Find a TenderClosed
Published 2 Jun 2021, 22:45 BST

Official UK procurement notice

National Careers Service - Community Based Contracts

Official notice

Authority: Education and Skills Funding Agency·Consortium: 2 public authorities

10 lotsServicesOpen procedureMax 2 lots per supplier
Published estimate£186,240,000total for 10 lots · 1 value update
Submissions closed 17 Feb 2022
Lots 10max 2 won per supplier
Contract term Ends 30 Sept 2024extension options published

What is being bought10 lots · detail below

Published requirement description

The Education and Skills Funding Agency are seeking to procure 9 contracts for the delivery of the National Careers Service - Community Based Service in the 9 regions of England. The ESFA are seeking Prime Contractors who are able to deliver high quality independent careers information, advice and guidance to National Careers Service customers.

The National Careers Service provides free careers information, advice and guidance to both young people (from the age of 13) and adults through a website, webchat and telephone helpline. The Service, delivered by local community-based careers advisers, can be accessed face to face, by telephone, webchat and online. Young people aged 13 and over can access ongoing in-depth information, advice and guidance from the service via telephone, webchat or the National Careers Service website. Face to face careers information and advice in the community is available to Adults aged 19 and over 18 if Not in Employment Education or Training (NEET).

Further information is set out in the procurement documents. The overall aggregated contract value of all 9 contracts may vary but will not exceed the value indicated at section II.1.5 of this notice. The contract values for each lot may vary but will not exceed the value indicated at section II.2.6 in respect of each lot.

CPV: Career guidance services · Education and training services

Lots and requirements (10)Procurement structure

10 lots · 9 with a published value (£186,240,000 together) · win at most 2 of them
Lot #1We are seeking suppliers for 9 regional based contracts across England who are able to…Planned North East, North West +5Lot estimate not published

We are seeking suppliers for 9 regional based contracts across England who are able to deliver high quality independent careers information, advice and guidance to National Careers Service customers. We are inviting suppliers to take part in a programme of market engagement as we seek to procure Prime Contractors to be accountable and responsible for the delivery of careers information advice and guidance in the community in nine areas of England from 01 April 2022.

Further details will be published with the tender pack. The intention is to publish the tender opportunity in September 2021. All future information will be issued to potential providers via the DfE eTendering Portal URL: education.app.jaggaer.com ↗. The competition will be run using this system and all bidding suppliers must be registered and submit their bids through this portal. Our market engagement sessions will take place on 22nd and 23rd June 2021 with follow up 1-2-1 sessions available in the same week. This will be conducted by Microsoft Teams. Suppliers wishing to attend an event must register for a Jaggaer account, go to the live opportunities, express their interest in this opportunity at which point you will be invited to submit your attendee list. Once received, the specific event timings and detailed joining instructions will be issued to you. If you have any queries or issues in accessing the system, please contact nationalcareersservice.reprocurement@education.gov.uk.

Lot #2National Careers Service - Community Based Service - East Midlands East MidlandsPublished value£14,648,388
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Delivery: East Midlands
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed
Lot #3National Careers Service - Community Based Service - East of England East of EnglandPublished value£13,191,588
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Delivery: East of England
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed
Lot #4National Careers Service - Community Based Service - London LondonPublished value£27,954,456
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Delivery: London
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed
Lot #5National Careers Service - Community Based Service - North East North EastPublished value£15,161,958
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Delivery: North East
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed
Lot #6National Careers Service - Community Based Service - North West North WestPublished value£25,204,870
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Delivery: North West
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed
Lot #7National Careers Service - Community Based Service - South East South EastPublished value£18,690,642
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Delivery: South East
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed
Lot #8National Careers Service - Community Based Service - South West South WestPublished value£16,869,420
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Delivery: South West
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed
Lot #9National Careers Service - Community Based Service - West Midlands West MidlandsPublished value£31,752,466
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Delivery: West Midlands
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed
Lot #10National Careers Service - Community Based Service - Yorkshire and the Humber Yorkshire & HumberPublished value£22,766,212
Contract period: … – 30 Sept 2024
Extensions: The contract is for a 2 year term and there will be two options to extend the contracts by up to 12 months each (2+1+1).Variant bids: not allowed

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Closed
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
2 Jun 2021, 22:45 BST
Last source update
4 Jan 2022, 22:45 GMT
Award evaluation window
17 Feb 2022 – …
FTS notice number
2022/S 000-000133
Classification (CPV)
Career guidance servicesEducation and training services
Delivery area
North East (UKC)North West (UKD)Yorkshire & Humber (UKE)East Midlands (UKF)West Midlands (UKG)East of England (UKH)London (UKI)South East (UKJ)
+1 moreSouth West (UKK)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-02b7cb Find a Tender
Review and risk notes
Review procedure

The contracting authority will operate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to tenderers to provide time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into. Unsuccessful tenderers shall be notified by the contracting authority as soon as possible after the decision is made as to the reasons why they were unsuccessful. The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Regulations) provide that aggrieved parties who have been harmed, or are at risk of harm, by breach of the rules are to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). The Regulations set out the requirements on information to be provided prior to award of the contract and the procedures to be followed for bringing proceedings for breaches or alleged breaches of the Regulations.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Jaggaer · Who buys & how to bid on JAGGAER
Supplier login requiredLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free; latest Chrome/Edge/Firefox only — corporate browsers fail
Submission deadline
17 Feb 2022, 17:00 GMT
Submission channel
{"electronicSubmission","written"}
Accepted languages
en
Bid validity
180 days from the deadline
Bids opened
17 Feb 2022, 17:01 GMT
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

4 Jan 2022 → 17 Feb 2022 · 4 dates
  1. Notice published
    4 Jan 2022, 22:45 GMT
  2. Next notice expected
    28 Jan 2022
  3. Submission deadline
    17 Feb 2022, 17:00 GMT
  4. Bids opened
    17 Feb 2022, 17:01 GMT

Notice history

5 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 4 Jan 2022
  1. Published value published: £186,240,000
    4 Jan 2022, 22:45 GMT
  2. Status changed to active
    4 Jan 2022, 22:45 GMT
  3. Procurement method changed
    4 Jan 2022, 22:45 GMT
  4. Deadline published: 17 Feb 2022, 17:00 GMT
    4 Jan 2022, 22:45 GMT
  5. Buyer details updated
    4 Jan 2022, 22:45 GMT

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Education & Skills Funding Agency

Contracting authorityBody governed by public lawEducation Sanctuary Buildings, 20, Great Smith Street, London, UK, SW1P 3BTContact email Published organisation website ↗

Consortium members and other public bodies

  • Department for EducationContracting authorityBody governed by public lawEducation London, UKContact email

Dispute resolution & review bodies

  • High CourtReview body London

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
  • Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria