to the above income HSC also receives income from a variety of other means e.g. payments from private patients, contributions to the cost of residential care homes, payment for health care by non-residents, income generated through canteens and on site car parking etc. These funds flow through the HSC business accounts. Please note, the level of government funding is subject to change.

2.1.3 Community Payments

  1. HSC facilitate a number of community services and facilities and make payments to individuals in the community who do not have bank accounts e.g. asylum seekers, young adults. Currently payments such as social services payments to families, reimbursement of foster care costs to foster carers, are made via cheques some of which require cheque encashment.

2.1.4 Ring Fenced Accounts

  1. Supported Living Accounts

HSC are responsible for enabling supported living arrangements for vulnerable clients effectively acting as “Appointee” on the client’s behalf. In such situations HSC are not only responsible for client’s health and well-being but also for supporting them in the management of their financial affairs. This includes HSC setting up of a range of ‘house’ bank accounts where a group of clients reside in one facility and all of their benefits; pensions etc. are paid into these accounts. The funds held in these accounts have not been provided via the funding streams described above, however the accounts are managed by HSC. Any interest earned is passed onto the client. These accounts are personal bank accounts and are deemed to be ring fenced accounts, as described in 2.1.1.

  1. Charitable Trust Fund accounts

Some of the HSC accounts relate to Charitable Trust Funds. This money has been provided by way of donations, legacies etc and not via the funding streams described above however the accounts are managed by HSC. Any interest earned is added back into the account. These accounts are deemed to be ring fenced accounts as described in 2.1.1.

  1. Patients Private Propertyaccounts

Some of the HSC accounts relate to Patients Private Property. This money has not been provided via the funding streams described in above however the accounts are managed by HSC. Any interest earned is passed onto the client. These accounts are personal bank accounts and are deemed to be ring fenced accounts as described in 2.1.1.

  1. Euro Accounts

There are a small number of Euro accounts. The Belfast Trust Euro account is used for receipts and payments in Euros. The HSCB Euro account holdsEU grant monies and is deemed to be a ring fenced account as described in 2.1.1.

Note –The HSCB Euro account and any associated transactions for the Health and Social Care Board must not attract any charges but the other Euro accounts may attract charges if applicable. Should additional HSCB Euro accounts be added during the life of the contract then they too must not attract any charges.

  1. Balances on Accounts

In line with departmental guidance HSC/ NIFRS do not hold unnecessary balances in any HSC Business account which are funded as described in 2.1.2 other than what is needed on a day to day operational basis. These balances are a typical snap shot and may be held overnight. Balances can exist in ring fenced accounts. See Annex A for an overview on account balances.

Note - Any balances indicated are subject to weekly and monthly fluctuations. The Client is unable to commit to holding any balances in any accounts.

Note –Balance commitments must not form part of a tenderer’s offering on price submitted in the Pricing Schedule.

2.2Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS)

  1. Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) is committed to protecting the community. NIFRS respond to fires, road traffic collisions and other specialist rescue incidents and provide community safety education and advice. NIFRS is divided into 4 operational Command Areas – Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western. The 4 Area Commands are supported by 14 Districts, strategically placed across Northern Ireland and which create a community focus for NIFRS activities. There are 68 Fire Stations throughout Northern Ireland serving their local community.
  2. NIFRS is a non-departmental public body directly funded by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS). Revenue funding for the 2014-15 year was approximately £72 million. Funds are typically drawn down from the DHSSPS one working day prior to a payment run. NIFRS does not hold cash balances in their accounts.
  3. NIFRS has approximately 2,170 current employees, the majority of whom are paid monthly with approximately 240 paid weekly. There are also circa 975 pensioners who are paid monthly. The majority of payments are made via BACS transfer with the remainder paid via cheque. There is currently a requirement for 4 separate monthly payroll runs as well as a weekly wages run.

2.3 Transaction Volumes / Estimated Usage

  1. An estimate of the annual transaction volumes/values for the 12 month period 1 April 2013 – 31 March 2014 processed across the HSC and NIFRS accounts is provided in Annex B. These transaction volumes are based on actual volumes for the stated period.
  2. Any information, usage figures, balances provided in the Pricing Schedule or elsewhere in this tender is provided as an indication only and is not a guarantee of demand or uptake. No compensation will be payable or costs incurred should the information, volumes, balances not be as estimated.

Note – Volumes of transactions may be affected by the implementation of Service

Improvements/Innovation – see [SR7].

3.BANKING SERVICE REQUIREMENTS

HSC and NIFRS referred to hereafter as the “Client” require the following banking services.

3.1MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS (MR)

The Client requires the Contractor to provide the services listed in this section. As part of the tender submission tenderers shall be required to confirm that they can meet these requirements or provide the information requested to demonstrate compliance with the specification.

[MR1]Financial Systems

The Clients have separate and differing financial systems. The Contractor shall provide a banking service which is compatible with and integrates, as required, with the current and future systems in place.

