invitation to tender for the provision of audio … · such other audio recording, transcription...

INVITATION TO TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF AUDIO RECORDING AND TRANSCRIPTION AND ADDITIONAL

SERVICES

This document should be completed and returned in accordance with the Instructions to Tenderers contained herein

Tender to be submitted by: 12:00 on 13 August 2018

To: Finance Procurement Health and Care Professions Council 184 Kennington Park Road London SE11 4BU

E-mail address: [email protected]

HEALTH AND CARE PROFESSIONS COUNCIL INVITATION TO TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF AUDIO RECORDING, TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION SERVICES

This Invitation to Tender (ITT) has been issued by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC or the Council) in connection with a restricted procurement (the Procurement) conducted under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the Regulations). Potential Suppliers were provided with the selection questionnaire (SQ), which sought responses in relation to their technical capacity or professional ability, and their economic and financial standing. The Council evaluated the SQ responses and selected [XX] qualified candidates. This ITT is only being issued to those suppliers (Tenderers). This ITT contains further information about the Procurement process, the Services, and assessment questions for Tenderers to complete. Each Tenderer’s response (Tender) should be detailed enough to allow the Council to make an informed selection of the most appropriate suppliers. Tenderers will be invited to interview and to make a presentation to clarify aspects of their Tender. The interview will be marked. Organisation of this document This document contains: Section 1 – Background Information Section 2 – Instructions for completion and selection approach Section 3 – Assessment questions for completion by Tenderers Appendices Appendix A – Services Required Appendix B – Evaluation Matrix Appendix C – Draft Framework Agreement and Schedules Appendix D – Form of Tender

HEALTH AND CARE PROFESSIONS COUNCIL INVITATION TO TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF AUDIO RECORDING, TRANSCRIPTION AND ADDITIONAL SERVICES

INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR TENDERERS Section 1 – Background Information 1. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

1.1. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC or the Council) is one of the nine

independent UK-wide regulators of health care professionals established to protect the public.

1.2. Regulators (Health Regulators or the Councils) do four things:

set standards of competence and conduct that health and care professionals must meet in order to be registered and practise;

check the quality of education and training courses to make sure they give students the skills and knowledge to practise safely and competently;

maintain a register that everyone can search; and

investigate complaints about people on their register and decide if they should be allowed to continue to practise or should be struck off the register - either because of problems with their conduct or their competence.

1.3. The Councils will take action against registered professionals who do not meet the

standards required or who use a protected title illegally. The fitness to practise processes are designed to protect the public from those professionals on the register who are not fit to practise. As part of the fitness to practise processes, a range of public and private hearings are conducted.

2. Background to the requirement

2.1. The HCPC currently has two providers of audio recording and transcription services.

The HCPC, now, intends to procure a panel of four service providers to provide audio recording, transcription and additional services following expiry of the existing contracts.

2.2. The Framework Agreement would have a panel of four suppliers that will be available

to provide the services to the HCPC and potentially to other health regulators. 2.3. Other health regulators who have indicated that they may use the framework

agreement proposed are:

General Chiropractic Council (GCC)

General Dental Council (GDC)

General Medical Council (GMC)

General Optical Council (GOC)

General Osteopathic Council (GOsC)

General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI)

Social Work England (not yet fully established – see paragraph 2.10 below for further details)

HEALTH AND CARE PROFESSIONS COUNCIL INVITATION TO TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF AUDIO RECORDING, TRANSCRIPTION AND ADDITIONAL SERVICES INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR TENDERERS

2.4. The relative size of each register varies significantly across the UK Health Regulators. The table below provides the number of registrants of each Regulator from 2011-2016.

Figure 1: Number of registrants eligible to practice, 2011-20161

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

GCC 2,256 2,327 2,543 2,601 2,701 2,788

GDC 97,010 99,568 101,899 103,580 105,700 107,902

GMC 226,616 232,689 235,199 235,353 234,639 233,233

GOC 18,424 19,095 19,775 20,249 20,762 21,317

GOsC 4,078 4,225 4,293 4,413 4,389 4,519

GPhC 55,000 66,201 69,231 71,221 72,985 74,980

HCPC 213,290 218,988 219,162 320,552 330,887 341,745

NMC 670,016 672,630 675,296 680,895 686,810 692,550

PSNI 2,091 2,101 2,112 2,230 2,234 2,303

1,288,781 1,317,824 1,329,510 1,441,094 1,461,107 1,481,337

2.5. Audio recording, transcription, and additional related services are predominantly

required for events held by the Fitness to Practise (FTP) Directorate. The Investigating Conduct and Competence and Health committees may hear the following events:

preliminary/ case management meetings;

interim orders;

substantive hearings;

restoration hearings; and

substantive reviews. 2.6. The HCPC also have the responsibility of listing Registration Appeals for applicants

who were refused entry to the HCPC register. These events, although separate from fitness to practise hearings, will also form part of this contract.

