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Tender: UK-Liverpool: legal services

Sat, 28/01/2012 - 06:30
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UK-Liverpool: legal services

2012/S 19-030935

Contract notice

Services

Directive 2004/18/EC

Section I: Contracting authority

  • I.1)
    Name, addresses and contact point(s)

    Telephone: E-mail: Government Procurement Service
    9th Floor, The Capital, Old Hall Street
    L3 9PPLiverpool
    UNITED KINGDOM
    +44 3454102222
    supplier@buyingsolutions.gsi.gov.uk

    Internet address(es):

    General address of the contracting authority: www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk

    Further information can be obtained from:Internet address: Government Procurement Service
    https://governmentprocurementservice.bravosolution.co.uk

    Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from:Internet address: Government Procurement Service
    https://governmentprocurementservice.bravosolution.co.uk

    Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to:Internet address: Government Procurement Service
    https://governmentprocurementservice.bravosolution.co.uk

  • I.2)
    Type of the contracting authority

    Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions

  • I.3)
    Main activity

    Other: Public Procurement

  • I.4)
    Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities

    The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: yes

Section II: Object of the contract

  • II.1)
    Description
  • II.1.1)
    Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:

    Law Costs Draftsman Services.

  • II.1.2)
    Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

    Services

    Service category No 21: Legal services

    Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: Primarily in the UK with some limited requirements overseas.

    NUTS code UK

  • II.1.3)
    Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

    The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement

  • II.1.4)
    Information on framework agreement

    Framework agreement with several operators

    maximum number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged: 16

    Duration of the framework agreement

    Duration in months: 48

    Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

    Estimated value excluding VAT:

    Range: between 16 000 000 and 20 000 000 GBP

  • II.1.5)
    Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

    Government Procurement Service as the Contracting Authority is putting in place a Pan Government Collaborative Framework Agreement for use by UK public sector bodies identified at VI.3 (and any future successors to these organisations), which include Central Government Departments and their Arm’s Length Bodies and Agencies, Non Departmental Public Bodies, NHS bodies and Local Authorities.

    The above Public Sector Bodies have a need for Law Costs Draftsman Services.

    Government Procurement Service reserves the right for an electronic auction to be held by Public Sector bodies during further competition among the parties to the Framework Agreement(s).

  • II.1.6)
    Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

    79100000

  • II.1.7)
    Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

    The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes

  • II.1.8)
    Lots

    This contract is divided into lots: yes

    Tenders may be submitted for one or more lots

  • II.1.9)
    Information about variants

    Variants will be accepted: no

  • II.2)
    Quantity or scope of the contract
  • II.2.1)
    Total quantity or scope:

    It is Government Procurement Service’s intention to establish a framework agreement for the provision of a range of Law Cost Draftsman Services, including preparing bills of costs, points of dispute and replies; costs consultancy and negotiation; cost estimates and statements of costs; advocacy; instructing council; and advice.

    Suppliers will be required to provide Law Costs Draftsman Services in a range of cases, including cases relating to the Senior Court Costs Office; The Supreme Court; European Court of Justice; The First Tier and Upper Tribunals (Tax); Competition Appeal Tribunal; Employment Tribunals; Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal; County Court; and litigant-in-person costs matters.

    External Law Costs Draftsmen may not be required in every case (unless there is no internal in-house costs team), but will be used to keep in-house workloads of Customers manageable and/or where a case is complex or time-consuming to the extent that it is not practicable for any in-house resource to deal with the case.

    Individuals providing the Required Services are expected to be trained to an acceptable standard. Some cases will require the services of a Qualified Costs Lawyer. Qualified Costs Lawyers will be required predominantly in Lot 1 High Value (£75,000+) or Complex Cases. However, Qualified Costs Lawyers will also be required in Lot 2 Low Value (less than £75,000) or Routine Cases in some instances.

    The requirement has been divided into two Lots:

    Lot 1 - Adverse Costs and Recovery of Costs in High Value (£75,000+) or Complex Cases:

    The Authority requires Service Providers who can provide all aspects of a Law Costs Draftsman Service for Adverse Costs and Recovery of Costs in high value (i.e. £75,000 or more) cases, or which are complex or sensitive or involve litigants-in- person or which are unusual civil cases, by example, in the High Court, Court of Appeal, The Supreme Court, European Court of Justice, The First Tier and Upper Tribunals (Tax), Competition Appeal Tribunal, Employment Tribunals, and Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal.

    Lot 2 - Adverse Costs and Recovery of Costs in Low Value (less than £75,000) or Routine Cases:

    The Authority requires Service Providers who can provide all aspects of a Law Costs Draftsman Service for Adverse Costs and Recovery of Costs in low value (less than £75,000) cases, or routine cases, for example, in the High Court, Court of Appeal, The Supreme Court, European Court of Justice, County Courts, The First Tier and Upper Tribunals (Tax), Competition Appeal Tribunal, Employment Tribunals and Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal.

    Estimated value excluding VAT:

    Range: between 16 000 000 and 20 000 000 GBP

  • II.2.2)
    Information about options

    Options: yes

    Description of these options: The framework agreement is for an initial period of 2 years. The Contracting Authority retains an option to extend the agreement for a further two 12 month periods.

    • II.2.3)
    Information about renewals

  • II.3)
    Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

    Duration in months: 48 (from the award of the contract)

Information about lots

    Lot No: 1

    Lot title: Adverse Costs and Recovery of Costs in High Value (£75,000+) or Complex Cases

  • 1)Short description

    The Authority requires Service Providers who can provide all aspects of a Law Costs Draftsman Service for Adverse Costs and Recovery of Costs in high value (i.e. £75,000 or more) cases, or cases which are complex or sensitive or involve litigants-in- person or which are unusual civil cases, by example, in the High Court, Court of Appeal, The Supreme Court, European Court of Justice, The First Tier and Upper Tribunals (Tax), Competition Appeal Tribunal, Employment Tribunals, and Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal.

  • 2)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

    79100000

    • 3)Quantity or scope

    4)Indication about different date for duration of contract or starting/completion

  • 5)Additional information about lots

    Following the sifting of PQQ responses, it is anticipated that 16 Potential Providers will be invited to tender.

    Following the receipt and evaluation of tenders, it is anticipated that framework agreements will be awarded to a maximum of 8 Potential Providers.

    Lot No: 2

    Lot title: Adverse Costs and Recovery of Costs in Low Value (less than £75,000) or Routine Cases

  • 1)Short description

    The Authority requires Service Providers who can provide all aspects of a Law Costs Draftsman Service for Adverse Costs and Recovery of Costs in low value (less than £75,000) or routine cases, for example, in the High Court, Court of Appeal, The Supreme Court, European Court of Justice, County Courts, The First Tier and Upper Tribunals (Tax), Competition Appeal Tribunal, Employment Tribunals and Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal.

  • 2)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

    79100000

    • 3)Quantity or scope

    4)Indication about different date for duration of contract or starting/completion

  • 5)Additional information about lots

    Following the sifting of PQQ responses, it is anticipated that 16 Potential Providers will be invited to tender.

    Following the receipt and evaluation of tenders, it is anticipated that framework agreements will be awarded to a maximum of 8 Potential Providers.

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

  • III.1)
    Conditions relating to the contract
  • III.1.1)
    Deposits and guarantees required:

    Participants will be advised if this is necessary during the procurement. Parent company and/or other guarantees of performance and financial liability may be required by Government Procurement Service if considered appropriate.

    • III.1.2)
    Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

  • III.1.3)
    Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:

    No special legal form is required but if a contract is awarded to a consortium, the Contracting Authority may require the consortium to form a legal entity before entering into the Framework Agreement.

  • III.1.4)
    Other particular conditions

    The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: no

  • III.2)
    Conditions for participation
  • III.2.1)
    Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

    Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Suppliers instructions How to Express Interest in this tender:

    1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once):

    — Browse to the eSourcing Portal: https://buyingsolutions.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register,

    — Accept the terms and conditions and click 'continue',

    — Enter your correct business and user details,

    — Note the username you chose and click 'Save' when complete,

    — You will shortly receive an e-mail with your unique password (please keep this secure).

    2. Express an interest in the tender:

    — Login to the portal with the username/password,

    — Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are pre-qualification questionnaires or invitations to tender open to any registered supplier),

    — Click on the relevant PQQ/ ITT to access the content,

    — Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page,

    — This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only),

    — You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box.

    3. Responding to the tender:

    — Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining),

    — You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification,

    — Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT,

    — There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available). You must then submit your reply using the 'Submit Response' button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.

  • III.2.2)
    Economic and financial ability

    Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Part 4 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, as amended (implementing title II, Chapter V11, Section 2 of Directive 2004/18/EC), on the basis of information provided in response to a PQQ.

