HEALTH AND CARE PROFESSIONS COUNCIL
PRE QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE
QUOTATION / TENDER TITLE: / Recording and Transcription
QUOTATION /TENDER REFERENCE NO:
TO BE COMPLETED BY ALL APPLICANTS AND RETURNED BY: / 16:00 on Friday 12 April 2013
SUPPLIER NAME AND ADDRESS:

Contents

This document contains four sections:

  1. Background information, services required and the procurement process;
  2. Instructions for completion and selection approach;
  3. The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire

1)Basic details of your organisation

2)Mandatory grounds for rejection

3)Discretionary grounds for rejection

4)Financial information

5)Business activities and continuity

6)Experience and references

7)Insurance

8)Quality assurance

9)Health and safety

10)Equal opportunities

11)Environmental management

12)Data handling and confidentiality

13)Requirement specific questions

14)Declaration and signature

  1. Appendices

Appendix A – Specification of services

Appendix B – Marking scheme

Appendix C – Data handling agreement

SECTION 1

  1. Background

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC or the Council) is an independent UK-wide regulator of health care professionals established to protect the public. To do this, HCPC keeps a register of professionals who meet its standards for their training, professional skills, behaviour and health.There are currently approximately 310,000 registrants.

The Council will take action against registered professionals who do not meet the standards required or who use a protected title illegally. The fitness to practise process is designed to protect the public from those professionals on the register who are not fit to practise. As part of this process, a range of public and private hearings are conducted.

Recording and transcription services are required for events held by the HCPC Fitness to Practise (FTP) Directorate. The Investigating, Conduct and Competence, Health and Registration Appeals committees may hear the following events;

  • preliminary/ case management meetings;
  • interim orders;
  • substantive hearings;
  • restoration hearings;
  • substantive reviews; and
  • registration appeals.

The number of events has increased over the past four years and will continue to risefollowing the recent addition of a new profession, Social Workers in England. Events are predominantly held at the HCPC headquarters in London, but also at other venues in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Currently, 87% of hearings are in England, with 86% of them in London. There are approximately 7% of hearings in Scotland (mostly in Edinburgh or Glasgow), with the remainder of hearings being in Wales (Cardiff) and Northern Ireland (Belfast).

The table below illustrates the numbers of events held by the HCPC from 2008-2012. Final hearings last, on average, for just over two days.

Hearings considered 2008-2012

Number of cases considered
2008-2009 / 2009-2010 / 2010-11 / 2011-2012
Type of hearing
Interim order and review / 85 / 141 / 171 / 197
Final hearing / 219 / 331 / 404 / 405
Review hearing / 92 / 95 / 102 / 130
Preliminary Meetings / 11 / 11 / 8 / 17
Total / 407 / 578 / 685 / 749

The Council’s annual spend for recording and transcription services is currently in excess of £465,000. Services are currently booked through two suppliers. The suppliers provide individuals to take a verbatim record of each event and for certain events to provide a verbatim transcript.

It is estimated that charges for folios account for around 56% of the total costs charged to the HCPC . Theother primary cost is attendance fee.

Currently, records of proceedings are taken by a mixture of recording, logging, shorthand and stenography methods. Events are heard in a ‘courtroom’ style layout. There will be at least six parties who will need to be recorded and any may leave or return to the room at any time of which a record needs to be kept.

Requests made for interim order events can be made at a notice period of around seven days. Requests for other events have a minimum of 28 days notice, but bookings can be up to 90 days in advance.

The aims of the tender are to provide suppliers who can provide:

  • a verbatim record of FTP events;
  • fully trained loggers/transcribers who are able to attend hearings in various locations within the United Kingdom
  • secure storage of digital and paper records of all events for a minimum of seven years, with a process for controlled disposal
  • a very high standard of verbatim transcripts for specified events and on request;
  • standard turnaround times for the return of completed transcripts of 3 to 5 working days, plus an expedited service for exceptional cases of 1 working day;
  • high quality customer service for recording and transcription services; and
  • reliable and efficient systems for booking services with a single consolidated invoicing system from each supplier.
  • a system of quality assurance and development of services.
  1. Services required

The Council is seeking to appoint no more than four suppliers fora recording and transcription contractor to supply services with effect from 1stOctober 2013. Allocation of work will be shared between suppliers at the point of scheduling, based on availability.