2.7. Events are predominantly held at the Regulators Offices or Tribunal Centre, mainly in London, but are also held at other venues in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

2.8. The table below illustrates the numbers of events held by the Councils from2011 -

2016.

1 UK Health regulator comparative data report 2016 – prepared by the GMC for the Chief Executive Steering

Group - https://www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-we-do-and-why/data-and-research/research-and-insight-

archive/uk-health-regulator-comparative-data-report-2016


Figure 2: Number of fitness to practise hearings/committees, 2011-20162

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

GCC 14 7 11 24 27 25

GDC 125 131 159 166 275 342

GMC 324 209 209 242 239 247

GOC 36 22 20 27 20 28

GOsC 17 12 8 16 23 21

GPhC 51 101 61 69 80 112

HCPC 404 405 228 267 465 334

NMC 1,294 753 1,377 1,805 1,732 960

PSNI 5 1 1 5 5 5

2,270 1,641 2,074 2,621 2,866 2,074

2.9. The Council’s annual spend for recording and transcription services is currently in

excess of £490,000 and we estimate an annual expenditure of £2,000,000 across the Health Regulators.

2.10. In April 2017 the Children and Social Work Act – which included an establishment for a new regulator for social workers – was granted Royal Assent. This new Regulator is to be named Social Work England and as yet no timetable has been set for the transfer of regulatory functions from the HCPC to the new regulator. However, when the transfer occurs, this will result in the Council being responsible for fewer registrants than at present. Responsibility will be transferred to the new Regulator, Social Work England. It is anticipated that Social Work England will join the framework.

2.11. HCPC service requirements are currently booked through two suppliers. The suppliers provide individuals to take an audio recording of each event and for certain events to provide a verbatim transcript.

2.12. It is estimated that charges for folios account for around 56% of the total costs

charged to the HCPC. The other primary cost is attendance fee. 2.13. Currently, records of proceedings are taken by a mixture of audio recording and

logging, although HCPC is keen to explore improvements in service through application of new technologies and approaches.

2 UK Health regulator comparative data report 2016 – prepared by the GMC for the Chief Executive Steering

Group - https://www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-we-do-and-why/data-and-research/research-and-insight-

archive/uk-health-regulator-comparative-data-report-2016


2.14. 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 – a record of these movements needs to be kept.

2.15. 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 6 months in advance.

2.16. The aims of the tender are to provide the HCPC and other Health Regulators with:

an audio recording of FTP events;

a verbatim record of FTP events;

translation services in respect of FTP events;

fully trained loggers 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 working days, plus an expedited service for exceptional cases of 1 working day;

high quality customer service for booking, confirming and managing the services;

reliable and efficient systems for booking services with a single consolidated invoicing system from the supplier (if more than one is appointed);

regular reporting of upcoming and completed activity;

an evidenced system of quality assurance and development of services; and

such other audio recording, transcription and additional services as may be required by other additional Councils as set out above.

3. Services required

3.1. The Council is seeking to appoint up to, but no more than, four suppliers for an audio

recording and additional services contract to supply services with effect from October 2018.

3.2. Additional services may include, but are not limited to the provision of translation, interpretation and video recording of hearings and similar events.

