SPECTRUM HOUSING GROUP

NATIONAL MATERIALS FRAMEWORK

TENDER INFORMATION

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Contents

1. ORGANISATION INFORMATION ___________________________________________________________ 3

2. FRAMEWORK INFORMATION _____________________________________________________________ 3

3. LOT INFORMATION______________________________________________________________________ 5

4. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF FRAMEWORK __________________________________________________ 6

5. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF TENDER ______________________________________________________ 6

6. DATES ________________________________________________________________________________ 9

7. TENDER EVALUATION ___________________________________________________________________ 9

8. SELECTION CRITERIA ____________________________________________________________________ 10

9. AWARD CRITERIA ______________________________________________________________________ 16

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1. Organisation information Spectrum Housing Group is a non-profit organisation, formed in 2007. We own and manage

approximately 18,000 homes and maintain a further 45,000 across the South of England through

Spectrum Property Care. We work in partnership with local authorities, health trusts, statutory bodies,

a range of voluntary organisations and higher education establishments to create safe, sustainable

communities.

As a Group we provide a wide range of homes, both for rent and sale:

Homes to rent (through referrals (e.g. from local authorities)

Student accommodation

Key Worker accommodation

Supported housing

Independent accommodation

Shared ownership homes (through our Get-Move-In team)

New homes for sale on the open market (through Spectrum Premier Homes)

A foyer for young adults (via Foyer for the Island on the Isle of Wight)

As well as providing houses we deliver all of the services our customers need to live in their home.

This includes:

Repairs and maintenance

Home improvements

Benefits advice and help with money

Neighbourhood services

Dealing with anti-social behaviour

Specialist support at Independent Living schemes

Specialist support at Supported Housing schemes

Community development

We also provide the following services to external companies:

Property maintenance (through Spectrum Property Care)

Training courses

Conference facilities

Development agency services and access to our contractor and consultant frameworks through

Source Development Partnership

2. Framework information This tender is being undertaken as an open procedure, as detailed in Regulation 27 of the UK

statutory instrument Public Contracts Regulations 2015/102.

Spectrum Housing Group (“Spectrum”) invites tenders for suppliers of building materials and other

components (“Suppliers”) to participate in a 48 month framework agreement (‘the Agreement’) for the

supply of building materials and associated services. The Agreement will be used by Spectrum and all

parts of the Group both current and future, including the development subsidiary Spectrum Premier

Homes.

The estimated value of expenditure through the proposed Agreement during the 48 month period is

between £50,000,000 and £150,000,000 excluding VAT. Any estimate of framework turnover is stated

for information purposes only, no commitment or guarantee is given and should not be implied.

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This Agreement may be accessed by all other Registered Providers of Social Housing within England,

Scotland and Wales, lists of which may be found here:

England:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/current-registered-providers-of-social-housing

Scotland:http://www.esystems.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/reports/rwservlet?reg2&report=reg2_r

sl_directory.rdf&p_search_id=-1942626646

Wales:http://gov.wales/topics/housing-and-regeneration/publications/registered-social-landlords-in-

wales/?lang=en

The Agreement is accessible by all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, a list of which

may be found here:

http://local.direct.gov.uk/Data/ (Download Local Authority Contact Details – right-click ‘save target as’)

The following links provide an opportunity to search for local authorities in England, with further links

to search for local authorities in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland:

http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/Start.do?mode=1

http://www.cosla.gov.uk/scottish-local-government

http://gov.wales/topics/localgovernment/unitary-authorities/?lang=en

The Agreement may also be used by all other contracting authorities within England, Scotland and

Wales including but not limited to the following definable groups of contracting authorities:

http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/search.xhtml?page http://www.schoolswebdirectory.co.uk/stats.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_the_United_Kingdom#universities_alphabetically http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_law_enforcement_agencies_in_the_United_Kingdom http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/showcharity/registerofcharities/registerhomepage.aspx?&=& http://www.accessplace.com/housing-association https://www.housingnet.co.uk/search/advanceSearch/ http://www.wales.gov.uk/?lang=en http://www.llgc.org.uk/ http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/az2.htm http://www.police-information.co.uk/police-directory/index.php?cat=6&subcat=29 http://www.fireservice.co.uk/information/ukfrs http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/about/citizens_advice_offices.htm http://www.sporta.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=categories&id=14&Itemid=140 http://www.wales.nhs.uk/ourservices/directory http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/PrimaryCareTrustListing.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/MentalHealthTrustListing.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/CareTrustListing.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/StrategicHealthAuthorityListing.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/SpecialHealthAuthorityListing.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/OtherListing.aspx http://www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk/about-nhs-foundation-trusts/nhs-foundation-trust-directory?letter=AllFT http://www.ada.org.uk/idb_members_all.html

http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/locations/index.asp http://home.scotland.gov.uk/home http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/organisations/index.aspx

