Dynamic Purchasing Vehicle (DPV) for the Provision of Home Care Services in Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire Council (the Council) is seeking to establish a Dynamic Purchasing Vehicle (“DPV”) for the provision of home care Services in Buckinghamshire (“the Services”). The Council is conducting the procurement via the "Light Touch Regime" as set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015).

Suppliers will be expected to deliver Services for people assessed as being eligible for health or social care support under the provisions of The Care Act (2014) or The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS Funded Nursing Care (2022). Additionally, Suppliers will support Individuals being discharged from hospital through the Home First pathway who are awaiting an assessment of need. The Council commissions some of these home care Packages on behalf of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board (ICB) (“the ICB”).

The DPV will be used to commission home care Services for adults aged 18 + across all care groups in Buckinghamshire. Successful Suppliers should expect to deliver Services to Individuals with eligibility under any of the above pathways.

The DPV will replace the Council’s existing block and spot contracting arrangement and will become the primary mechanism for sourcing home care Packages. Please note, this does not include complex Continuing Healthcare Packages, which will be sourced separated via the ICB.

The DPV has been designed to meet current and future needs of people requiring care and support at home and will enable the Council to offer greater flexibility for home care Services from high quality Suppliers. The DPV will also facilitate a more comprehensive oversight of supply and demand to support market shaping.

The DPV will be divided into Two (2) lots, representing the range of Services to be delivered.

The Lots are:

Lot 1: Standard home care

Lot 2: Complex/bespoke home care

The Council cannot guarantee demand or volumes for the Services or for any of the Lots over the lifetime of the DPV. Appointment of a Supplier to the DPV is no guarantee of business.

Suppliers that wish to be appointed to the DPV are required to complete a Selection Questionnaire (“SQ”). All those Suppliers who satisfy the selection requirements set out in the SQ, as evaluated by the Council, will be appointed to the DPV to the Lot(s) for which they have applied.

There is no limit on the number of Suppliers that may be appointed to a Lot.

Following the establishment of the DPV and successful Suppliers being added (Stage 1), the Council will commence Stage 2 – call offs for Packages of care. The Council will issue mini competitions for Packages, as and when the need arises. All eligible Suppliers within the relevant Lot will be invited to submit bids for such Packages (streamlined further by geographical location for Lot 1). The Council will award each Package to the Supplier in that Lot that can most closely meet the Package requirements based upon evaluation criteria set out.

Suppliers who wish to participate in this process need to register with the Buckinghamshire Business Portal and will be unable to take part if not registered. Please use the link below and follow the instructions on the website:

www.supplybucksbusiness.org.uk ↗

The Council anticipate Stage 2 will commence in early 2024. Should Suppliers wish to take part they will need to complete the SQ and submit by midday on Friday 28th April 2023. Suppliers should expect to be notified of the outcome of their submission in Autumn 2023 and be prepared to work with the Council to mobilise the new contracts, including attending relevant training, ahead of the launch of Stage 2.

Further details on the operation of the DPV are set out in the Procurement Documentation.