Agents Contract - Procurement - FAQ's
These questions and answers have not been designed to be exhaustive but rather to evolve in light of comments and enquiries. If you have any suggestions regarding their development, or a question that is not covered, please contact the AiB Procurement Manager, Carol Elder.
Can a consortium bid in view that it's effectively a federation of agents, and consequently may not have unified health and safety and training procedures per the directive on procurement?
Per regulation 28(2) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, just because you are not a formal company entity, you cannot be excluded from putting forward a Tender. Obviously depending on questions around Health and Safety on PQQ's will depend on how you approach it and would be entirely down to each individual company.
Do you have any idea yet of the dates of the bidding process timetable?
Per Gillian Thompson's communication of 21 December, we are still aiming for the the Procurement Tendering process for the new contract to take place in 2008-2009. Gillian and all involved are eager to keep everyone abreast of our progress, particularly current Agents who are providing the service. The creation of the Project plan will give us a better understanding of timings.
Will we be advised of the timetable or will we have to scan the Scottish Government website?
As well as the automatic communication you should receive from OJEU it is AiB's intention to ensure that all current Agents are communicated with on a regular basis as mentioned above, so you should not find yourself in a position where you have no idea of our progress and what stage we are at.
Do you have any idea of the work tendered for and the quantum of any contract i.e. is it on a case per case payment or a global sum?
It is important to note that the value of the contract Gillian eluded to be a 'total cost' spend with Agents and any 3rd party spend and not just Fee's i.e... It is what the contract is worth to AiB. As for the makeup of it, it is going to be quite a while before we get to any point of knowing what the Tender specification could look like. The short answer to this is 'No'.
Where will the Tender be advertised and how will we know when it is there?
The Tender will be advertised in OJEU in the first instance. Thereafter the Tender will be suitably advertised to reflect the Value, Market Audience and Service type. A communication will go out to all existing and potential providers that AiB are aware of and also throughout member member bodies such as ICAS, ICAEW etc.
Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU)
Scottish Government - Public Sector Contract Opportunities
Public Tender Website
What do the EU procurement regulations mean for this contract?
As with any EU Procurement activity certain rules apply. The EU Rules are readily available to view at the link provided to ascertain what that means for the AiB Procurement Activity.
Scottish Government - EU Procurement site.
Is the number of Agents going to be drastically reduced?
It is not possible to say what the volume of Suppliers is going to be. All we can guarantee is the Tender process will be as fair and Transparent as possible and everyone will be given equal opportunity to Tender.
What impact do you believe this will have on SME's?
It is very difficult to say what impact it will have on SME's as AiB cannot gauge what response they will receive to the Tender process. It is up to every individual Insolvency Practitioner how they approach and respond to the Tender.
What support facilities will be put in place for SME's?
There will be as much information as possible on the AiB website, including links to other companies, to allow all Insolvency Practitioners, whether SME's or not, the access to as much detail as possible that will answer questions and concerns, provide guidance, direct to other contacts etc. It is not the responsibility of AiB to point any Insolvency Practitioner in a particular direction, but we will provide as much assistance and direction as possible.
What tender process will be used?
The Tender option will be dependent on the Procurement Strategy which will directly impact/influence what Tender process we use. As the process evolves AiB will continue to communicate all possible information that we have to keep everyone abreast of our approach.
What does a PQQ do?
PQQ is a Pre-qualification questionnaire. A pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) enables public sector purchasers to identify the most suitable suppliers to invite to tender for contracts based on the information they provide.
What will the term of the contract be?
It is not yet agreed, but the contract will probably run for 3 years initially.
Who is the main point of contact for the current contract?
The main point of contact for the current contract will be the Procurement Manager, Carol Elder. The communications Plan and her contact details are provided in the AiB website.
What does OJEU stand for and what does this mean for the process?
OJEU stands for the Official Journal of the European Union (formerly known as OJEC). This is the publication in which all contracts from the public sector which are valued above a certain threshold must be published.
In simple terms this means that rather than being advertised in a more local way, the Contract will be advertised to the Wider Audience of Europe giving everyone an equal opportunity to Tender for this contract.
Why does this Tender have to go through OJEU?
According to EU legislation, all contracts from the public sector which are valued above a certain threshold must be published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU, formerly the OJEC). The requirement to publish a notice is governed by the Public Procurement Thresholds.
The legislation covers organisations and projects which receive public money. Local authorities, NHS trusts, Central Government Departments, Port Authorities are all covered by the legislation and must advertise in OJEU if their contract is covered. Some privately funded / managed contracts will also be covered - if a project is in receipt of more than 50% public funds, it would also be covered by the EU legislation (e.g. the Lowry Centre in Manchester and the Millennium Dome).
The term 'Journal' is misleading, as production of the hard copy version ceased in 1997. It can now be accessed on CD ROM or via intermediaries such as Tenders Direct.
Around 2500 new notices are advertised every week - invitations to tender, pre information notices, qualification systems and contract award notices from over 80 countries world - wide. Around 10% of these are from the UK and Ireland.
Will there be just 1 contract?
When the Procurement Strategy is in place and substantial Market research has been collated, this will give a better idea of what is required and what is available in the marketplace to support the Business Plan. Currently, no decision has been taken on what the Contract portfolio will look like.
You promised to advise timelines for this activity and we haven't seen anything since Perth. When will you be in a position to provide more information?
We have recently issued an Agents Letter on our Intranet with some additional information and reason for the delay- If you can please refer.
You previously communicated that the Tender would initially be advertised on OJEU - When is this happening?
Timelines have not been formalised but per my recent communication I hope to be in a better position to advise this in the next few weeks.
Is this still going to be advertised in OJEU and how will we know when this comes out?
Yes, per earlier communications this will still be advertised on OJEU, however, now that the National Portal is up and running, the information is automatically placed on both almost simultaneously. This means that if you have already registered for the new Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) website, you will receive an automated email message when the Tender or any notice is placed on the portal. Even if you have not registered, you need only check the PCS website and Browse available contracts. This will include all financial level of contracts including those registered on OJEU. This also includes prior notices of contracts which will advise up and coming contracts and timelines
In addition to this we will send out an email to existing providers letting them know when details of this opportunity are going to be available for review.