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INVITATION TO TENDER -

PROCUREMENT PARTNER TO OFFER

PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE AND ADVICE

IN THE PROCUREMENT OF AN

INDEPENDENT APPEAL SERVICE FOR

PARKING ON PRIVATE LAND IN ENGLAND

AND WALES

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CONTENTS PAGE

1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 3

2. DEFINITIONS............................................................................................................ 4

3. PROCUREMENT TIMETABLE................................................................................. 5

4. TENDER FORMAT................................................................................................... 6

5. EVALUATION........................................................................................................... 7

6. NOTIFICATION......................................................................................................... 7

7. WARRANTIES & DISCLAIMERS.............................................................................. 8

7.1 Tender warranties.......................................................................................... 8

7.2 Client’s disclaimer........................................................................................... 8

8. CLARIFICATION & QUERIES.................................................................................. 8

9. CONFIDENTIALITY.................................................................................................. 9

10 SPECIFICATION......................................................................................................... 10

Appendix A FORM OF TENDER............................................................................. 17

Appendix B CERTIFICATE OF CONFIDENTIALITY, NON-COLLUSION AND

NON-CANVASSING.................................................................................................

19

Page No.

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 This Invitation to Tender is for a Procurement Partner to assist and guide the

BPA in the Procurement of an Organisation to provide POPLA the

independent appeals service for parking on private land, when the contract

with the existing supplier runs out in October 2015.

1.2 Organisations responding to this Invitation to Tender are required to respond

in accordance with this document and the terms and conditions within it and

its appendices.

1.3 As fundamentals to this contract the tenderer will need to demonstrate

extensive experience of procurement, knowledge of Alternative Dispute

Resolution (ADR) services and an understanding of the issues surrounding

the private parking sector in England & Wales..

1.4 POPLA is a new and high profile initiative where the independence, fairness

and efficiency of the service, and the consumer’s perception of these, are key.

The Client will be looking for evidence within the tender of the tenderer’s

commitment to working with the Client to provide an organisation to deliver

the service on this basis and to encouraging the consumer’s understanding

and support of the service.

1.5 The client has an expectation that in order to preserve continuity there would

be a single point of contact to manage the contract and that this person would

attend all the Procurement Project Group Meetings. It would not be

acceptable for different people to attend each meeting.

1.6 The tenderer must provide with their tender evidence of the type and

existence of their organisation, accounts for the last three years and a bank

reference. If more than one organisation is involved in the tender this must be

stated clearly and the same information provided for all organisations or

individuals. If any change in such a consortium structure occurs during the life

of the contract such change must be communicated in writing to the Client

immediately. The Client reserves the right to review any such changes as

they consider appropriate.

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1.7 Tenders can be delivered electronically to steve.c@britishparking.co.uk

2. DEFINITIONS

Term

Definition

1. BPA

British Parking Association

2. Certificate of Confidentiality, Non-

Collusion and Non-Canvassing

A certificate to be signed by the Tenderer and returned with the Tender. See Appendix….

3. Commencement Date

The date the Contract will start

4. Contract

The contract to be awarded to the successful tenderer.

5. Client

The organisation awarding the tender, in this case, the BPA

6. Form of tender

The form to be completed by the Tenderer and returned with the tender. The form is in Appendix A

7. IAS

Independent Appeals Service

8. ITT

This Invitation to Tender

9. Specification

The requirements of the Client as set out in this Invitation to Tender

10. Tender

All the documents submitted by the Tenderer in response to this Invitation to Tender.

11. Tenderer

The organisation invited to tender for this contract

12. POPLA

Parking on Private Land Appeals

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3.0 PROCUREMENT TIMETABLE

3.1 The Client intends to award the Contract on 16th June 2014 with a

provisional commencement date of 23rd June 2014.

3.2 The Client reserves the right not to award the Contract or to do so on

a different date.

3.3 The intended duration of the Contract is until 1st April 2015.

3.4 The timetable for the procurement process will be:

Activity

Date

(all to be agreed by BPA)

1. ITT issued

7th May 2014

2. Return of tenders

Noon 30th May 2014

3. Initial evaluation complete

3rd June 2014

4. Interviews with tenderers

9th June 2014

5. Selection of successful service provider

12th June 2014

6. Award of Contract

16th June 2014

7. Contract commencement date

23rd June 2014

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4 TENDER FORMAT

4.1 The Client retains complete discretion to reject any tender if it is not in

accordance with this ITT and any other part of the Tender Documents, or it

is in breach of any condition contained in the Contract or there is any

attempt to change the provisions in this documentation without the written

permission of the Client.

4.2 Any changes considered necessary by the Client will be issued to the

Tenderer in writing and will be deemed to form part of the tender

documents

4.3. The Tenderer has the responsibility of obtaining for themselves all

necessary information as to risks, contingencies and any other

circumstances which might reasonably influence or affect its Tender

submission.

4.4. If any Tenderer is deemed by the Client to have behaved inappropriately in

relation to preparing their submission by approaching any member of the

client’s staff or contacts in any other area the Client retains complete

discretion to reject the tender.

4.5. If the Tenderer attempts to carry out any of the following the Client will

have absolute discretion to reject the tender:

Communicating or working with any third party other than an

acknowledged partner or consortium member in order to fix or

adjust any prices contained within the tender. The only exception

will be where the information is in confidence in order to obtain

quotations to be contained within the tender.

Agreeing with any other body or person in order to restrict

submissions to the tender.

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Commiting an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Acts

1889 to 1916 or giving any fee or reward which creates an offence

under Section 117(2) of the Local Government Act 1972.

5. EVALUATION

5.1 The Contract will be evaluated on a most economically advantageous

basis with a split of 70% quality to 30% price.

5.2 The Tenders will be evaluated against the Client’s quality requirements

and then, if the Client’s requirement on quality has been reached, will be

awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender.

5.3 The Client shall not be bound to accept the lowest priced Tender.

5.4 The Tender will remain open for three months from the date of submission

5.5 The criteria applied will be, in descending order of importance:

.

Evaluation Criteria

1. Understanding of the objective and requirements.

2. Ability to deliver the complete service to the required level of quality

3. Previous appropriate experience of the organisation

4. Approach to the implementation and set up period

5. Approach to working in partnership to procure the new service and provide continuous improvement during service delivery

6. NOTIFICATION

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6.1 Following evaluation of the tenders the Client will notify all Tenderers in

writing of the decision on their tender.

6.2 The Client will provide feedback back in writing on the unsuccessful tender if

so requested by the unsuccessful Tenderer.

6.3 Upon formal written acceptance of a Tender by the Client, the successful

Tenderer shall, on request by the Client, execute a formal contract in the form

of the Contract.

7. WARRANTIES AND DISCLAIMERS

7.1 Tenderer’s warranties

In submitting a Tender the Tenderer warrants, represents and undertakes to

the Client that:

it has complied in all respects with this ITT;

all information, representations and other matters of fact

communicated (whether in writing or otherwise) to the Client by the

Tenderer or its employees, agents or advisers in connection with or

arising out of the Tender are true, complete and accurate in all

respects;

it has made its own investigations and research and has satisfied

itself in of all matters relating to this ITT and the Tender Documents;

it has full power and authority to enter into the Contract and provide

the Services and will, if requested, produce evidence of such to the

Client.

7.2 Client’s disclaimer The Tenderer shall have no claim whatsoever against the Client in respect of

its Tender whether or not it is successful. In particular but without limitation,

save as expressly provided for in the Contract, the Client shall not make any

payments to the successful Tenderer and no compensation or remuneration

shall be payable by the Client to the successful Tenderer in respect of the

Services by reason of the scope of the Services being different to that

envisaged by the successful Tenderer or otherwise.

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8. CLARIFICATION AND QUERIES 8.1 There will not be any negotiation of the substantive terms of the Tender

Documents, queries on clarification of the Tender Documents will be

answered.

8.2 All requests for clarification relating to the Tender Documents should be

addressed in writing or by email to the Client’s Representative. No verbal or

telephone enquiries will be accepted

8.3 All queries must be made no later than noon on 23rd May 2014.

8.4 All queries received, together with the answers given, shall be circulated on

an anonymous basis to all Tenderers unless a query is submitted on a

confidential basis.

8.5 Except in so far as may be authorised in writing by the Client’s

Representative, no other person or agent has any authority to make any

representation or explanation to Tenderers as to this ITT or any of the Tender

Documents or as to any other matter so as to bind the Client.