3.3. Please see Appendix A for the Indicative Specification.

4. Contract period

4.1. The Framework Agreement awarded under this procurement will be for a period of four years.


5. Timetable 5.1. An outline indicative timetable for the Procurement is as follows:

Date Activity

24 May 2018 Advertisement of opportunity and availability of Selection

Questionnaire (SQ)

25 June 2018 Deadline for submission of the SQ response

06 July 2018 Completion of SQ selection process and confirmation of results to

providers

11 July 2018 Issue of Invitation to Tender (ITT) to shortlisted providers

25 July 2018 Deadline for receipt of clarification questions

1 August 2018 Deadline for provision of responses to clarification questions

13 August

2018

Deadline for return of Tenders

20 August

2018

Tenderer presentations

03 September

2018

Issue Award Decision Letters

13 September

2018

Conclusion of Standstill Period

17 September

2018

Execution of Framework Agreement

01 October

2018

Framework Agreement start date

This timetable is purely indicative at this stage and may be subject to revision. 6. Freedom of information

6.1. The Council is committed to meeting its legal responsibilities under the Freedom of

Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Accordingly, all information submitted to the Council may need to be disclosed by the Council in response to a request under the FOIA. The Council may also decide to include certain information in the publication scheme which it maintains under the FOIA.

6.2. 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 legislation in the case of personal information, or by the Environmental Information Regulations in the case of information relating to the environment.

6.3. If you consider that any of the information included in your SQ 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.

6.4. 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 2 – Instructions for completion and selection approach 7. Tender return instructions

7.1. Tenderers are required to complete and provide all information required by the HCPC in

accordance with this ITT. Failure to comply with this ITT may lead the HCPC to reject a tender response.

7.2. Tenderers are requested to submit one copy of their tender electronically, via email with

the subject heading “HCPC1801 – Audio Recording, Transcription and Additional Services” to [email protected]. Documents should be in a format that is compatible with Microsoft Office.

7.3. The tender is to be returned by no later than 12:00, 13 August 2018 (‘the Deadline’).

The HCPC reserves the right to extend the Deadline. Any extension will apply to all Tenderers. The HCPC reserves the right to reject any responses received after the Deadline.

7.4. It is each Tenderer’s responsibility to ensure that their tender is emailed to the

correct email address by the Deadline.

7.5. The HCPC reserves the right at any time to issue further supplementary instructions, updates and amendments to the instructions and information contained in this ITT as it shall in its absolute discretion think fit.

7.6. The HCPC will not be responsible for the costs or expenses of any Tenderer in relation to any matter referred to in this ITT howsoever incurred.

8. Contract terms and conditions

8.1. In submitting a response to this ITT you offer to be bound by all the provisions of this

ITT, including Appendix C, which is the draft Framework Agreement. 9. Acceptance of tenders

9.1. The HCPC does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. 9.2. The HCPC reserves the right to accept the whole or any part of any tender. 9.3. The tender is to remain open for acceptance by HCPC for a minimum period of 90 days

from the Deadline. 10. Quantities and scope

10.1. The quantities and scope of services set out in Appendix A (Services Required) are an

estimate of the HCPC’s requirements and the prospective requirements of the other regulators at the time of producing this ITT. The information provided is to the best of our knowledge accurate at the time of issuing the ITT.

10.2. Tenderers must form their own opinions, making such investigations and taking such

advice (including professional advice) as is appropriate without reliance upon any


opinion or other information provided by the HCPC or their advisers and representatives. Tenderers should notify the HCPC promptly of any perceived ambiguity, inconsistency or omission in this ITT, any of its associated documents and/or any other information issued to them during the procurement process.

11. Further information

11.1. All requests for further information or clarification of the HCPC’s requirements in relation

to this ITT must be addressed to [email protected]. The closing date for any further questions/clarification will be 25 July 2018.

11.2. The HCPC reserves the right to issue the response to any clarification request made to

all Tenderers unless it is expressly required to be kept confidential at the time the request is made. If the HCPC considers that the contents of the request should not be kept confidential, it will inform the requester and the requester will have the opportunity to withdraw the request.

12. Prevention of corruption

12.1. Any attempt by any Tenderer to influence inappropriately the contract award process in

any way will result in that tender being disqualified. Any direct or indirect canvassing by any Tenderer in relation to this procurement or any attempt to obtain information from any of the employees or agents of the HCPC concerning another Tenderer may result in disqualification at the discretion of the HCPC.

12.2. The HCPC shall be entitled to cancel the Framework Agreement and recover from the

Supplier the amount of any loss resulting from such cancellation should any Tenderer, his servant or agent give or offer any gift or consideration whatsoever as an inducement or reward to any employee, agent or officer of the HCPC, which the Tenderer may note will also constitute a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment.

