Reducing Reoffending - Will you make the cut? (Part 2)

Following our initial review of the MoJ's Transforming Rehabilitation procurement, this article sets out the high level considerations for Tier 1 providers hoping to pass the initial Pre-Qualification stage.

Question 1: Selecting Lots?

The key starting point for any Potential Bidder is deciding which Lots to register an interest in. This is important for 2 reasons:

1. Funding Requirement

Potential Bidders must demonstrate access to funding equivalent to 50% of the annual contract value of any one lot they wish to bid for. It is sufficient for this calculation to be assessed on a 'per lot' basis at this stage however at Final Bid stage, Bidders will only be awarded contracts for one or more lots up to this total combined annual contract value.

I.e. Where Potential Bidders have demonstrated access to £10m funding, they will only be able to win £20m worth of contracts; whether for 1 lot or across multiple lots.

2. Market Share Restriction

Each individual consortia and, where relevant, individual supplier forming part of multiple consortia will be restricted to a maximum of 25% of market share based on the indicative contract values set out Annex C of the Target Operating Model.

Therefore, Potential Bidders are advised to carry out this analysis up front in order to provide a realistic, viable proposal.

Question 2: Satisfying the Evaluation Criteria

The remaining requirements in the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) can then be divided into three categories:

• Not Scored

Potential Bidders must set out how their bidding entity will be organised including its membership, ownership and a brief history. It is important that this is thoroughly thought through at this initial stage as any subsequent changes will be subject to approval by the MoJ.

• Pass / Fail

The PQQ sections covering Economic and Financial Standing and Compliance each contain elements that will be assessed on a basis whereby any failure by Potential Bidders to provide the required information will prevent them from progressing onto the next stage.

• 80% Threshold

The Qualitative section of the PQQ is divided into 4 key areas with each area having weighted sub-categories. By setting an acceptability threshold of 80%, the MoJ believes the PQQ will enable the maximum participation in the competition whilst ensuring that only Potential Bidders who have the capability and capacity to deliver the services are taken through to ITN stage.

Deadline for submission of the PQQ is noon on 31st October 2013.