9. CONFIDENTIALITY

This ITT and all information supplied by the Client in connection with this ITT

shall be treated as confidential by Tenderers except that such information

may be disclosed so far as is necessary for the purpose of obtaining sureties,

guarantees, quotations and professional advice necessary for the preparation

and submission of a Tender.

10. TENDER COSTS The Tenderer acknowledges that they are responsible for all and any costs

they may incur in connection with their Tender. The success or otherwise of

the Tender has no impact on this position.

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11. SPECIFICATION

SECTION A

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

1. Introduction

1.1 The British Parking Association (BPA) is a professional association that

represents the parking and traffic management industry and currently has 700

members from both the public and private sectors. The BPA’s role is to

represent its members in the UK and promote their best interests within the

parking and traffic management sector.

1.2 As the recognised leading authority on parking and related issues the BPA

seeks to better serve the needs of its members and the consumer. To

achieve this the BPA has defined four core functions:

I. Setting and raising standards further

II. Supporting the needs of the consumer

III. Developing the regulatory role

IV. Expanding the range of member services

1.3 In order to assist the development of an enforcement structure and

appropriate standards within the private parking side of the industry the BPA

launched its Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) in 2007. The AOS is a

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scheme within the BPA specifically for operators managing private and

unregulated car parks

1.4 The Scheme is supported by a Code of Practice to be adhered to by all AOS

members. The aim was to provide an operational framework for all AOS

members and to ensure that operators who manage parking on private land

conduct their business in a responsible and reasonable manner.

1.5 By introducing a code of practice the BPA aimed to demonstrate to the public

that parking management companies who are members of the AOS:

operate to defined high standards,

are at the forefront of the development of the sector,

are not a rogue clamper or ticketer.

1.6 All operators that request information from the DVLA about vehicle keeper

data whether electronically or by post must either be a member of

an accredited Trade Association (ATA) such as the AOS or be regulated by

government or legislation.

1.7 In August 2010 the Government announced its proposals to ban clamping

and towing away on private land in England and Wales and has published the

Protection of Freedoms Bill which, when it receives Royal Assent, will put the

ban into statute. The Bill is expected to become law on October 6th 2012

1.8 The BPA believes that it is vital that landowners have an effective alternative

means by which they can, through the operators that they employ, manage

the parking on their land. A fundamental step to such an alternative would be

to make the keeper liable for the parking charge if they are either unwilling or

unable to name the driver would make ticketing a more viable and effective

deterrent. Therefore, the BPA lobbied the government to ensure that the Bill

includes a provision for ‘keeper liability’ to be introduced to the private parking

sector.

1.9 The Government declared that they would only introduce the ability to require

‘keeper liability’ within the Freedom Bill if the private parking sector introduces

an Independent Appeals Service (IAS).

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1.10 In order to gain the Keeper Liability protection the BPA launched an IAS

service to coincide with the introduction of the Freedom Act at the beginning

of October 2012.

1.11 The contract to provide an IAS on behalf of the sector was awarded to

London Councils and the service was branded as POPLA. The initial contract

term was 3 years which expires in October 2015.As an overview, the Client

wishes to partner with an organisation to assist them in the procurement of a

new service which will be appointed on 1st April 2015 to commence on 1st

October 2015.

1.12 The setting up and running of POPLA is an important and high level step in

the development of a regulated parking industry within England and Wales.

2.0 Scope of Contract

2.1 The contractor will work with the BPA in procuring a new service provider for

POPLA. It is envisaged that the contractor will provide technical procurement

guidance and appropriate legal support. The Client requires that there should

be a consistent first point of contact for the duration of the contract and that

this person would attend all of the monthly Procurement Project Group

Meetings.

2.2 The value of the POPLA contract is estimated to be in the range of £4-5million

2.3 The contract period will run until the successful tenderer for the provision of

the POPLA service is appointed on April 1st 2015.

3.0 Contract Objectives

3.1 The contractor will be responsible for assisting and guiding the BPA in

procuring a supplier to provide a fully operational independent appeals

service for the private parking within England and Wales.

3.2 As a base, Central Government has indicated that POPLA will be:

Free to the motorist

Paid for by the private parking industry

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Binding on operators

Independent

Available for all tickets issued by a member of an ATA

3.3 In addition, the Client wishes to achieve:

Effective, fair and efficient management of a high quality appeals

service which develops and improves throughout the life of the

contract.

Provision of a service which, in its legal judgements, is both

independent and clearly seen to be independent

A standard and transparent process based on an agreed Code of

Practice

Provision of a service comparable with that offered by the existing

appeals services for parking on regulated land - TPT & PATAS

3.4 The Client requires the contractor to be effective, efficient and innovative

throughout the tenure of the contract and to provide professional, trained staff

to represent the high standards expected by the Client and the public.

3.6 It is incumbent upon the contractor to fully understand throughout the course

of the contract all aspects of appropriate legislation, rules and guidance and

to apply them in the execution of this contract. The legislation and guidance

that enables the contractor to execute the contract includes but is not limited

to:

Appropriate contract law

Appropriate legislation relating to procurement

Knowledge of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services

3.7 The contractor is to have in place and to maintain a quality assurance method

that is measureable and satisfies the criteria of continuous improvement. The

Client has its’ own quality assurance reviews to measure the performance of

the contractor.

3.9. The Client may require an independent audit on request.

4. Statutory and Mandatory Requirements

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4.1. The contractor is to fully comply with all statutory requirements in the delivery

of the service, e.g. Health & Safety requirements. Costs associated with

complying with statutory instruments, statutory obligations (qualification,

licensing, penalties et al) are to be borne by the contractor

4.2. Specifically but not exclusively, the contractor must understand the law as it

relates and affects their operation and delivery of services. Codes of practice,

explanatory notes, advice and guidances are all inclusive in the contractor’s

obligation to satisfy the requirements of standard legal and good practice

requirements including:

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Act (as amended)

Data Protection Act 1998 (as amended)

Equalities Act 2010

4.3 The onus is on the contractor to ensure that all appropriate members of staff

know, understand and comply with all relevant law and guidance. Staff must

be provided with access to all appropriate documentation, handbooks and

other information to allow them to carry out their duties to the required

standards and within the specified timescales.

4.4 Information in this specification is provided for clarification and guidance and

is current at the time of writing. The onus is upon the contractor to adapt and

evolve the service as the references are amended, superseded or become

redundant. The contractor is further obliged to find and comply with legislation

and guidance that may not have been included but is, nevertheless, important

for the compliant delivery of all the services in the contract.

5 Governance

5.1 POPLA is an independent, private legal entity set up initially by the BPA and

its members. This means that the IAS will be independent of the BPA, the

AOS and the motorist.

5.2 The BPA have established a POPLA Procurement Working Group and the

appointed officer of the contractor will be expected to join this group, attend

every meeting and provide professional guidance as appropriate.

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5.4 A small secretariat will be responsible for the administration and operations

side of the organisation, reporting to the board and running the contract with

the appointed officer of the contractor chosen to provide the service.

5.5 It is to be noted that POPLA is different to TPT & PATAS which are set up by

statute

6 Premises and Equipment

6.1 The contractor is responsible for the provision of suitable premises from which

to provide the services. The premises must conform to all regulations,

insurance requirements etc regarding the work place, facilities, security etc.

6.2 It is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the appropriate arrangements

are in place throughout the course of the contract.

6.3 In the event of termination of contract, failure to extend or any other reason

that requires the contractor to vacate their premises before term the Client is

not liable for any commitments (financial or otherwise) undertaken between

the contractor and the landlord.

6.4 Any and all arrangements, contracts and SLAs are a direct relationship

between the contractor and their supplier/s. The Client does not accept any

responsibility, culpability, association for any default by the contractor.

6.5 All intellectual property rights in any material produced during the contract and

in all reports and other documentation, in any form, produced under this

contract shall vest in the Client unless otherwise expressly agreed.

7 Sub-contractors

7.1 Should sub contractors be employed the contractor remains liable and

responsible for all matters of performance and compliance. The contractor is

to submit in advance of employment of a sub-contractor an SLA between the

two companies for approval by the Client. The contractor is to ensure that due

diligence checks have been conducted on any potential sub contractor and be

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satisfied that their record is compatible with the aims and objectives of the

Client.

7.2 The Client reserves the right to refuse permission to use any sub contractor

proposed, and to instruct the contractor to seek an alternative supplier at any

time during the contract.

8. STAFF

8.1 As a general statement, staff are to have the maturity, training and

temperament for this work and the aim will be to have consistency in staff and

a low turnover.