The Agreement is also available to all current and future members of The Procurement Partnership

Limited’s (TPPL) buying club. A list of members of TPPL can be obtained from

http://www.tppl.co.uk/about-us/our-members/. TPPL is a specialist provider of procurement services to

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the UK public sector. TPPL will manage this framework on behalf of Spectrum and will be responsible

for delivering mini-competitions on behalf of Contracting Authorities placing Call-Off Contracts.

3. Lot information A maximum of 37 economic operators can be awarded a position on this Agreement. The breakdown

of number of positions by Lot is provided below. Where a range of Suppliers is stated (Lots 1-3) the

maximum level (i.e. 8 suppliers) will be appointed to the framework. This is unless Spectrum identify a

significant variation or break (e.g. 20%) in the evaluation scores achieved for submissions ranked

between 5th and 8th place. Further information is provided in the Tender Evaluation section.

Suppliers per Lot

Lot Envisaged Suppliers

1. All Materials (including general materials) 5 - 8

2. Plumbing, Heating and Gas spares 5 - 8

3. Electrical Materials 5 - 8

4. Kitchens 8

5. Aids, Adaptations and Healthcare 5

Further information regarding the lots is provided below. The lists of product categories provided

within each Lot are not exhaustive.

Lot 1: All Materials (including general materials)

All building materials available from general building merchants on a collection or delivery basis

including but not limited to: lightside, heavyside, civils, streetscene, drainage, plumbing, heating, gas

spares, electrical, kitchen components, renewable energy products, grounds maintenance products,

roofing, timber, ironmongery, all paints/solvents, all flooring, tools and equipment, including personal

protective equipment. This lot is to be used for managed/dedicated stores services, standard counter

services and/or where contracting authorities do not wish to use a range of trade specialist merchants.

Contracting Authorities can under mini-competition agree non-standard cost models including but not

limited to return on sales/open-book.

Lot 2: Plumbing, Heating and Gas Spares

Primarily for merchants/distributors supplying on a collection or delivery basis: plumbing, heating and

gas spares with ranges including, ventilation and boilers, bathroom sanitary ware and fittings, copper

fittings, brassware (bathroom and kitchen), plastic plumbing, drainage and waste, commercial

plumbing and renewable energy products, plumbing sundries and accessories. Contracting

Authorities can under mini-competition agree non-standard cost models including but not limited to

return on sales/open-book.

Lot 3: Electrical Materials

Primarily for merchants/distributors supplying on a collection or delivery basis: wiring and accessories,

sockets, lighting, distribution equipment and cable management, data networking, test and detection,

cables, electrical control, fire detection and security systems, renewable energy products, heating and

cooling and mobile lighting. Contracting Authorities can under mini-competition agree non-standard

cost models including but not limited to return on sales/open-book.

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Lot 4: Kitchens

Primarily for merchants/distributors supplying on a collection or delivery basis: kitchen components,

including but not limited to base/wall carcase, door fronts, brassware/sinks, appliances, worktops,

plinth, and all other relevant components and accessories. Contracting Authorities can under mini-

competition agree non-standard cost models including but not limited to return on sales/open-book.

Lot 5: Aids, Adaptations and other healthcare items

Primarily for suppliers/distributors providing on a collection or delivery basis accessibility and

healthcare products including, but not limited to: grab rails, mobility ramps, wet room products,

showers, shower enclosures, kitchens. Contracting Authorities can under mini-competition agree non-

standard cost models including but not limited to return on sales/open-book.

Other products and services (such as renewable energy products) that are related to the nature of this

Agreement can be supplied across the different Lot(s) if the supplier within that Lot holds the product

within their standard range. Spectrum is willing to consider submissions from suitable Suppliers that

provide all, or a combination of the above Lots.

Under local call-off contracts individual contracting authorities may require the price terms and

services set to be made available to their strategic partners and/or supply-chains (such as

contractors). This is an option under this Agreement for contracting authorities to consider as

appropriate to their needs. However, participating Suppliers retain full flexibility to decline to supply

goods and services to any organisation they understand to represent either competition or an ongoing

credit risk.

4. Terms and conditions of framework The Agreement applicable to the proposed Framework is provided at Appendix A.

5. Terms and conditions of tender Suppliers agree that a submitted tender is in acceptance of all of the following conditions and in

accordance with any instructions given. Tenders not complying with any instructions within this

section (5) may be rejected for non-compliance at the discretion of Spectrum.

5.1. It is expected that individual Contracting Authorities will set Call-Off Contract terms and

core ranges specific to their requirements when conducting mini-competitions.

5.1.1. Tendered prices should be held open for acceptance for a period of no less than 3

months.

5.1.2. Following acceptance, pricing will be fixed for a further 12 months from framework

commencement wherein the methodology for price increases detailed within clause

11 of the Framework Agreement (Appendix A) will be adhered to.

5.2. Cost submissions for this tender should represent pricing for your organisation’s standard

approach to provided materials to your customers.

5.3. Cost submissions from successful merchants will represent the core range(s) of pricing for

the framework lots that can be accessed on a direct award basis by Contracting

Authorities.

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5.4. Costs and prices submitted must be exclusive of VAT. Prices quoted in the tender and

under any mini-competition shall be deemed to include all taxes (except VAT) duties,

insurance premiums, guarantees or other costs and commissions associated with the

provision and delivery of the products and services (where applicable).

5.5. Cost submissions are to be made in UK Sterling only and all prices, rates and costs

submitted must be exclusive of VAT.

5.6. Contracting authorities may choose to conduct ‘eAuctions’ as part of their mini-competition

process.

5.7. Tenders submissions are to be completed and submitted online via the Delta-eSourcing

tender portal https://www.delta-esourcing.com/.

5.8. Any technical difficulties accessing the Delta system should be reported to the Delta eSourcing

Helpdesk on +44 845 270 7050 or by email to helpdesk@delta-esourcing.com

5.9. The Delta system is to be used for all communication. Spectrum and TPPL will not be

responsible for contacting your company through any route other than via the Delta

platform.

5.10. Requests for clarification are to be received no later than the deadline stated within section

6. Queries received after this time and date will not be accepted and will not be responded

to. No approach of any kind in connection with this tender should be made to any other

person within, or associated with, Spectrum and its agents.

5.10.1. If any question or request for clarification is considered to be of material significance,

both the question and the response will be available for review by all potential

Suppliers on the Delta platform in an anonymous form. All communications received

from Suppliers will be treated in strictest confidence but are subject to this clause and

clause 5.22.

5.11. Suppliers must adhere to any word or character limits stated. Responses exceeding a

stated limit may be deemed non-compliant and scored zero by Spectrum.

5.12. All questions within this tender require a response, even where the response is simply “not

applicable”.

5.13. Failure to complete the tender in full or to provide any documentation requested may result

in your application being rejected.

5.14. At the time of tender it is the responsibility of all Suppliers to have satisfied themselves as

to the scope and content of the work required. Spectrum takes no responsibility for errors,

omissions and/or inaccurate statements within the tender information provided.

5.15. Spectrum reserve the right to clarify answers made by Suppliers in their submissions. Any

such requests will be made via the Delta system.

5.16. Links to websites, general marketing information or excerpts from standard

policy/corporate documentation are not suitable responses to questions. Any information

of this nature submitted, unless specifically requested as part of a question, will not be

evaluated.

5.17. Spectrum reserves the right at any time to:-

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5.17.1. Reject any submission that is not complete. Spectrum may also reject submissions

that fail to comply with any element of this tender or any amended/supplemental

document issued in conjunction with this tender;

5.17.2. adjust the procurement process laid out in this documentation, including:

5.17.2.1. changes to the timetable;

5.17.2.2. evaluation requirements;

5.17.2.3. the content of any Contract or Agreement documentation.

5.17.3. choose to cancel this tender and process at any time, thereby not enter into any

agreement.

5.18. The following phrases and/or expressions are used throughout this documentation:

5.18.1. Company;

5.18.2. Supplier;

5.18.3. Organisation;

5.18.4. Bidder;

In all cases these references should be considered to refer to the organisation bidding

upon this tender.

5.19. No publicity is to be issued by Suppliers regarding this tender process.

5.20. The issue of this ITT in no way commits Spectrum to award any contract or agreement.

5.21. It is unacceptable for Suppliers to engage in any activity that might lead to a breach of the

Bribery Act 2010. Therefore all Suppliers shall:-

5.21.1. Comply fully with the requirements of the Bribery Act 2010;

5.21.2. Not engage in any activity, practice or conduct which would be an offence under any

section of the Bribery Act 2010;

5.21.3. Have and maintain during the full term of the proposed Agreement policies and

measures to ensure compliance with the Bribery Act 2010.

5.22. The contents of this tender are being made available by Spectrum on condition that:

5.22.1. The information provided, including any and all further communications issued, are

treated as confidential at all times.

5.22.2. Information provided shall not be used by Suppliers for any other purpose than to

prepare and submit a tender.

5.22.3. Information is not to be shared or reproduced by Suppliers other than where the

purpose is the provision of information to advisors, sub-contractors and/or other

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persons. This is provided that the reason for such distribution is to assist in the

preparation of suitable submission;

5.22.3.1. In circumstances where information is to be shared, written permission must

be sought from Spectrum prior to the sharing of tender information;

5.22.4. Information may be shared by a Supplier where there is a legal obligation to do so, or

for the purpose of obtaining legal advice regarding this tender and/or agreements

arising from this tender.

6. Dates The following dates are the envisaged timetable for this procurement. Dates are provided for

information purposes only and Spectrum reserves the right to amend/adjust these dates as

necessary.

6.1. Contract Notice and Invitation to Tender issued on the 23rd of October 2015.

6.2. Deadline for queries/clarifications regarding the tender documentation is 5pm on the 13th

of November 2015.

6.3. Deadline for submissions is 12noon on the 23rd of November 2015.

6.4. Notifications of intent to award are scheduled to be issued on 18th of December 2015

6.5. Estimated Agreement Commencement is the 7th of January 2016

7. Tender evaluation This tender includes Selection and Award Criteria. Selection Criteria will be assessed first, with

submissions that do not meet required minimum standards being rejected.

Submissions that meet and exceed the Selection Criteria will be evaluated in compliance with the

stated Award Criteria (including cost submissions).

Following assessment of submissions against the Award Criteria positions on the proposed

Agreement will be offered based upon the scores achieved against the Award criteria. Positions will

be offered on a Lot by Lot basis in accordance with the numbers stated in section 3 “Lot Information”.

For Lots 1 to 3 only. Where a range of suppliers is stated, the maximum level (i.e. 8) will be appointed

to the framework. This is unless Spectrum identifies a significant variation or break (e.g. 20%) in the

evaluation scores achieved for submissions ranked between 5th and 8th following application of the

award criteria. For Lots where a significant variation is identified in the evaluation scores achieved

Spectrum reserve the right to award positions on this Agreement to fewer than the maximum number

of Suppliers, but no less than the minimum number identified in the range for that specific lot.

This procedure uses the standard Selection Criteria defined by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS)

standardised Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) template. This is required under the Public

Contracts Regulation 2015 #102. Any references to “PQQ” within this section are in reference to the

standard Selection Criteria.

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8. Selection criteria Sections that have been classified as Selection Criteria are to enable Spectrum to assess the

suitability of a Supplier to deliver the Agreement and contract requirement(s). If you are successful at

this stage of the ITT, your bid will assessed against the Award Criteria.

The following guidance on the Selection Criteria elements of this tender is provided from the CCS

template documentation with additional information provided on how your responses will be assessed.

1. “Spectrum” means the contracting authority, or anyone acting on behalf of the contracting authority,

that is seeking to invite suitable Suppliers to participate in this procurement process. In this process

Spectrum is Spectrum Housing Group.

2. “You”/“Your” or “Supplier” means the body completing these questions i.e. the legal entity seeking

to be awarded a place on the envisaged Agreement and responsible for the information

provided. The ‘Supplier’ is intended to cover any economic operator as defined by the Public

Contracts Regulations 2015 and could be a registered company; charitable organisation; Voluntary

Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE); Special Purpose Vehicle; or other form of entity.

3. This PQQ has been designed to assess the suitability of a Supplier to deliver Spectrum’s

Agreement and contract requirement(s).

4. Please ensure that all questions are completed in full, and in the format requested. Failure to do so

may result in your submission being disqualified. If the question does not apply to you, please state

clearly ‘N/A’.

5. Should you need to provide additional Appendices in response to the questions, these should be

numbered clearly and listed as part of your declaration.

6. Please submit your responses to the Selection Criteria questions online via Delta as part of your

submission for this tender.

Verification of Information Provided

7. Whilst reserving the right to request information at any time throughout the procurement process,

Spectrum may enable the Supplier to self-certify that there are no mandatory/ discretionary grounds

for excluding their organisation. When requesting evidence that the Supplier can meet the specified

requirements (such as the questions in section 7 of this PQQ relating to Technical and Professional

Ability) Spectrum may only obtain such evidence after the final tender evaluation decision i.e. from the

winning Supplier only.

Sub-contracting arrangements

8. Where the Supplier proposes to use one or more sub-contractors to deliver some or all of the

contract requirements, a separate Appendix should be used to provide details of the proposed bidding

model that includes members of the supply chain, the percentage of work being delivered by each

sub-contractor and the key contract deliverables each sub-contractor will be responsible for.

9. Spectrum recognises that arrangements in relation to sub-contracting may be subject to future

change, and may not be finalised until a later date. However, Suppliers should be aware that where

information provided to Spectrum indicates that sub-contractors are to play a significant role in

delivering key contract requirements, any changes to those sub-contracting arrangements may affect

the ability of the Supplier to proceed with the procurement process or to provide the supplies and/or

services required. Suppliers should therefore notify Spectrum immediately of any change in the

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proposed sub-contractor arrangements. Spectrum reserves the right to deselect the Supplier prior to

any award of contract, based on an assessment of the updated information.

Consortia arrangements

10. If the Supplier completing this PQQ is doing so as part of a proposed consortium, the following

information must be provided;

names of all consortium members;

the lead member of the consortium who will be contractually responsible for delivery of the

contract (if a separate legal entity is not being created); and

if the consortium is not proposing to form a legal entity, full details of proposed arrangements

within a separate Appendix.

11. Please note that Spectrum may require the consortium to assume a specific legal form if awarded

the contract, to the extent that a specific legal form is deemed by Spectrum as being necessary for the

satisfactory performance of the contract.

12. All members of the consortium will be required to provide the information required in all sections of

the PQQ as part of a single composite response to Spectrum i.e. each member of the consortium is

required to complete the form.

13. Where you are proposing to create a separate legal entity, such as a Special Purpose Vehicle

(SPV), you should provide details of the actual or proposed percentage shareholding of the

constituent members within the new legal entity in a separate Appendix.

14. Spectrum recognises that arrangements in relation to a consortium bid may be subject to future

change. Suppliers should therefore respond on the basis of the arrangements as currently envisaged.

Suppliers are reminded that Spectrum must be immediately notified of any changes, or proposed

changes, in relation to the bidding model so that a further assessment can be carried out by applying

the Selection Criteria to the new information provided. Spectrum reserves the right to deselect the

Supplier prior to any award of contract, based on an assessment of the updated information.

Confidentiality

15. When providing details of contracts in answering section 6 of this PQQ (Technical and

Professional Ability), the Supplier agrees to waive any contractual or other confidentiality rights and

obligations associated with these contracts.

16. Spectrum reserves the right to contact the named customer contact in section 6 regarding the

contracts included in section 6. The named customer contact does not owe Spectrum any duty of care

or have any legal liability, except for any deceitful or maliciously false statements of fact.

17. Spectrum confirms that it will keep confidential and will not disclose to any third parties any

information obtained from a named customer contact, other than to the Cabinet Office and/or

contracting authorities defined by the Public Contracts Regulations.

Evaluation

Responses to Selection Criteria will be evaluated and assessed on the following basis.

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1. Supplier information

This section is to gather the necessary details to understand the nature of the organisation and legal

entity participating in the procurement exercise, and the composition of their supply chain. This

section is for information only however a Supplier may be excluded if the document is not completed

in full or false information has been provided.

2. Grounds for mandatory exclusion

2.1 You will be excluded from the procurement process if there is evidence of convictions relating to

specific criminal offences including, but not limited to, bribery, corruption, conspiracy, terrorism, fraud

and money laundering, or if you have been the subject of a binding legal decision which found a

breach of legal obligations to pay tax or social security obligations (except where this is

disproportionate e.g. only minor amounts involved).

If you have answered “yes” to question 2.2 on the non-payment of taxes or social security

contributions, and have not paid or entered into a binding arrangement to pay the full amount, you

may still avoid exclusion if only minor tax or social security contributions are unpaid or if you have not

yet had time to fulfil your obligations since learning of the exact amount due. If your organisation is in

that position please provide details using a separate Appendix. You may contact Spectrum for advice

before completing this form.