13. Pricing

13.1. The Tenderer shall price all items as set out in the Pricing Schedule set out in

Section 3 of this ITT. The rates stated should be inclusive of all costs and expenses but exclude VAT which shall be charged at the prevailing rate, if applicable. No other costs will be accepted other than those in the Pricing Schedule.

13.2. The Tenderer is notified that all quantities given are approximate and given for

guidance purposes only. No claim from the Tenderer will be entertained by the HCPC for any mistakes in the information given.

13.3. Submissions must be priced in sterling and all payments will be made in sterling.

Tenderers are required to send the pricing proposal in a separate document from the Quality Proposal.

13.4. The prices and / or rates stated in the Pricing Schedule constitute the only

reimbursement and profit to the Tenderer for providing the Services. The prices are deemed to cover all costs, expenses and profit incurred directly or indirectly by the suppliers in providing the Services.


13.5. The actual price to be paid will be a product of the rates detailed in this document. 14. Evaluation Criteria

14.1. Tenders will be evaluated using the Evaluation Matrix at Appendix B to evaluate the

Tenders.

14.2. Following evaluation (including interviews) the Tenderer(s) presenting the most economically advantageous tender when assessed against the criteria set out in Appendix B will appointed to the Framework Agreement.

14.3. Framework Agreement award is subject to the formal approval process of the Council. Until all necessary approvals are obtained and the standstill period is completed, the Framework Agreement will not be entered into.

14.4. Once the Council has reached a decision in respect of Framework Agreement award, it will notify all Tenderers of that decision and provide for a standstill period in accordance with the Regulations before entering into the Framework Agreement.

15. Award Procedure 15.1. The Council will evaluate Tenders based on responses to the ITT. The technical

section accounts for 55% of the total marks available, the commercial element 35% and the interview 10%.

15.2. The following procedure will be used: - First Stage – Compliance Check

Following receipt of your Tender a preliminary assessment of submissions shall be undertaken to ascertain whether the information requested has been provided in sufficient detail to proceed.

The compliance check will result in the following: o All documentation provided and all questions answered – Pass o Major information requirements missing – Fail

If a fail is noted, then the procedure will be terminated. Second stage – Technical Evaluation (55%) Tenderers satisfying the compliance check will be evaluated under headings 2-5 in Section 3 of this ITT. Tenderers are required to score a minimum of 70% of the total technical marks available. If this minimum score is not achieved, evaluation will cease at this point.

The evaluation criteria and scoring scheme that will be used to assess Tenders can be found below each question and at Appendix B.

It should be noted that the majority of questions contained within this ITT are scored on a 0 to 20 range. All whole values within this range may be used by evaluators.


The evaluation team will meet to agree consensus scores for each question, so that no Tenderer’s score is the unverified score of any one evaluator.

Third stage – Commercial Evaluation (35%) Tenderers’ responses to question 6 will be evaluated in accordance with the scoring scheme set out in Appendix B. Fourth stage – Interview (10%) Tenderers who have passed the compliance check will be asked to make a presentation and to clarify aspects of their Tender. This presentation will be scored in accordance with the criteria set out at Appendix B. 16. Presentations 16.1. It is anticipated that Tenderers will be asked to deliver a presentation to representatives

of the Council in support of their Tender, as set out in the timetable. You should keep these dates free in case you are asked to attend.

16.2. HCPC expects the team attending the presentation to include the person whose details are provided in response to question 4.2 of this ITT (the named point of contact) and other persons who will be directly involved in providing the service, if successful.

16.3. The presentations will be taken into consideration for the purposes of evaluation. The method of scoring is set out in Appendix B.

16.4. The presentations will also be used to clarify responses provided in response to questions within this ITT.

17. Conflicts of interest 17.1. Tenderers are responsible for ensuring that no conflicts of interest exist between the

Tenderer and the Council. Any Tenderer who fails to comply with this requirement may be disqualified from the Procurement at the discretion of the Council.


Section 3 – Assessment Questions for Completion by Tenderers

1 INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS

1.1

Has there been any change in the information provided in the SQ since submission? If yes, please specify.

Yes / No

1.2

Confirm that the tender will remain open for a period of 90 days.

Yes / No

These questions are for information purposes only and are not scored.