Please see Annex A for the Indicative Specification.

  1. Contract length

The initial contract duration will be for two years, with the possibility of extending by a further two years based on business needs. A period of three month’s written notice to terminate is required from either party during the agreed contract period. The potential to extend the arrangement for a further period will be subject to agreement by the parties during the contract period.

It is the HCPC’s intention that a fair allocation of work-dependent on volume of services to be supplied will be provided to the selected suppliers.

  1. Procurement timetable

An outline indicative timetable for the Procurement is as follows:

Date / Activity
11 March 2013 / Advertisement of opportunity and availability of Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)
12 April 2013 / Deadline for submission of the PQQ response
29 April 2013 / Completion of PQQ selection process and confirmation of results to providers who submitted PQQs
29 April 2013 / Issue of Invitation to Tender (ITT) to shortlisted providers
10 June 2013 / Deadline for return of Tenders
Monday 08 July 2013 / Tenderer presentations
10 July 2013 / Completion of Tender Evaluation and confirmation of results to providers
10 July 2013 / Issue of Intention to Award Letters and unsuccessful letters
22 July 2013 / Conclusion of Standstill Period
24 July 2013 / Issue of Award Letters, Execution of Contract
01 October 2013 / Contractstart date

This timetable is purely indicative at this stage and may be subject to revision. An updated timetable will be issued to those Potential Suppliers who are successful in reaching the ITT stage.

  1. Invitation to Tender

Following the sifting of PQQ responses, it is anticipated that a minimum of 6and maximum of 12Potential Suppliers will be invited to submit detailed tenders. The Council reserves the right to revise the number of applicants to tender in the light of responses received to this document (and subsequent tenders).

  1. Part B services

This PQQ has been issued by the Councilin connection with a competitive procurement (the Procurement) conducted under the Public Contract Regulations 2006 (the Regulations) (Part B).

  1. Important Notice

Any information contained in this document (the Disclosed Information) is for information purposes only, and has been prepared to provide background information to interested parties in relation to the Procurement, including those who may be considering whether or not to express an interest in making a bid and, if so, how to make it.

The issue of this document does notcommitthe Council to award any contract for the Procurement or any part of it and the Council reserves the right to terminate the Procurement without prior notice, to change the timescales set out or referred to in this document, or to reject any or all bids and to terminate discussions with any or all bidders at any time.

The descriptions of proposed contractual arrangements are of a general nature only. Where the Disclosed Information describes any contractual arrangements which are not yet in force, those arrangements may change. Any reference to a contract or other document is qualified by reference to the entire terms of the contract or document referred to. All matters relative to this process shall, pending exchange of formal agreements with the successful supplier, remain strictly subject to contract.

The Council makes no representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy, reasonableness or completeness of the Disclosed Information.The Council expressly disclaims any and all liability (other than in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation) based on or relating to any such information or representations or warranties (express or implied) contained in, or errors or omissions from, this document or based on or relating to any recipient’s use of such information.

SECTION 2

  1. Instructions for Completion

The company or organisation completing this PQQ (the Potential Supplier or you/your) should submit an electronic copy of their completed questionnaires and attachments to by 16:00 on 12 April 2013.Questionnaires submitted after this date will not be considered.

Potential Suppliers should answer all questions as accurately and concisely as possible. Where a question is not relevant to the responder’s organisation this should be indicated, with an explanation. Failure to complete the questionnaire as requested may result in your application being disqualified.

Answers should be inserted into the relevant answer box to the right of the question box, unless instructions dictate otherwise. The answer box may be extended to accommodate an answer. Potential Suppliers should note that only information entered into the appropriate box will be taken into consideration for the purposes of evaluating the PQQ. No alterations to the question box should be made.