HSC Financial Systems

  1. All organisations within HSCNI have recently implemented a new fully integrated Finance, Procurement and Logistics System (FPL) provided by Advanced Business Solutions. This includes eFinancials which is a fully integrated suite of Oracle-based financial management applications featuring accounts payable and receivable, stock and general ledgers. The solution also includes eProcurement and Capita Cash Management applications. DBBACS software for the transmission of payments has also been introduced for payments and payroll. This system currently operates on Java 6 update 35, however this may change during the life of the contract.
  2. All HSCNI organisations have also implemented a new SAP Human Resources, Payroll and Travel System (HRPTS) provided by HCL Axon.
  3. These systems require integration with any new banking solution to complete routine operational touch points and as such require the appropriate functionality to ensure compatible operation, for example, downloading/uploading/importing bank statements, bank reconciliations, direct debits, BACS transfers etc.

NIFRS Financial Systems

  1. The Financial Management Information Systems (including associated interfaces), used by NIFRS is provided by TotalMobile. Currently the finance systems generate text files in a predefined format in preparation for BACS submission. The BACS processing software “Paygate” (currently supplied by “Ultra Electronics AEP”) is an application which accepts and processes a text file in a specified format in preparation for digital signing. NIFRS currently use Lloyds bank digital certificates to verify and secure access to BACS Payment Services. The Contractor shall be able to continue to use these digital certificates or provide an equally secure alternative digital certificate compatible with the NIFRS “Paygate” Hardware and Software installation.

HSC and NIFRS Financial Systems

  1. The Contractor shall commit to working in conjunction with the Client on each of their separate financial systems to meet the requirements of this section. In respect of HSC any resultant costs which are deemed to be reasonable and have been agreed by HSC will be borne by HSC. In respect of NIFRS any resultant costs which are deemed to be reasonable and have been agreed by NIFRS will be borne by NIFRS.

[MR2] Branch Network

  1. The Contractor shall provide banking facilities as required in this document with coverage across the whole of NI.
  2. These banking facilities can be provided directly through the Contractor’s own local banking network, or provided via a proposed solution. Such solutions may include, but are not necessarily limited to utilising agreements with other banks or post offices.
  1. All solutions must facilitate, at a minimum, the following services:
  • Pay in sterling and foreign cheques, payable orders and postal orders with a pre-printed Bank Giro Credit slip or paying in voucher
  • Pay in cash
  • Cheque encashment to meet the requirements as per [MR8]
  • Withdraw cash up to an agreed limit/frequency using a formal credit arrangement, if necessary
  1. During the life of the Contract the Client is seeking to reduce the number of payments received over the counter. The Contractor shall work with the Client, when requested, to enable it to utilise other technologies or services.
  2. The Client has identified the main locations where branch facilities are required into mandatory locations, see Annex C. For each of these locations the Contractor shalldeliver all the services required in this section and in[MR8]. During the life of the contract, the Contractor shall use the local banking facilities detailed in their tender return for each location.
  3. For towns and areas outside of the locations listed in Annex C the Contractor shall agree with the Client,a suitable solution to meet all of the requirements of this section and [MR8] on a case by case basis.

Note - During the life of the Contract should the agreed branch/solution for any Client facility change then the Contractor shall provide sufficient notice and offer an acceptable alternative solution to the Client.

Note: Any solutions offered as part of this tender or during the life of the contract must not attract any additional cost to the Client(other than the costs outlined in the Pricing Schedule), or to the general public, for these services.

[MR3] Internet Banking

  1. The Contractor shall provide a secure internet/web based browser service that (as a minimum) provides the following functionality:
  • Access to view account and transaction data in real time 24/7/365
  • Real time balance and transaction reporting (i.e. for all bank accounts maintained) from 8am each working day.
  • The ability to initiate Sterling CHAPS payments up to 15:30 hours each working day.
  • The ability to initiate international payments.
  • The ability to initiate BACS/Faster payments or faster payment alternative and inter-account transfers.
  • The ability to download transaction data to automate the reconciliation process.
  • The ability to stop cheques.
  • Access to statements and reports providing transactional level detail for all credits/debits and include such information as Sort code, Account number, Name, Monetary amount, Transaction type, Reference data (i.e. lodgement slip number, cheque number, identifying information), Posting date and Value date.
  1. The proposed service must allow for 2or more service Client administrators per HSC Trust, organisation and NIFRS.
  2. These administrators will set different user access rights (e.g. to restrict access to specified bank accounts) and to configure different payment permissions (i.e. input, authorise, release). It must also allow payment limits to be set for each user.
  3. The Contractor shall provide, as a minimum, industry standard antifraud measures and security features to control access to authorised persons e.g. PINs, Passwords and Tokens.
  4. The proposed solution must allow access for any number of users.
  5. The proposed solution must be capable of handling the value and volume of transactions and allow an appropriate margin for growth.
  6. An internet banking telephone helpdesk service must be made available on standard business working hours from 9am to 5pm.
  7. On-site training for the proposed internet banking service must be provided at transition stage as required to the Client. It is anticipated that up to one separate on-site 'refresher' training session will be required each year per Client.
  8. For the purposes of contingency or for any other reason the Contractor shall provide the Client with the facility to upload payment transaction information in CSV file or excel file format into the Contractors internet banking solution for payment same day. The cut off time for file upload for payment same day will be on or before 12 noon (if RoI then cut off time is on or before 10.30am). If the stated cut-off times are not met then payment is to be in payee’s account by the next day at the latest. Any of these files may contain a maximum of 3000 transactions.

[MR4] Account / Account Maintenance / Debit Cards