Official UK procurement notice
CWC23060 Provision of Community and Voluntary Service
Authority: Wolverhampton City Council (Local council)
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe community and voluntary service provision will take the lead in working collaboratively with communities and groups across the protected characteristics and equalities to ensure all are supported and represented. The Strategic Lead will proactively engage with organisations and local people in venues across the City and digitally, to identify current and emerging priorities and develop an action plan for key outcomes to be met.
CPV: Other community, social and personal services
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · no lot values published · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Infrastructure Support ServiceAwarded
Infrastructure in the Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise Sector (VCSE) - Sustainability, Growth, Partnership & Volunteering.
The provider will establish a clear and robust Governance structure for the sector that is representative and accountable for all. As a representative for communities, organisations and the system the primary role will be to act on behalf, in partnership and collaboratively with community organisations. The strategic lead will co-design and co-produce a range of initiatives that put local people at the heart of the provision, whilst bringing stakeholders and the wider sector on board to respond to needs in our communities. They will also provide organisational support, capacity building and training initiatives that equip local people and primarily small grassroots VCSE organisations with the tools they need to respond to needs in our communities so that they may thrive and grow.
The provider will also be the strategic lead on a Citywide Structured and Supported Volunteering Programme which raises the profile of volunteering in the City, and embeds a City offer that enables local people wishing to volunteer to gain access to face to face and digital resources to easily navigate their way to a suitable role and support organisations to create, develop and grow their own volunteer programmes.
Lot #2Welfare Debt and Financial Support ServiceAwarded
Welfare, Debt, Housing and Benefits Advice
The benefits system is complex and can be difficult to understand. Residents need different levels of support to understand what they are entitled to, or to complete forms with full and accurate information. The emphasis for this provider is a proactive and immediate response where required to people in crisis, support to maximise income and resilience, prevention of adverse repercussions, stabilisation and management of life's challenges, progression towards better life chances.
The Provider will take the lead in delivering a suite of community-based services offering advice, information, practical help and support (including initiatives encouraging self-help and resilience building) to some of the City's most vulnerable people in the areas of welfare benefits, debt, housing, employment and welfare advice.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 30 Jan 2024, 16:07 GMT
- Last source update
- 30 Jan 2024, 16:07 GMT
- FTS notice number
2024/S 000-003109- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0435ccFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
The Council has entered into two contracts for the provision of community and voluntary services each for a period of five years with options exercisable by the Council to extend the contracts by up to a further two years.
The Council published a notice calling for competition on the Contracts Finder website on 12 June 2023 (titled: CWC23060 Provision of Community and Voluntary Service, currently available at the following url: www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/0ec788f1-47d9… ↗) and received tenders from 4 providers.
The Council completed the procurement process and awarded contracts to the economic operators identified in this contract award notice. However, the Council subsequently identified that in error the Council had failed to select the correct settings within the procurement portal to have a contract notice published on the Find a Tender Service website.
The Council considered whether to conclude the procurement processes notwithstanding that accidental omission and concluded that it was rational to do so on the following basis:
- The Council provided transparency to the supplier market by publishing a notice on the Contracts Finder website. The Council considers that it is likely that suppliers wishing to deliver services in England registered to Find a Tender Service would also register to Contracts Finder and would have identified the existence of the opportunity as a result.
- The Council received tenders from 4 suppliers and concludes that therefore the Contracts Finder notice was effective in making the opportunity known in the market.
- The procurement was for services similar to those advertised to the market by contract notice reference: 2022/S 000-019852 published in July 2022 which advertised a procurement for community and voluntary services which was subsequently abandoned prior to tender submission (in October 2022). Whilst that procurement was abandoned it did have the effect of engaging the supplier market wishing to compete to deliver community and voluntary services in Wolverhampton. Six suppliers expressed an intention to submit tenders in the abandoned procurement whereas eleven suppliers expressed an intention to submit tenders in the current procurement (though in the event only four submitted completed tenders). All of the suppliers that expressed an intention to submit tenders in the previous, abandoned, procurement, did likewise in the current procurement indicating that the Contracts Finder notice was effective at providing transparency to the pool of suppliers most likely to wish to compete for the opportunities.
Taking all of the above factors into account the Council concluded that it has tested the market and advertised the opportunity to participate in the procurement sufficiently that it was rational for the Council to conclude the contracts and that it would have been disproportionate to abandon the procurement.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Infrastructure Support Service1 award | |||
| WOLVERHAMPTON VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY ACTION | £1,400,000 † | — | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · Welfare Debt and Financial Support Service1 award | |||
| Citizens Advice Dudley and WolverhamptonSMEWelfare, Debt, Housing and Benefits Advice | £2,100,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Infrastructure Support Service · WOLVERHAMPTON VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY ACTION
- Signed
- 1 Jan 2024
- Value
- £1,400,000
- Status
- active
Welfare, Debt, Housing and Benefits Advice · Citizens Advice Dudley and WolverhamptonSME
- Signed
- 1 Jan 2024
- Value
- £2,100,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Infrastructure Support Service | 3bids | — | — | — |
| 2 · Welfare Debt and Financial Support Service | 2bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- City of Wolverhampton CouncilReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- Citizens Advice Dudley and WolverhamptonAwarded supplier
- Wolverhampton Voluntary and Community ActionAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.