    The PQQ can be accessed at https://governmentprocurementservice.bravosolution.co.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1.

    The Contracting Authority may take into account any of the following information:

    (a) Appropriate statements from banks or, where appropriate, evidence of relevant professional risk indemnity insurance;

    (b) The presentation of balance-sheets or extracts from the balance-sheets, where publication of the balance-sheet is required under the law of the country in which the economic operator is established;

    (c) A statement of the undertaking's overall turnover and, where appropriate, of turnover in the area covered by the contract for a maximum of the last 2 financial years available, depending on the date on which the undertaking was set up or the economic operator started trading, as far as the information on these turnovers is available.

  • III.2.3)
    Technical capacity

    Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:

    Candidates will be assessed in accordance with Part 4 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, as amended (implementing title II, Chapter V11, Section 2 of Directive 2004/18/EC), on the basis of information provided in response to a PQQ.

    The PQQ can be accessed at https://governmentprocurementservice.bravosolution.co.uk using the instructions detailed in III.2.1.

    The Contracting Authority may have regard to any of the following means in its assessment:

    (a) A list of the works carried out over the past three years, accompanied by certificates of satisfactory execution for the most important works. These certificates shall indicate the value, date and site of the works and shall specify whether they were carried out according to the rules of the trade and properly completed. Where appropriate, the competent authority shall submit these certificates to the contracting authority direct;

    (b) A list of the principal deliveries effected or the main services provided in the past 3 years, with the sums, dates and recipients, whether public or private, involved. Evidence of delivery and services provided shall be given:

    — Where the recipient was a contracting authority, in the form of certificates issued or countersigned by the competent authority,

    — Where the recipient was a private purchaser, by the purchaser's certification or, failing this, simply by a declaration by the economic operator.

    (c) An indication of the technicians or technical bodies involved, whether or not belonging directly to the economic operator's undertaking, especially those responsible for quality control and, in the case of public works contracts, those upon whom the contractor can call in order to carry out the work;

    (d) A description of the technical facilities and measures used by the supplier or service provider for ensuring quality and the undertaking's study and research facilities;

    (e) Where the products or services to be supplied are complex or, exceptionally, are required for a special purpose, a check carried out by the contracting authorities or on their behalf by a competent official body of the country in which the supplier or service provider is established, subject to that body's agreement, on the production capacities of the supplier or the technical capacity of the service provider and, if necessary, on the means of study and research which are available to it and the quality control measures it will operate;

    (f) The educational and professional qualifications of the service provider or contractor and/or those of the undertaking's managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or persons responsible for providing the services or managing the work;

    (g) For public works contracts and public services contracts, and only in appropriate cases, an indication of the environmental management measures that the economic operator will be able to apply when performing the contract;

    (h) A statement of the average annual manpower of the service provider or contractor and the number of managerial staff for the last three years;

    (i) A statement of the tools, plant or technical equipment available to the service provider or contractor for carrying out the contract;

    (j) An indication of the proportion of the contract which the services provider intends possibly to subcontract;

    (k) With regard to the products to be supplied:

    (i) Samples, descriptions and/or photographs, the authenticity of which must be certified if the contracting authority so requests;

    (ii) Certificates drawn up by official quality control institutes or agencies of recognised competence attesting the conformity of products clearly identified by references to specifications or standards.

    • III.2.4)
    Information about reserved contracts

  • III.3)
    Conditions specific to services contracts
  • III.3.1)
    Information about a particular profession

    Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no

    • III.3.2)
    Staff responsible for the execution of the service

Section IV: Procedure

  • IV.1)
    Type of procedure
  • IV.1.1)
    Type of procedure

    Restricted

  • IV.1.2)
    Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

    Envisaged minimum number 16: and maximum number 32

  • IV.1.3)
    Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

    Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated no

  • IV.2)
    Award criteria
  • IV.2.1)
    Award criteria

    The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

  • IV.2.2)
    Information about electronic auction

    An electronic auction will be used: no

  • IV.3)
    Administrative information

    • IV.3.1)
    File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:

    IV.3.2)
    Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

    IV.3.3)
    Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document

  • IV.3.4)
    Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

    15.2.2012 - 15:00

  • IV.3.5)
    Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

    19.3.2012

  • IV.3.6)
    Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

    English.

    • IV.3.7)
    Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

  • IV.3.8)
    Conditions for opening tenders

    Date: 10.4.2012 - 15:00

    Place:

    Electronically, via e-tendering tool.

    Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: no

Section VI: Complementary information