Where a YES/NO response is required please delete as appropriate.

Supporting information should be presented in the same order as, and should be referenced to, the relevant question.

Questions should be answered in English.

PQQs will be assessed in accordance with the procedures set out below. In the event that none of the PQQs are deemed satisfactory, the Council reserves the right to consider alternative procurement options.

Only information provided as a direct response to the PQQ will be used for the selection process. Information and detail which forms part of general company literature or promotional brochures etc will not form part of the selection process and should not be submitted at this stage unless specifically requested. Where stipulated in the questionnaire, you must adhere to the word limit set for individual responses.

  1. Sub-contracting arrangements

Where a sub-contracting approach is proposed, all information requested should be given in respect of the prime contractor.

Where sub-contractors will play a significant role in the delivery of the services under any ensuing contract, please indicate in a separate annex the composition of the supply chain, indicating which member of the supply chain will be responsible for the elements of the requirement, noting that ultimate responsibility will always rest with the prime contractor.

It is recognised that arrangements in relation to sub-contracting may be subject to future change. However, Potential Suppliers should be aware that where sub-contractors are to play a significant role, any changes to those sub-contracting arrangements may constitute a material change and therefore may affect the ability of the Potential Supplier to proceed with the Procurement or to provide the services.

  1. Supplier Selection

The objective of the selection process is to assess the responses to the PQQ and select Potential Suppliers to proceed to the ITT stage of the Procurement.

Selection criteria will be a combination of both financial and non-financial factors and will consider:

  • Criteria for the rejection of a supplier, specifically their status in relation to Regulation23 of the Public Contracts Regulations2006 (SI2006 No.5). In relation to the grounds for obligatory exclusion (ineligibility) and criteria for rejection of candidates, applicants must familiarise themselves with these provisions/the provisions therein; and
  • Economic and Financial Standing – the supplier must be in a sound financial position to participate in a procurement of this size as set out in Regulation24 of the Public Contracts Regulations2006 (SI2006 No.5); and
  • Technical or professional ability as set out in Regulation25 of Public Contracts Regulations2006 (SI2006 No.5); and
  • Supplier Track Record - the supplier must be able to demonstrate a successful track record of providing similar services; and
  • Supplier capacity and capability – the supplier must be able to demonstrate their capacity and capability involving an assessment of the totality of resources and core competences available to the supplier.

Failure to provide a satisfactory response to any of the questions may result in the Council not proceeding further with the Potential Supplier.

The information supplied will be checked for completeness and compliance before responses are evaluated. Where in the opinion of the Council the response is inadequate, the Potential Supplier may be excluded from further consideration. The Council reserves the right to seek independent market advice to validate information declared or to assist in the sift process.

Evaluation of subsequent stages will be undertaken in accordance with the overall evaluation strategy for the Procurement.

You are advised that nothing herein or in any other communication made with the Council, shall be taken as constituting a contract, agreement or representation with the Council (save for a formal award of contract made in writing by or on behalf of the Council) nor shall they be taken as constituting a contract, agreement or representation that a contract shall be offered in accordance herewith or at all.

  1. Selection Procedure

The Council will short list Potential Suppliers based on your answers to the PQQ. If we are unsure as to your capacity or capability to undertake the work, then we may ask for further information or clarification.

The following selection process will be used: -

First Stage – Compliance Check

  • Following receipt of responses to the PQQ a preliminary assessment of submissions shall be undertaken to ascertain whether the information requested has been provided in sufficient detail to proceed beyond the compliance check.
  • Responses should be in the format as specified.
  • The compliance check will result in the following evaluation:
  • Pass – All documentation provided
  • Fail – Major information requirements missing and/or there are grounds for mandatory or discretionary rejection

If a fail is noted, then the evaluation shall proceed no further.

Second Stage - Evaluation

  • Potential Suppliers satisfying the compliance check will be evaluated in the following areas:
  • Financial and Economic Standing (Question 4)

Potential Suppliers assessed as non-compliant or high risk will be eliminated from the Procurement and the Council will discontinue with the evaluation of the applicant’s response at this stage.

  • Experience and References (Question 6)
  • Business management and compliance (Questions 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11)
  • Data handling and confidentiality (Question 12) and
  • Requirement specific matters (Question 13)
  • The evaluation criteria and scoring scheme that will be used to assess PQQ submissions can be found below each question and at Appendix B.
  • It should be noted that the majority of questions contained within this PQQ are scored on a 0 to 10 range. All whole values within this range may be used by the selection team.
  • The selection team will meet to agree moderated scores for each question, so that no applicants score is the unverified score of any one selector.

Following completion of the selection process, the Council shall notify the successful and unsuccessful applicants in writing of the result.

The short list will be made up of between 6 and 12 Potential Suppliers who score the most points against this PQQ.

  1. Verification of information provided

By completing this document, the person completing it is confirming that to the best of their knowledge, the information entered is correct and that they are authorised to complete this document on behalf of their organisation. (Please refer to the declaration at question 14).

Not all questions require supporting documentation at this stage however the Council may ask to see these documents at a later stage, so it is advisable you ensure they can be made available on request.

The Council reserves the right to contact organisations’ technical referees, in support of your submission.

  1. Queries about the Procurement

Any questions about this PQQ and the Procurement generally should be submitted .

If the Council considers any question or request to be of material significance, both the query and the response will be communicated, in a suitably anonymised form,to all parties concerned.

  1. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Council is committed to open government and to meeting its legal responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Accordingly, all information submitted to the Council may need to be disclosed by the Council in response to a request under the Act. The Council may also decide to include certain information in the publication scheme which it maintains under the Act.

HCPC may at its absolute discretion disclose information requested under the FOIA. Some information is exempt from the FOIA because it is covered by the rules of the Data Protection Act in the case of personal information, or by the Environmental Information Regulations in the case of information relating to the environment.

If you consider that any of the information included in your PQQ response is commercially sensitive, please identify it and explain (in broad terms) what harm may result from disclosure if a request is received, and the time period applicable to that sensitivity.

You should be aware that, even where you have indicated that information is commercially sensitive, the Council may be required to disclose it under any legal or regulatory requirements including under the FOIA in response to a request where such disclosure is considered to be in the public interest. Please also note that the receipt by the Council of any material marked ‘confidential’ or equivalent should not be taken to mean that they accept any duty of confidence by virtue of that marking.

SECTION 3

PQQ

1 / BASIC DETAILS OF YOUR ORGANISATION
1.1 / Name of the organisation in whose name the tender would be submitted:
1.2 / Contact name for enquiries about this bid:
1.3 / Contact position (Job Title):
1.4 / Address:
Post Code:
1.5 / Telephone number:
1.6 / Fax number:
1.7 / e-Mail address:
1.8 / Website address (if any):
1.9 / Company Registration number (if this applies):
1.10 / Charities or Housing Association or other Registration number (if this applies). Please specify registering body:
1.11 / Date of Registration:
1.12 / Registered address if different from the above (including post code):
1.13 / VAT Registration number:
1.14 / Is your organisation:
(Please indicate one) / i) a public limited company?Yes / No
ii) a limited company? Yes / No
iii) a partnership Yes / No
iv) a sole trader Yes / No
v) other (please specify) Yes / No
1.15 / Name of (ultimate) parent company (if this applies):
1.16 / Companies House Registration number of parent company (if this applies):
1.17 / Sub-contracting and Consortia.
Is your organisation bidding:
(Please indicate one)
If your answer to (ii) or (iii) is yes, please indicate in a separate annex (by inserting the relevant company/organisation name) the composition and governance of the supply chain, indicating which member of the supply chain will be responsible for the elements of the requirements. / i) to provide the services required itself? Yes / No
ii) in the role of Prime Contractor and intends to use third parties to provide some of the services? Yes / No
iii) as the lead member of a consortium or Special Purpose Vehicle? Yes / No

Evaluation