8.2 The contractor shall at all times employ staff who are properly and sufficiently

trained, qualified, competent, careful, skilled, honest and experienced. This

will be in regard to areas such as:

Task or tasks to be performed;

Relevant guidelines and COPs;

All relevant provisions of the contract;

All statutory requirements relevant to the IAS;

The need to maintain the highest standards of courtesy and

consideration.

A good command of English

8.3 In particular, the Contractor agrees:

That where any staffing or skill levels have been agreed as part of the

tender and implementation discussions those levels will be maintained

throughout the Contract;

There will be sufficient reserves of trained and competent staff within

each skill level to have sufficient reserves to cover for staff holidays,

staff sickness, emergencies or any other absence;

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That it will replace promptly any staff who cease to be in its

employment or under its control for whatever reasons and that such

replacements shall have the broadly equivalent skill levels.

8.4 The contractor shall provide the AO with the name, address and telephone

number of the Contract Manager and any other appropriate specialist or

authorised staff.

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APPENDIX A FORM OF TENDER For the provision of Independent Appeal Services (the “Services”). To: British Parking Association (the “Client”)

whose registered office is at

Stuart House

41-43 Perrymount Road

Haywards Heath

West Sussex

RH16 3BN

and whose registered number is 979689 ( …………………………………….) (the “Tenderer”), having received an Invitation to Tender from the

Client wishes to tender to provide the Services subject to the terms and conditions set out in

the Invitation to Tender, the Contract, the Specification and the Target Cost Schedule.

1. CONSIDERATION OF THE TENDER

1.1 The Tenderer understands that the Client is not bound to accept this or any Tender.

1.2 The Tenderer understands that the insertion to this tender such as any conditions

qualifying this Tender or any unauthorised alteration to any of the Tender Documents

may cause the Tender to be rejected and confirms that the they have not inserted

any conditions qualifying this Tender or made any unauthorised alteration to any of

the Tender Documents.

1.3 The Tenderer confirms that the terms of this Tender have not been adjusted in

accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any other person or company.

1.4 The Tenderer agrees that this Tender shall remain open to be accepted or rejected

by the Client and shall not be withdrawn for a period of three months from the date for

return of Tenders as set out in the Invitation to Tender.

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2. TUPE

2.1 The Tenderer confirms that it has taken legal advice on the application of the Transfer

of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, as amended

(“TUPE”).

2.2 The Tenderer further confirms that, in its view, TUPE is not likely to apply to the

Contract

3. THE CONTRACT

3.1 In the event that the Tender is successful, the Tenderer undertakes to execute the

Contract as soon as possible when required to do so by the Client

4. CONFIDENTIALITY

4.1 The Tenderer confirms that the details of this Tender have not been passed on to any

person, except as authorised in the Invitation to Tender.

5. COSTS

5.1 The Tenderer agrees that the Client will not pay or be liable for any expenses or

costs incurred by the Tenderer in connection with the preparation and submission of

this Tender.

Signed by the Tenderer’s authorised representative

…………………………………….

Name:

Position:

Address:

Telephone number:

Fax number:

Email address:

Date:

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APPENDIX B CERTIFICATE OF CONFIDENTIALITY, NON-COLLUSION AND NON-CANVASSING

1. UNDERTAKINGS

As part of this tender submission the Tenderer for the provision of an Independent Appeals

Service undertakes to accept:

1.1 the confidentiality restrictions on information provided to the Tenderer set out in

paragraph 9 of the Invitation to Tender;

1.2 the warranties and disclaimers set out paragraph 7 of the Invitation to Tender

1.3 all usual conditions of non-collusion and non-canvassing in relation to tender

submissions and specifically those in paragraph 4 of the Invitation to Tender.

2. APPLICATION

2.1 The Tenderer accepts that the undertakings set out in paragraph 1 above apply to

all parties within its consortium and its constituent companies, advisers, potential

sub-service providers and any other person or body involved in the procurement

process.

2.2 The Tenderer undertakes to ensure that all of the persons and bodies mentioned in

paragraph 2.1 are aware of the restrictions in paragraph 1 and comply with them.

3. BREACH

3.1 The Tenderer understands that a breach of the conditions set out in paragraph 1

and paragraph 2 above may result in the Client excluding it from the procurement

process.

Signed by the Tenderer’s authorised representative

……………………………………………

Name:

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Position: Date: