Further to decision record number 2021 – 00270567 please see below updated decision to reflect concerns raised during the Alcatel period.
Attendance on an NDORS Scheme is offered to members of the public (the Client) who would benefit from attending a driver education course, following Police intervention. The Client may be offered the opportunity to attend a course, often as a voluntary alternative to their offence being dealt with through the Criminal Justice System. The Scheme provides the Client with relevant re-training to enable them to improve their attitudes, driving skills and road awareness with the outcome of improving road safety.
On 1st September 2014 a joint procurement exercise, led by Durham Police Procurement, was undertaken to identify one supplier to provide NDORS courses required for the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner for Cleveland (OPCC) and the Office of the Durham Police Crime and Victims’ Commissioner (ODPCVC) across the counties of Cleveland, Durham and the Borough of Darlington. This contract was awarded to Hartlepool Borough Council for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for a further 2 years.
As a result of internal reviews on service delivery and subsequently the Covid-19 Pandemic, the current contract was extended to 31st March 2021 to enable a full and competitive tender process to be carried out.
A decision was made to ensure continuity of service to award the new contract for a period of 5 years with a further 2-year extension available.
In addition to a number of mandatory pass/fail questions such as mandatory/discretionary exclusion/financial viability/ Insurance etc., the evaluation criterion was 80% Quality and Service Delivery and 20% Price. Although in the current financial climate price is a key factor, it was felt that a quality service particularly in relation to Clients re-training and road safety was procured.
During Alcatel one of the bidders brought to our attention the natural advantage another bidder had as a result of them being VAT Exempt. This advantage affected the total cost being offered to the Client.
Advice was taken on the best way to approach this and a decision was made to provide all bidders with the opportunity to resubmit pricing in the knowledge that one Bidder had this advantage.
Two Bidders resubmitted pricing. Bidder 2 took this opportunity to reduce the cost of the courses by £1.