The Litmus Partnership: Northern College ~ Catering Tender

UK-South Yorkshire: School catering services.
Section I: Contracting Authority
      I.1) Name and addresses
             Northern College
             Wentworth Castle, Stainborough, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S75 3ET, United Kingdom
             Tel. +44 1276673880, Email: tenders@litmuspartnership.co.uk
             Main Address: https://www.northern.ac.uk/
             NUTS Code: UKE3
      I.2) Joint procurement
      The contract involves joint procurement: No.
      In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law: Not provided       
      The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No.
      I.3) Communication
      The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/G92HDZ7U65
      Additional information can be obtained from: the abovementioned address
      Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to the abovementioned address       
      Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at: Not provided
      I.4) Type of the contracting authority
            Body governed by public law
      I.5) Main activity
            Education

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
      II.1.1) Title: Northern College ~ Catering Tender       
      Reference Number: Not provided
      II.1.2) Main CPV Code:
      55524000 - School catering services.

      II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
      II.1.4) Short description: The successful Supplier will be required to provide catering services for Northern College       
      II.1.5) Estimated total value:
      Value excluding VAT: 1,350,000       
      Currency: GBP
      II.1.6) Information about lots:
      This contract is divided into lots: No       
   
II.2) Description
      
      II.2.2) Additional CPV codes:
      Not Provided       
      II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UKE3 South Yorkshire
      
      II.2.4) Description of procurement: The Requirement
The successful Supplier will be required to provide catering services for Northern College.
The catering service provision is currently managed by the Thomas Franks on a 5 year contract which expires at the end of December 2024. To ensure that best value principles are applied the Governors and Senior Leaders of the College have decided to tender the catering services.
Northern College is the only residential college for adults to re-enter education, gain employment or to make career change through immersive residential learning and specialist support.
The catering service provides breakfast, lunch and supper service for, Monday-Friday, 48 weeks, and a limited service for up to 11 weekends per year
In 2023-24 Catering costs was around £270k
Objectives
We want our catering company to offer a high quality service to all our students, staff and visitors that matches the educational experience they receive on a daily basis all of the essential abilities and skills to provide an outstanding catering service to our students, staff and visitors at our College.
You should have the knowledge of how to provide exceptional dining experiences in Colleges, manage staff and the whole catering function.
Providing a high quality and reliable catering service has a major effect on the whole learning experience for all our students, staff and visitors and this is why the College is passionate about having very high quality catering facilities, with excellent food choices which are nutritionally balanced for everyone. Having excellent customer care, the caterer should be polite, diplomatic and thoughtful while dealing with all our students, staff and visitors.
We are looking for a refreshing and innovative approach that reflects, amongst other things, the changing profile of student life and their food preferences and types and preferred styles of dining including a wide range of vegan and vegetarian options which is very popular with our student body.
It’s essential to the college that the contractors bidding for this tender think broadly about all issues and not just the core catering service to compete and be successful in obtaining the contract of the college. We would like the contractors to always be on the lookout for new ways of doing things, coming up with new solutions for many common problems such as how you have dealt with the cost of living crisis in managing price increases
Contractors are requested to ensure they consider all the aspects of service delivery and think carefully about the catering requirements.
The College already knows that the successful provision of catering services is very much dependent on the development of a good working relationship between the Client of a facility and the contractor’s catering manager and catering team on site. The contractor is expected to use its best endeavours to cultivate such a relationship to benefit the smooth running of each establishment.
Key factors for the College are:
•A service that offers a light breakfast, light lunch and a cooked evening meal
•A model which is cost effective with high quality service and flexibility (to cover weekends as well as extended hours)
•A suitable and workable staffing structure to ensure that sufficient catering services will be provided every day.
•Flexibility of service delivery.
•What cover arrangements will be applied when inevitably some staff are off with illness.
•Management involvement.
•Monitoring of standards and service delivery.
•Availability and responsiveness of Management to any issues raised.
•Ability to provide hospitality for events and meetings outside of core working hours. With a clear cost structure.