3. Grounds for discretionary exclusion – Part 1

Spectrum may exclude any Supplier who answers ‘Yes’ in any of the following situations set out in

paragraphs (a) to (i);

Conflicts of interest: In accordance with question 3.1 (e), Spectrum may exclude the Supplier if

there is a conflict of interest which cannot be effectively remedied. The concept of a conflict of interest

includes any situation where relevant staff members have, directly or indirectly, a financial, economic

or other personal interest which might be perceived to compromise their impartiality and

independence in the context of the procurement procedure.

Where there is any indication that a conflict of interest exists or may arise then it is the responsibility

of the Supplier to inform Spectrum, detailing the conflict in a separate Appendix. Provided that it has

been carried out in a transparent manner, routine pre-market engagement carried out by Spectrum

should not represent a conflict of interest for the Supplier.

Taking Account of Bidders’ Past Performance: In accordance with question (g), Spectrum may

assess the past performance of a Supplier (through a Certificate of Performance provided by a

customer or other means of evidence). Spectrum may take into account any failure to discharge

obligations under the previous principal relevant contracts of the Supplier completing this PQQ.

Spectrum may also assess whether specified minimum standards for reliability for such contracts are

met.

In addition, Spectrum may re-assess reliability based on past performance at key stages in the

procurement process (i.e. Supplier selection, tender evaluation, contract award stage etc.). Suppliers

may also be asked to update the evidence they provide in this section to reflect more recent

performance on new or existing contracts (or to confirm that nothing has changed).

‘Self-cleaning’

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Any Supplier that answers ‘Yes’ to questions 2.1, 2.2 and 3.1 should provide sufficient evidence, in a

separate Appendix, that provides a summary of the circumstances and any remedial action that has

taken place subsequently and effectively “self-cleans” the situation referred to in that question. The

Supplier has to demonstrate it has taken such remedial action, to the satisfaction of Spectrum in each

case.

If such evidence is considered by Spectrum (whose decision will be final) as sufficient, the Supplier

concerned shall be allowed to continue in the procurement process.

In order for the evidence referred to above to be sufficient, the Supplier shall, as a minimum, prove

that it has;

paid or undertaken to pay compensation in respect of any damage caused by the criminal

offence or misconduct;

clarified the facts and circumstances in a comprehensive manner by actively collaborating with

the investigating authorities; and

taken concrete technical, organisational and personnel measures that are appropriate to prevent

further criminal offences or misconduct.

The measures taken by the Supplier shall be evaluated taking into account the gravity and particular

circumstances of the criminal offence or misconduct. Where the measures are considered by

Spectrum to be insufficient, the Supplier shall be given a statement of the reasons for that decision.

4. Grounds for discretionary exclusion – Part 2

Spectrum reserves the right to use its discretion to exclude a Supplier where it can demonstrate the

Supplier’s non-payment of taxes/social security contributions where no binding legal decision has

been taken.

Please note that Section 4 relating to tax compliance only applies where Spectrum has indicated that

the contract is over £5million in value, and Spectrum is a Central Government Department (including

their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies).

“Occasion of Tax Non-Compliance” means:

(a) any tax return of the Supplier submitted to a Relevant tax authority on or after 1 October 2012 is

found to be incorrect as a result of:

1. a Relevant tax authority successfully challenging the Supplier under the General Anti-

Abuse Rule or the Halifax Abuse Principle or under any tax rules or legislation that have

an effect equivalent or similar to the General Anti-Abuse Rule or the Halifax Abuse

Principle;

2. the failure of an avoidance scheme which the Supplier was involved in, and which was,

or should have been, notified to a Relevant tax authority under the DOTAS or any

equivalent or similar regime; and/or

(b) the Supplier’s tax affairs give rise on or after 1 April 2013 to a criminal conviction in any

jurisdiction for tax related offences which is not spent at the Effective Date or to a penalty for civil

fraud or evasion.

Spectrum Housing Group Invitation to tender National Materials Framework Agreement 2015

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5. Economic and Financial Standing

Where the information provided by the Supplier indicates a lack of sufficient economic and financial

standing to meet the requirements envisaged by the proposed Agreement, Spectrum reserves the

right to carry out further financial investigation. A lack of sufficient economic and financial standing

might be evidenced in a variety of ways, examples include but are not limited to an inability to provide

audited accounts, poor credit rating, losses, and a poor cash/credit position.

Further investigations could include, but are not limited to, obtaining; further financial accounts,

financial statements, cash flow statements and/or bank references from the Supplier, parent company

guarantees and/or performance bonds as appropriate. If the information provided following further

investigation continues to indicate that in Spectrum’s opinion, the Supplier lacks sufficient economic

and financial standing to meet the requirements of the Agreement and contracts therein, the Supplier

will not be awarded a place on the Agreement.

6. Technical and Professional Ability

This question is scored on a pass/fail basis. Suppliers who fail to show a proven track record of

providing the services required under this proposed Agreement will have their submissions rejected.

7. Additional PQQ modules:

A – Project specific questions to assess Technical and Professional Ability

Suppliers not self-certifying by stating 'Yes' to this question may have their submissions rejected

B - Insurance

Suppliers not self-certifying by stating 'Yes' to this question may have their submissions rejected.

C – Compliance with Equality Legislation

Questions 1 & 2: Suppliers answering “yes” to one or both of the questions in this module, are to

provide, as a separate Appendix, a summary of the nature of the investigation and an explanation of

the outcome of the investigation to date.

If the investigation upheld the complaint against your organisation, please use the Appendix to explain what action (if any) you have taken to prevent unlawful discrimination from reoccurring. Suppliers may be excluded if they are unable to demonstrate to Spectrum’s satisfaction that appropriate remedial action has been taken to prevent similar unlawful discrimination reoccurring.

D – Environmental Management

Question 1: Suppliers answering “Yes”, are to provide details in a separate Appendix of the conviction

or notice and details of any remedial action or changes made as a result of conviction or notices

served.

Spectrum will not select Supplier(s) that have been prosecuted or served notice under environmental

legislation in the last 3 years, unless Spectrum is satisfied that appropriate remedial action has been

taken to prevent future occurrences/breaches.

Spectrum Housing Group Invitation to tender National Materials Framework Agreement 2015

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Questions 3 and 4: These questions are for information purposes only.

E – Health and Safety

Question 1: Suppliers not self-certifying by stating 'Yes' to this question may have their submissions

rejected.

Question 2: Suppliers answering “Yes”, are to provide details in a separate Appendix of the conviction

or notice and details of any remedial action or changes made as a result of conviction or notices

served.

Spectrum will not select Suppliers that have been prosecuted or served notice under environmental

legislation in the last 3 years, unless Spectrum is satisfied that appropriate remedial action has been

taken to prevent future occurrences/breaches.

8 - Declaration

Suppliers who fail to fully complete this section may have their submissions rejected.

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9. Award Criteria The Award Criteria listed below are to enable Spectrum to award positions on the proposed

Agreement on the basis of the best price-quality ratio.

Further information regarding how weighting will be apportioned based on the responses received is

provided in the next sub-section.

Tender Questions

This section is weighted at 60% of available marks for all lots.

The available weighting is awarded for submissions received as follows:

9.1 Lots. Suppliers are required to indicate which lots they are bidding upon. Suppliers can bid

on one, many or all lots but must be able to demonstrate capability and experience for the

lots they bid upon. This question is not weighted or scored.

9.2 Supply options. 2% will be awarded for each option selected. No weighting/score will be

awarded where an option is not supported. A maximum of 12% can be awarded from this

question.

9.3 Coverage. 2% will be awarded for each area your organisation has branches/can deliver

to. A maximum of 22% can be awarded from this question.

Award Criteria Weightings

Section All lots

9.1 Lots Pass/Fail

9.2 Supply options 12%

9.3 Coverage 22%

9.4 Cost models 2%

9.5 Services 10%

9.6 Invoicing 5%

9.7 IT services 4%

9.8 Social value 2%

9.9 Framework marketing 3%

9.10 Information and payment 10%

10. Framework agreement Pass/Fail

11. Cost submission 40%

12. Submission declarations Pass/Fail

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9.4 Cost models. 1% will be awarded for each cost model your organisation can operate in

accordance with. A maximum of 2% can be awarded from this question.

9.5 Services. 1% will awarded for each service your organisation can provide. A maximum of

10% can be awarded from this question.

9.6 Invoicing. 1% will be awarded for each invoice solution your organisation can operate. A

maximum of 5% will be awarded from this question.

9.7 IT services. 1% will be awarded for each IT solution your organisation can operate. A

maximum of 4% will be awarded from this question.

9.8 Social value. 0.5% will be awarded for each method of delivering social value your

organisation can assist clients with. A maximum of 2% will be awarded from this question.

9.9 Framework marketing. 1% will be awarded for each marketing option your organisation is

prepared to assist Spectrum and TPPL with. The 1% available for ‘Other’ will only be

awarded where information is provided about what this marketing support might be. A

maximum of 3% will be awarded from this question.

9.10 Information and payment. Pass/fail, submissions not committing to the requirements

stated in this question will be rejected.

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10.1 Framework Agreement

This question is a pass/fail criteria

Suppliers must commit to providing a signed copy of the Framework Agreement if they are

successful. This is a pass/fail criteria. Failure to provide a signed copy of the Framework Agreement

prior to Framework commencement may result in successful organisations being removed from the

framework and/or not being invited to participate in any mini-competitions conducted.

11.1 Cost submission

This section is weighted at 40% of available marks for all lots.

Any brands stated are for illustrative purposes, in all situations equivalent options are

acceptable. Submissions using equivalent products are permissible. When alternative products are

priced further information should be provided in the space provided on the cost submission

spreadsheet. Spectrum reserves the right to request additional information, including samples at

Supplier cost, and can disregard pricing for products it deems to be non-equivalent.

Lot 1 is the identified lot for dedicated/managed one-stop shop solutions. In addition to a range of

general building materials it also contains the ranges for Lots 2 to 5. Each of these sub-ranges

contained within Lot 1 (General, Plumbing/heating/gas spares, Electrical, Kitchens and

Aids/adaptations) must have at least 50% of the products priced. If a Supplier cannot provide costs for

50% or more of products within each of the sub-ranges within Lot 1 their submission will be rejected

for not demonstrating sufficient capability to supply contracts awarded within Lot 1.

Lots 2 to 5, in order to demonstrate ability to service contracts awarded under the lot(s) they are

bidding upon, Suppliers must submit pricing for a minimum of 50% of all products in the lots bid for. If

a bidder cannot provide costs for 50% or more of products within a specific lot their submission will be

rejected for not demonstrating sufficient capability to supply contracts awarded within that lot.

Lot 4 (Kitchens) minimum acceptable specifications are 15mm carcase and 30mm thick worktops.

Suppliers are advised to price their lowest cost range of kitchens that meet or exceeds these

requirements.

Lots 1 to 5, all products are to be priced on a single unit ‘each’ basis, matching the base unit in which

the item can be issued to an operative. For example, timber is to be priced per linear metre, not by

volume/cubic metres i.e. m3. Usage quantities, where they are provided, are based on this approach.

The quantities provided represent Spectrum usage over the last 12 month period, they are not

indications of expected and/or guaranteed purchases to be made via this framework.

All submissions will be reviewed and checked to ensure accuracy. In circumstances of uncertainty,

when products and/or pricing submitted cannot fairly (in the opinion of Spectrum) be cross-compared

these items will be removed from the evaluation for all submissions within that lot. The combined total

of all cross-compared products within a lot represents the cost submission for comparison purposes.

The method used for evaluation of cost submissions will be in compliance with the following worked

example. The following example is purely an illustration of the methodology to be used. It does not

reflect actual costs or what cost score your submission will actually be awarded in any lot:

(A) The lowest cost submission received from a supplier within the lot

(B) Your cost submission

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(C) The value difference of your submission to the lowest cost submission in the lot

(D) The percentage difference of your submission to the lowest cost submission in the lot

(E) The percentage weighting apportioned to cost within the lot

(F) The percentage weighting to be awarded to your submission for the lot

£108,000 (B) - £100,000 (A) = £8,000 (C)

(£8,000(C)/£100,000(A))*100 = 8% (D)

40%(E) - 8%(D) = 32%(F)

Suppliers are advised:

a) Cost submissions cannot score less than 0% even where (D) exceeds (E).

b) Spectrum and/or contracting authorities accessing the framework reserve the right to reject

Abnormally Low Tenders in accordance with Regulation 69 of the Public contracts

Regulations 2015 #102. This applies at tender stage and during any mini-competition

process.

12.1 & 12.2 Submission Declarations

These questions are pass/fail criteria

Suppliers providing a negative response to the statements within this section will be rejected. It is a

requirement of this tender that submissions are completed and made by duly authorised individuals.