2 METHOD STATEMENT

2.1 Provide detailed information on your proposed method for carrying out all services identified in the specification at Appendix A. Your answer should include:

Method o Management of the process from receipt of order to delivery of

transcript, including security/encryption methods. o Format/presentation of transcripts. o What you identify to be any risks involved in this Framework

Agreement and how you intend to manage and mitigate them effectively.

o Cancellations procedure for full/part heard hearings.

Sub-contractors o Details of which aspects, if any, of the work will be sub-contracted. o An example of a job you have previously undertaken in which you

worked with these sub-contractors. o Procedures in place to manage sub-contractors and in particular

to ensure security and reliability of service. o Details of any special terms agreed with sub-contractors.

(600 words max)

20 marks are available for this question which carries a weighting of 20%


3 RESOURCES

3.1 Provide detailed information on the resources required for your proposed method for carrying out all services identified in the specification at Appendix A. Your answer should include:

Materials and equipment o Detail of materials and systems to be used and types of

equipment employed. o Technical features and investments used to improve service. o Procedures and resources you have in place to be able to

respond to an increase in demand for the services required (including the requirements of additional regulators).

Personnel o The personnel to be employed for performance of the service, its

level of experience and locations in which they are based. An indication of whether loggers are based in each of the four UK countries.

o The amount of time you anticipate these personnel will spend delivering the service.

o Procedures and resources you have in place to be able to respond to an increase or change to a job. (e.g. staffing)

o Whether the Council and other contracting authorities will be given a dedicated account handling team, how many people this consists of and in which areas of your business, and what functions the team performs.

(500 words max)



4 COMMUNICATION

4.1 Provide details of how communication with the Council and other potential contracting authorities will be maintained for the duration of the Framework Agreement. Your answer should include:

confirmation of bookings;

maintenance of a central record of transcripts and translations including the date of dispatch to the Council;

billing and invoicing;

details of management information to be provided on a quarterly basis;

resources allocated to managing and maintaining the contract; and

the proportion of time the Contract Manager will dedicate to this contract and the other duties they undertake.

(300 words max)

4.2 Provide contact details for the person who would be the Supplier Framework Manager under Schedule 8 of the Framework Agreement, and their deputy.

Contact name:

Contact position (Job Title):

Address: Post Code:

Telephone number:

e-Mail address:

Deputy contact name:

Deputy contact position (Job Title):

Address: Post Code:

Telephone number:


e-Mail address:



5 MONITORING

5.1 Provide detailed information on your proposed monitoring of the services and how you will ensure the Council’s requirements will be met. Your answer should include:

Timescales o Monitoring of production times for transcripts and other services o Monitoring of punctual attendance of loggers

Quality o Monitoring of accuracy of transcripts and other services o Monitoring of completeness and accuracy of redaction, if any

(150 words max)



6 PRICING SCHEDULE

(a) The Tenderer is notified that all quantities given are approximate and given for guidance purposes only. No claim from the Tenderer will be entertained by the Council for any mistakes in the information given. (b) The Tenderer shall price all items. No other costs will be accepted other than those in the Pricing Schedule. (c) Submissions must be priced in sterling and all payments will be made in sterling. Tenderers are required to send the pricing proposal in a separate document from the Quality Proposal. (d) The rates stated in the Cost column of the Pricing Schedule should be inclusive of all costs and expenses but exclude VAT which shall be charged at the prevailing rate, if applicable. (e) The prices and/or rates stated in this Price Schedule constitute the only reimbursement and profit to the Tenderer for providing the Services. The prices are deemed to cover all costs, expenses and profit incurred directly or indirectly by the supplier in providing the Services. (f) The actual price to be paid will be a product of the rates detailed in this document. All work shall be authorised in advance in writing by the Council’s authorised officer.

PART 1 - CHARGES

Item Cost Vat (20%) Total

Recording Services (the Services which shall arise under events include: Tribunal Hearings; Registration Appeals;

Interviews; and Conferences) Half day attendance fee (4 hours or less)

Full day attendance fee (up to 8 hours)

1 – 3 days attendance fee


More than 5 days attendance fee

Overtime rate (if any) per hour for attendance in excess of 8 hours in any one day.

Cancellation fee with less than 24 hours’ notice

Any other costs for hearings (Please give full details)

Transcription Services

Transcript rate per folio (first 100 folios) – 1 day turnaround

Transcript rate per folio (first 100 folios) – 1 – 2 days turnaround

Transcript rate per folio (first 100 folios) – 3 days plus turnaround

Transcript rate per folio (more than 100 folios) – 1 day turnaround


Transcript rate per folio (more than 100 folios) – 1 – 2 days turnaround

Transcript rate per folio (more than 100 folios) – 3 days plus turnaround

Audio Files (Edited) – 1 day turnaround

Audio Files (Edited) – 1 – 2 days turnaround

Audio Files (Edited) – 3 days plus turnaround

Additional Services

Video Recording Services (The Services which shall arise under events include: Tribunal Hearings; Registration

Appeals; Interviews; and Conferences)

Full day attendance fee (up to 8 hours)



More than 5 days attendance fee

Overtime rate (if any) per hour for attendance in excess of 8 hours in any one day.

Cancellation fee with less than 24 hours’ notice

Transcription Services from Video

Transcript rate per folio (first 100 folios) – 1 day turnaround



Transcript rate per folio (first 100 folios) – more than 5 days turnaround

Transcript rate per folio (more than 100 folios) – 1 day turnaround



Transcript rate per folio (more than 100 folios) – more than 5 days turnaround

Video Files (Edited) – 1 day turnaround

Video Files (Edited) – 1 – 3 days turnaround

Video Files (Edited) – 3 – 5 days turnaround

Video Files (Edited) – more than 5 days turnaround

Braille

Braille (charge per A4 page)

Front Page Colour (charge per A4 page)


Logo on Braille (charge per A4 page)

Binding (charge per A4 page)

Interpreting Services

British Sign Language (BSL) (rate per day)

International to English (rate per day)

Translation Services (‘Target Language’ Group means the language in which text has to be translated)

Target Language – Welsh

Non-Technical English (charge per word)

Technical English (charge per word)

Marketing / Publication (charge per word)

Proof Reading (charge per word)

Target Language – International





Urgency Charge – all Languages (timescale within 24 hours)





PART 2 - REBATES

Rebates will be calculated following each anniversary of the Commencement Date. Turnover for these purposes will be the aggregate amount (including VAT) invoiced by the Service Provider pursuant to the Framework Agreement (irrespective of the invoice under which such Charges arise). The rebate will be applied at the relevant level for that part of the Turnover as falls within the relevant bracket only. Worked example: If Charges total £120,000, the rebate will be £50,000 x 0%, plus £24,999 x X%, plus £24,999 x Y%, plus £20,000 x Z%.

Tranche of annual turnover Percentage rebate (to be applied against all turnover within that tranche)

£50,000 to £74,999

£75,000 to £99,999

£100,000 to £149,999

£150,000 to £249,999

£250,000 to £349,999

£350,000 plus


APPENDIX A – SERVICES REQUIRED The Supplier(s) shall provide the following services as a minimum: Audio recording of hearings:

provide a high quality audio recording of proceedings from which a verbatim transcription of events can be produced utilising current technologies;

demonstrate how new approaches or technology can add value to HCPC hearings;

supply local agents to attend hearings in London and at venues across the United Kingdom (where possible) in order to minimise claims for travel and subsistence;

supply agents at short notice;

provide agents solely for the purpose of providing a verbatim audio recording of hearings;

ensure agents can perform duties without the need for any additional amplification to be provided by the organisation;

cancellations – where an agent cannot attend a hearing for any reason the supplier should ensure adequate contingency measures are in place;

demonstrate a recruitment and training programme to ensure hearing volumes can be met; and

demonstrate application of new technologies or approaches to assist the HCPC in delivering the best value for money.

Production and redaction of transcripts:

produce and provide transcripts either immediately, or on request, at any stage after the event;

provide expedited transcripts of complete hearings within 1 working day where requested;

provide efficient turnaround times of not less than 3 working days for other transcripts required; and

produce and provide transcripts of historic recordings produced by other (including previous) suppliers.

Record storage and data security

demonstrate a system that effectively protects and appropriately shares the organisations’ sensitive data, to include:

o secure storage of records of all events for a minimum of seven years; o secure destruction of records; o supplier access to records that allows transcripts and other services to be

produced within timescales described; o provide auditing systems of stored transcripts and other translated documents

to ensure documents have been saved correctly; o provide transcripts that are consistently templated, labelled and indexed to

requested specifications; o label the media files for events separately as ‘Private’ for proceedings held in

private session; o provide secure and safe storage and transport of electronic transcripts, media

files and translations to ensure confidentiality of all parties is maintained in line with the Data Protection Act 2018, which came into force on 24 May 2018, and any subsequent data protection legislation that is in or may come into force during the contract period;

o ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation;

o ensure agents make and store audio recordings securely; and o ensure agents respect the confidentiality of proceedings and any confidential

material divulged within proceedings.

Communications and management information:

provide a centralised, automated system for booking, confirming, monitoring and billing for all types of hearings activity, with dedicated resources to support the management and development of the Framework Agreement;

develop an efficient system of communication for the appointment, confirmation and invoicing of services with minimal reliance on resources;

make available management information reports on a minimum quarterly basis. Reports should detail usage of service, bookings and expenditure levels within any financial year or period of service;

be able to deliver, on demand, ad hoc reports to support the management of the Framework Agreement; and

provide a customer complaints policy and process for the organisation to engage at any time with the agency regarding the services provided.

Additional Language, audio and visual services:

produce high quality services in the requested format within agreed timescales; and

abide by the organisations’ data storage and handling requirements as outlined

above.

Additional services may include, but are not limited to the provision of translation, interpretation and video recording of hearings and similar events. If agents do not live locally for hearings outside London, the travel arrangements should be made by the supplier and invoiced to the HCPC or other Council as the case may be. Expenses for travel and subsistence will be reimbursable in accordance with the HCPC’s or other Council’s disbursements and expenses policy in accordance with paragraph 4 (Reimbursable Expenses) of Schedule 3 to the Framework Agreement. Payment will not be made for days used to travel to any venue.

APPENDIX B – EVALUATION MATRIX Marks out of twenty will be awarded to each question (other than the pricing schedule) across a range as set out below and subject to the maximum mark given for each question. The scoring scheme is as follows:

Marks out of 20

Unanswered or totally inadequate response to the requirement, providing no evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

0 – 1

Very poor response providing very limited evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

2 – 3

Poor response to the requirement, providing limited evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

4 – 5

Unsatisfactory response to the requirement providing insufficient or limited evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

6 – 7

Minimal response to the requirement, providing some evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

8 – 9

Average response to the requirement providing evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

10 – 11

Reasonable response to the requirement, providing passable evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

12 – 13

Good response to the requirement, providing clear evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

14 – 15

Excellent response fully addressing the requirements and providing fully comprehensive evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification.

16 – 18

Exceptional response going beyond the requirement and providing fully comprehensive evidence that the Tenderer has the skills, experience, resources or systems in place required to meet the specification and deliver additional benefits to HCPC beyond the services required.

19 – 20

Pricing schedule evaluation The pricing schedule will be evaluated in three sections. Tenderer’s scores for each section will be sub-totalled to give a mark out of 50. Section 1 – Model orders Prices for a 4 model hearing scenarios will be calculated using figures provided in the pricing schedule. Maximum points available per model are 10. Each Tenderer will be given a score based on the following formula:

Lowest total model price x 10 Tenderer’s total model price The calculation is based on:

Marks will be awarded in "reverse order"; that is the Tender with the lowest total model price gets the highest marks and the Tender with the highest total model price gets least marks.

Scores awarded will reflect the proportional difference between tendered costs.

Scores will be rounded to the nearest whole number. Model order 1 The model will be:

a hearing lasting two days with the second day running two hours overtime; and

with no transcript produced. Model order 2 The model will be:

a hearing lasting half a day; and

with an audio recording of the hearing at an expedited rate. Model order 3 The model will be:

one event containing up to three consecutive hearings together lasting one day; and

with transcripts comprising 200 folios for each hearing.

Model order 4 The model will be:

one event lasting three days with;

a French translator required for a full day on day one; and

a standard service transcript comprising of 1200 folios in text format and in braille. Section 2 – Cancellation charges The Total Cancellation Charge applicable to hearings cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will be calculated by adding the cancellation charge and the no transcript fee using the figures in the pricing schedule. Maximum points available for this part are 4. Each Tenderer will be given a score based on the following formula: Lowest Total Cancellation Charge x 4 Tenderer’s Total Cancellation Charge The calculation is based on:

Marks will be awarded in "reverse order"; that is the Tender with the lowest Total Cancellation Charge gets the highest marks and the Tender with the highest Total Cancellation Charge gets least marks.

Scores awarded will reflect the proportional difference between tendered costs.

Scores will be rounded to two decimal places.

Section 3 – Rebates The potential value of the rebate will be calculated assuming the turnover in a Contract Year of £400,000. Worked example

Tranche of annual turnover Percentage rebate (to be applied against all turnover within that tranche)

Rebate value of tranche

£50,000 to £74,999 10% £2,499.90

£75,000 to £99,999 20% £4,999.80

£100,000 to £149,999 30% £14,999.70

£150,000 to £249,999 20% £19,999.80

£250,000 to £349,999 10% £9,999.90

£350,000 plus 10% £5,000.00

Total Value of Rebate for turnover of £400,000 £57.499.10

The Total Value of Rebate for turnover of £400,000 will then be ranked and scores awarded. Maximum points available for this part are 6. Each Tenderer will be given a score based on the following formula: Tenderer’s Total Value of Rebate Highest Total Value of Rebate x 6 The calculation is based on:

Marks will be awarded so that the Tender with the highest Total Value of Rebate gets the highest marks and the Tender with the lowest Total Value of Rebate will get least marks.

Scores awarded will reflect the proportional difference between tendered rebates.

Scores will be rounded to two decimal places. 1. Interview Evaluation The interview will be used to:

clarify responses to questions in this ITT. Where necessary this may lead to adjustment of marks; and

award a score out of 20 against the following criteria:

Marks available

Understanding of Health Regulation and the services required 4

Ability to respond to HCPC’s changing needs 4

Preparedness for presentation 4

Quality of presentation 4

Relevance of questions posed by Tenderer 4

Evaluation matrix summary

Scored criteria

Question Max Points

Weight Score Comments

Method Statement 20 20%

Resources 20 20%

Communication 20 10%

Monitoring 20 5%

Technical score sub total 80 55% Minimum 70% required

Pricing schedule evaluation

Model 1 10

Model 2 10

Model 3 10

Model 4 10

Total Cancellation Charge 4

Total Value of Rebate 6

Commercial score sub total 50 35%

Interview Evaluation

Understanding of Health Regulation and the services required

4

Ability to respond to HCPC’s changing needs

4

Preparedness for presentation 4

Quality of presentation 4

Relevance of questions posed by Tenderer

4

Interview score sub total 20 10%

Total 150 100%

APPENDIX C – DRAFT FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT AND SCHEDULES

Please see separate document

Appendix D – FORM OF TENDER

To: The Health and Care Professions Council Having examined the Terms and Conditions and the Specification for the provision of audio recording, transcription and additional services, I/We offer to carry out the whole of the said services in conformity with the said Terms and Conditions of Framework Agreement and associated work orders (to be detailed following selection of preferred supplier) and Specification. I/We confirm that I am/we are not aware of any conflict of interest that would arise if I/we were to be successful in this tender. The essence of selective tendering is that the client shall receive bona fide competitive tenders from all those tendering. In recognition of this principle, I/we certify that this is a bona fide tender, intended to be competitive, and that I/we have not fixed or adjusted the amount of the tender by or under or in accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any other person. I/We also certify that I/We have not done and will not do at any time before the hour and date specified for the return of this tender any of the following acts:- a. communicating to a person other than the person calling for those tenders the amounts or approximate amount of the proposed tender, except where the disclosure, in confidence, of the approximate amount of the tender was necessary to obtain insurance premium quotations required for the preparation of the tender; b. entering into any agreement or arrangement with any other person that he shall refrain from tendering or as to the amount of any tender to be submitted; c. offering or paying or giving or agreeing to pay or give any sum of money or valuable consideration directly or indirectly to any person for doing or having done or causing or having caused to be done in relation to any other tender or proposed tender for the said work any act or thing of the sort described above. In this Form of Tender the word "person" includes any persons and any body or association, corporate or unincorporated; and "any agreement or arrangement" includes any such transaction, formal or informal, and whether legally binding or not.

Signature: Designation:

for and on behalf of:

Address:

Date: Tel. No