The new contract will commence on 1 January 2025, for an initial 3 year term with the option of additional 2 x 1 year extensions.
For the avoidance of doubt, TUPE Regulations will apply to this contract.

Please see SQ Document for more information.
      II.2.5) Award criteria:
            Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents            
      II.2.6) Estimated value:
      Value excluding VAT: 1,350,000       
      Currency: GBP       
      II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system:
      Start: 01/01/2025 / End: 31/12/2029       
      This contract is subject to renewal: No       
      Description of renewals: Not provided
      II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited:
             Envisaged minimum number: 5
            / Maximum number: 10       
      Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: A minimum of 5 suppliers and a maximum of 10 suppliers will be taken forward to the tender stage of the process. Where less than 5 suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the tender stage. Where more than 5 suppliers meet the minimum standard, those suppliers with the highest scores will proceed to the tender stage.
      II.2.10) Information about variants:
      Variants will be accepted: Yes
      II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:       No             
      Description of options: Not provided
      II.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues:
      Tenders must be presented in the form of electronic catalogues or include an electronic catalogue: No
      II.2.13) Information about European Union funds:
      The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No       
      Identification of the project: Not provided             
      II.2.14) Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/G92HDZ7U65       


Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1) Conditions for participation
      III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
      List and brief description of conditions:          
      Not Provided       
      III.1.2) Economic and financial standing          
      Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents       
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided    
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :       
      Not Provided    
      III.1.3) Technical and professional ability    
      Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
      List and brief description of selection criteria:       
      Not Provided      
      Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required (if applicable) :          
      Not Provided   
      III.1.5) Information about reserved contracts (if applicable)   
      The contract is reserved to sheltered workshops and economic operators aiming at the social and professional integration of disabled or disadvantaged persons: No       
      The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes: No    
      
   III.2) Conditions related to the contract
      III.2.1) Information about a particular profession    
      Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision:          
      Not Provided    
      III.2.2) Contract performance conditions          
      Not Provided          
      III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
      Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract: No

Section IV: Procedure
   IV.1) Description RESTRICTED
      IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Restricted   
   
   IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system    
         The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement - NO        
         The procurement involves the setting up of a dynamic purchasing system - NO    
         In the case of framework agreements justification for any duration exceeding 4 years: Not Provided    
   
   
   IV.1.6) Information about electronic auction:
      An electronic auction will be used: No
      Additional information about electronic auction: Not provided
   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
      The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes       
   IV.2) Administrative information
      IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure:
         Notice number in the OJ S: Not provided       
      IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
       Date: 05/07/2024 Time: 12:00
      IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates: 29/07/2024       
      IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: English,       
      IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender: Not Provided      
      

Section VI: Complementary Information
   VI.1) Information about recurrence
   This is a recurrent procurement: No    
   Estimated timing for further notices to be published: Not provided
   VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
   Electronic ordering will be used Yes       
   Electronic invoicing will be accepted Yes       
   Electronic payment will be used Yes       
   VI.3) Additional Information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.

It will be the supplier's responsibility to obtain any necessary documents in order to submit a response by the closing date and time.

The contracting authority reserves the right not to award any or part of the contract which is the subject of this contract notice and reserves the right to terminate the procurement process at any time.

The contracting authority will not be liable for any costs incurred by those expressing an interest in tendering for this contract opportunity.

The contracting authority will consider variant bids, evaluating them (so far as the variant or the evaluation of the variant is in the opinion of the contracting authority practicable) on the same basis as a conforming bid, but shall not be obliged to accept any such bid in preference to a conforming bid even if the variant bid scores more highly. No variant will be considered unless the bidder simultaneously submits a conforming bid.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
https://litmustms.co.uk/tenders/UK-UK-South-Yorkshire:-School-catering-services./G92HDZ7U65

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/G92HDZ7U65
   VI.4) Procedures for review
   VI.4.1) Review body:
             Northern College
       Wentworth Castle, Stainborough, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S75 3ET, United Kingdom
   VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures:
Not provided
   VI.4.3) Review procedure
   Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:    
    Not Provided    
   VI.4.4) Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained:
Not provided
   VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 31/05/2024

Annex A