South Lanarkshire Council

Council Headquarters, Almada Street

Hamilton

ML3 0AA

UK

Contact person: Joan Dimond

Telephone: +44 1698454147

E-mail: joan.dimond@southlanarkshire.gov.uk

NUTS: UKM95

Internet address(es)

Main address: http://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk

Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA00410

II.1.1) Title

Reference number: SLC/PS/EDUC/19/022

II.1.2) Main CPV code

80000000

II.1.3) Type of contract

Services

II.1.4) Short description

SLC Education Resources delivers a range of work based learning and support packages for young people leaving school. The key aims are developing employability skills and ensuring our young people are ready to meet the challenges of employment.

This Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is to establish suitably qualified training providers to supply a broad spectrum of training services for programmes including, Aspire, GradU8, Training for Trades and Foundation Apprenticeships; with pathways across many vocational areas, to allow students to access a range of courses to complement their school curriculum, widen their experiences, and help gain wider vocational qualifications desirable for current labour market demands.

There is no intention to limit the number of service providers on the DPS. All service providers that meet the selection criteria and are not excluded will be admitted to the DPS. The DPS will remain open to new applicants during it’s period of validity.

II.1.5) Estimated total value

Value excluding VAT: 12 500 000.00  GBP

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: Yes

Tenders may be submitted for all lots

Lot No: 1

Lot No: 2

Lot No: 3

III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

List and brief description of conditions:

ESPD Question 4A.1 trade registers

It is a requirement of this DPS that if the applicant is UK based they must hold a valid registration with Companies House. Where the applicant is UK based but not registered at Companies House they must be able to verify to the Councils satisfaction that they are trading from the address provided in the tender and under the company name given.

If the applicant is based out-with the UK they must be enrolled in the relevant professional or trade register appropriate to their country as described in Schedule 5 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

ESPD Question 4A.2 Authorisation/Membership

Where it is a requirement of a specific training course that the training organisation is accredited to be able to issue qualification certification, this service will be made a requirement under some future mini competitions.

Note however, not all training will require a qualification to be issued upon completion of training.

This is not a mandatory requirement of every training delivery, but this information will inform as to supplier accreditation to issue qualifications.

Applicants should indicate if they are accredited to issue qualifications, and which qualifications they are accredited to issue in ESPD question 4A 2.2.

III.1.2) Economic and financial standing

List and brief description of selection criteria:

ESPD Question 4B.4 Economic and Financial Standing

The Council will use the following ratios to evaluate a applicants financial status:

Profitability: this is taken as profit after tax but before dividends and minority interests. If a company makes a profit then it is a pass for this ratio;

Liquidity: this is calculated as current assets less stock and work in progress, divided by current liabilities. If the answer is greater than or equal to one then it is a pass for this ratio

Gearing: this is calculated as the total external secured borrowing (short term and long term) divided by shareholder funds expressed as a percentage. If the answer is less than or equal to 100 % it is considered a pass for this ratio.

Applicants must provide the name and value of each of the 3 ratios within their response to ESPD question 4B.4.

The Council requires applicants to pass 2 out of the 3 financial ratios above.

Where 2 out of the 3 ratios cannot be met, the Council may take the undernoted into consideration when assessing financial viability and the risk to the Council, providing that the applicant can supply evidence to substantiate any of the mitigating criteria when requested to do so. The following list is not exhaustive and other criteria may be considered where proposed by a applicant as mitigating factors:

Would the applicant have passed the checks if prior year accounts had been used?

Were any of the poor appraisal outcomes ‘marginal’?

Does the applicant operate in a market which, traditionally, requires lower liquidity or higher debt finance?

Does the applicant have sufficient reserves to sustain losses for a number of years?

Does the applicant have a healthy cashflow?

Is the applicant profitable enough to finance the interest on its debt?

Is most of the applicant's debt owed to group companies?

Is the applicant's debt due to be repaid over a number of years, and affordable?

Have the applicant's results been adversely affected by ‘one off costs’ and/or ‘one off accounting treatments’?

Do the applicant's auditors (where applicable) consider it to be a ‘going concern’?

Will the applicant provide a Parent Company Guarantee?

Is the applicant the single supplier/source of the Goods/Works/Services in the marketplace?

The Council will request submission of and assess the applicants financial accounts, and may use financial verification systems to validate the information provided.

Minimum level(s) of standards required:

ESPD Question 4B.5 Insurance

The applicant must confirm that they have or will commit to obtain prior to the commencement of the contract, the following levels of insurance cover:

Professional indemnity insurance

Applicants will not be required to hold professional indemnity Insurance as a mandatory requirement for appointment to the DPS.

Applicants may be required to have/put in place professional indemnity insurance for specific call offs awarded under the DPS and will be advised of this requirement at the point of call-off.

Employer’s liability Insurance covering the death of or bodily injuries to employees of the applicant arising out of and in the course of their employment in connection with this contract to the level of GBP 10 000 000 in respect of each claim, without limit to the number of claims.

Public Liability Insurance covering the death of or bodily injury to a person (not an employee of the applicant) or loss of or damage to property resulting from an action or failure to take action by the applicant to the level of GBP 5 000 000 in respect of each claim, without limit to the number of claims.

III.1.3) Technical and professional ability

List and brief description of selection criteria:

ESPD Question 4C.1.2 Technical and professional ability

With reference to the nature and details of the supplies/services that are the subject matter of this tender, relevant examples are to be provided of the supplies/services undertaken by the applicant in the last 3 years.

The applicant(s) recommended for award to the DPS will be training providers with experience delivering vocational and/or employability training to children and young people. Applicants are required to provide examples that demonstrate their relevant experience delivering such services over the last 3 years.

With reference to the nature and details of the services to be supplied under the DPS lots, 3 relevant examples of a similar size and nature are to be provided of the services delivered by the applicant in the last 3 years.

The details should include but need not be limited to:

— the training delivered and qualifications gained;

— to whom training was delivered, including quantities for training and qualifications gained/not gained;

— involvement of the service users in planning/meeting outcomes;

— duration and content, including how content was adapted to meet the service users needs;

— steps taken to keep children and young people on track to gain the qualification;

— remediation training employed to achieve successful outcomes.

3 experiences should be evidenced for each Lot being applied for.

Technical and professional ability (sub-contracting)

Applicants will be required to confirm (Stage 2, Technical Envelope) whether they intend to subcontract and, if so, for what proportion of the contract.

ESPD Question 2.C.1 Reliance on the capacities of other entities

Applicants are required to complete a full ESPD for each of the entities whose capacity they rely upon.

Subcontractors on whose capacity the applicant does not rely:

Applicants who are successful in joining the DPS will be asked whether they intend to subcontract within the ITT (stage 2) tender. A shortened version of the ESPD covering the exclusion grounds will require to be completed by each subcontractor so identified and uploaded within the ITT (stage 2) technical envelope.

Minimum level(s) of standards required:

ESPD Question 4C.6 technical and professional ability (qualifications)

It is a mandatory requirement of this DPS that the applicants recommended for award to the DPS and all staff involved in the delivery of any service contracts awarded under the DPS must be appropriately vetted in accordance with the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.

ESPD Question 4D.1 quality assurance schemes

It is a mandatory requirement of this DPS that applicants hold the following quality standard(s) or accreditation(s): either ISO 90001:2015 quality management system or an equivalent independently verified quality standard

Or

The applicant must have the following:

(a) a documented policy regarding quality management. The policy must set out responsibilities for quality management demonstrating that the applicant has and continues to implement a quality management policy that is authorised by their Chief Executive, or equivalent, and is periodically reviewed at a senior management level. The policy must be relevant to the nature and scale of the work to be undertaken and set out responsibilities for quality management throughout the organisation;

(b) documented procedures for periodically reviewing, correcting and improving quality performance including processes for ensuring that the applicant’s quality management is effective in reducing/preventing incidents of sub-standard delivery, this must include the quality of output and general performance;

(c) a documented process for ensuring that quality management is effective in reducing/preventing incidents of sub-standard delivery, this must include the quality of output and general performance. The applicant must be able to provide copies of their organisation’s documentation procedures, that meet current agreed good practice. These must include the arrangements for quality management throughout the applicant’s organisation. They must set out how the applicant’s organisation will carry out its policy, with a clear indication of how the arrangements are communicated to the workforce;

(d) documented arrangements for providing the applicant’s workforce with quality related training and information appropriate to the type of work for which this organisation is likely to bid. This will demonstrate that the organisation has in place and implements training arrangements to ensure that its workforce has sufficient skills and understanding to discharge their various responsibilities. These must include a programme of training that will keep the workforce up to date with required knowledge about quality related issues, including copies of job profiles; training manuals and records;

(e) documented arrangements that your organisation has a system for monitoring quality management procedures on an on-going basis. The applicant’s organisation must be able to provide evidence of systematic, periodic review and improvement of quality in respect of output and general performance;

(f) documented arrangements for ensuring that the applicants apply quality management measures that are appropriate to the work for which they are being engaged;

(g) a documented process demonstrating how the applicant deals with complaints. The applicant must be able to provide details of how their organisation maintains records of any complaints received and how corrective measures are carried out to prevent reoccurrence.

IV.1.1) Type of procedure

Restricted procedure

IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system

The procurement involves the setting up of a dynamic purchasing system

IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure

Notice number in the OJ S:

2019/S 225-551851

IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

Date: 30/05/2025

Local time: 12:00

IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

Date: 13/06/2025

IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted

EN

IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

Duration in months: 6 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)

VI.4.1) Review body

VI.4.3) Review procedure

Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:

In Scotland, the alternative review body is:

Court of Session

Parliament House

Parliament Square

Edinburgh

EH1 1RQ

+44 1312252595

supreme.courts@scotcourts.gov.uk