Award

Implementation of a Covid secure scheme for businesses in Hertfordshire

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

02 Jun 2021 at 15:36

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Hertfordshire County Council has awarded a contract titled "Implementation of a Covid secure scheme for businesses in Hertfordshire" after recognising the extreme urgency of ensuring business compliance with COVID-19 safety guidelines. This procurement falls under the health and safety consultancy services category, with the award value amounting to £2,300,000, which includes an initial pilot valued at £213,000. The contract period is set from April 12, 2021, to April 11, 2022, with the procurement method classified as a negotiated procedure without prior publication due to unforeseen circumstances surrounding the pandemic. The award notice was published on June 2, 2021.

This tender offers significant growth opportunities for businesses such as environmental health consultancies, especially those familiar with health and safety standards and the implementation of accreditation schemes. The contract’s initial focus will be on a pilot scheme in Broxbourne, aiming to enhance compliance and consumer confidence in various sectors, including supermarkets and hospitality. Companies that possess the capacity to deliver rapid accreditation and consistent auditing services will be particularly well-suited to compete for this contract as it expands across Hertfordshire.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Start Free Trial Book a Demo
All Features Pricing

Notice Information

Notice Title

Implementation of a Covid secure scheme for businesses in Hertfordshire

Notice Description

This Award Notice is being published to inform of an award of a contract. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is relying on regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 in making this award without prior publication. Regulation 32(2)(c) permits such an award: "insofar as is strictly necessary where, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with.' The extreme urgency relates to the need to ensure businesses are accredited now and as they re-open. If HCC fails to take steps to urgently ensure high levels of compliance, there is a real risk that transmissions will rise and put the county at risk of further local restrictions causing significant damage to the local economy and risking further negative impacts on residents. The need to procure this service was unforeseeable given the fast moving nature of the COVID-19 response. A tender process would delay the implementation to a point when most businesses will already be opening. In respect of the requirement in Regulation 32(4) that the circumstances invoked to justify extreme urgency must not be attributable to the contracting authority, HCC considers that the urgency is due to the need to respond to public health risks and the timetable in the Government's reopening roadmap, neither of which are within the control of HCC. A business accreditation scheme known as 'Safe To Trade' is currently offered by Shield Safety Group Ltd, an environmental health consultancy company with the capacity and staff to quickly roll out their scheme in any given area. Shield Safety Group Ltd would operate and deliver this scheme on the Council's behalf thereby relieving the local authority of large scale inspection burdens whilst at the same time maintaining confidence in standards and helping to reduce transmission of Covid 19 by achieving greater compliance with set guidelines. If evaluation of the pilot proves successful, the scheme will be rolled out across Hertfordshire in an expeditious way. In expanding the scheme county-wide as quickly as possible during the Government's roadmap it will be important to maintain a consistent high-quality auditing process, public communications and joint branding approach that will be established before and during the pilot phase. Furthermore, to ensure the scheme will be effective county-wide, it is essential to provide continuity to businesses and consumers by maintaining the working processes with the one provider partnered with during the initial pilot and not risk confusing businesses and consumers with the inevitable changes in auditing and communications that would result. For these reasons the provider which carries out the pilot also needs to carry out the county-wide scheme. Please refer to 'Section 5 - Additional Text' for further information. Additional information: Hertfordshire Trading Standards have been urgently requested by the Hertfordshire Health Protection Board to implement a Covid secure business accreditation scheme that seeks to impact on transmission rates of Covid 19 in supermarkets, grocers, hospitality and other non-essential retail businesses. The scheme will ensure businesses are adhering to a consistent set of Covid 19 prevention standards and aims to improve consumer confidence in those businesses. This project implements a pilot 'Covid secure' accreditation scheme in retail shops, hospitality and other non-essential businesses in Hertfordshire in Broxbourne. There is evidence to suggest that transmission in supermarkets and food retail remains a problem and with the Government's roadmap to re-opening other hospitality and retail businesses from Spring 2021, there is an urgent need to ensure that businesses already open are compliant to a consistent set of standards and that for those due to re-open that they too are compliant and that consumers will have the confidence to use them when permitted. This would be achieved by registration, auditing and inspection of member businesses. The arrangement would initially be for a pilot to be conducted in Broxbourne and if evaluation proves successful to continue to roll out the scheme across Hertfordshire. The contract end date stated above includes the provision to roll out the scheme across Hertfordshire. If the pilot is unsuccessful then the contract will be terminated by HCC. The length of the contract is expected to be relatively short particularly if transmission rates fall and mitigation measures required by businesses reduce later in the year. The arrangement is therefore restricted to what is absolutely necessary. The value of the initial pilot is PS213,000. The total awarded value is for the total contract value, should the scheme be rolled out to the whole of the County of Hertfordshire. Please refer to 'Section 3 - Description' for further details

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-889567f5-d6b7-447b-a20f-7f28543e79e5
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/b5532907-61e3-47e1-a4d0-97ddf2555074
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Negotiated procedure without prior publication (above threshold)
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

CPV Codes

71317210 - Health and safety consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,300,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£2,300,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Jun 20214 years ago
Submission Deadline
23 Mar 2021Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
29 Mar 20214 years ago
Contract Period
11 Apr 2021 - 11 Apr 2022 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
HERTFORD
Postcode
SG13 8DQ
Post Town
Stevenage
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH26 North and East Hertfordshire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
East Hertfordshire
Electoral Ward
Hertford Castle
Westminster Constituency
Hertford and Stortford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SHIELD SAFETY GROUP

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-b5fd17-889567f5-d6b7-447b-a20f-7f28543e79e5-2021-06-02T16:36:09+01:00",
    "date": "2021-06-02T16:36:09+01:00",
    "ocid": "ocds-b5fd17-889567f5-d6b7-447b-a20f-7f28543e79e5",
    "language": "en",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "tender": {
        "id": "HCC2112794",
        "title": "Implementation of a Covid secure scheme for businesses in Hertfordshire",
        "description": "This Award Notice is being published to inform of an award of a contract. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is relying on regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 in making this award without prior publication. Regulation 32(2)(c) permits such an award: \"insofar as is strictly necessary where, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with.' The extreme urgency relates to the need to ensure businesses are accredited now and as they re-open. If HCC fails to take steps to urgently ensure high levels of compliance, there is a real risk that transmissions will rise and put the county at risk of further local restrictions causing significant damage to the local economy and risking further negative impacts on residents. The need to procure this service was unforeseeable given the fast moving nature of the COVID-19 response. A tender process would delay the implementation to a point when most businesses will already be opening. In respect of the requirement in Regulation 32(4) that the circumstances invoked to justify extreme urgency must not be attributable to the contracting authority, HCC considers that the urgency is due to the need to respond to public health risks and the timetable in the Government's reopening roadmap, neither of which are within the control of HCC. A business accreditation scheme known as 'Safe To Trade' is currently offered by Shield Safety Group Ltd, an environmental health consultancy company with the capacity and staff to quickly roll out their scheme in any given area. Shield Safety Group Ltd would operate and deliver this scheme on the Council's behalf thereby relieving the local authority of large scale inspection burdens whilst at the same time maintaining confidence in standards and helping to reduce transmission of Covid 19 by achieving greater compliance with set guidelines. If evaluation of the pilot proves successful, the scheme will be rolled out across Hertfordshire in an expeditious way. In expanding the scheme county-wide as quickly as possible during the Government's roadmap it will be important to maintain a consistent high-quality auditing process, public communications and joint branding approach that will be established before and during the pilot phase. Furthermore, to ensure the scheme will be effective county-wide, it is essential to provide continuity to businesses and consumers by maintaining the working processes with the one provider partnered with during the initial pilot and not risk confusing businesses and consumers with the inevitable changes in auditing and communications that would result. For these reasons the provider which carries out the pilot also needs to carry out the county-wide scheme. Please refer to 'Section 5 - Additional Text' for further information. Additional information: Hertfordshire Trading Standards have been urgently requested by the Hertfordshire Health Protection Board to implement a Covid secure business accreditation scheme that seeks to impact on transmission rates of Covid 19 in supermarkets, grocers, hospitality and other non-essential retail businesses. The scheme will ensure businesses are adhering to a consistent set of Covid 19 prevention standards and aims to improve consumer confidence in those businesses. This project implements a pilot 'Covid secure' accreditation scheme in retail shops, hospitality and other non-essential businesses in Hertfordshire in Broxbourne. There is evidence to suggest that transmission in supermarkets and food retail remains a problem and with the Government's roadmap to re-opening other hospitality and retail businesses from Spring 2021, there is an urgent need to ensure that businesses already open are compliant to a consistent set of standards and that for those due to re-open that they too are compliant and that consumers will have the confidence to use them when permitted. This would be achieved by registration, auditing and inspection of member businesses. The arrangement would initially be for a pilot to be conducted in Broxbourne and if evaluation proves successful to continue to roll out the scheme across Hertfordshire. The contract end date stated above includes the provision to roll out the scheme across Hertfordshire. If the pilot is unsuccessful then the contract will be terminated by HCC. The length of the contract is expected to be relatively short particularly if transmission rates fall and mitigation measures required by businesses reduce later in the year. The arrangement is therefore restricted to what is absolutely necessary. The value of the initial pilot is PS213,000. The total awarded value is for the total contract value, should the scheme be rolled out to the whole of the County of Hertfordshire. Please refer to 'Section 3 - Description' for further details",
        "status": "complete",
        "classification": {
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "id": "71317210",
            "description": "Health and safety consultancy services"
        },
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "East of England",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "minValue": {
            "amount": 213000,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "value": {
            "amount": 2300000,
            "currency": "GBP"
        },
        "procurementMethod": "limited",
        "procurementMethodDetails": "Negotiated procedure without prior publication (above threshold)",
        "tenderPeriod": {
            "endDate": "2021-03-23T12:00:00Z"
        },
        "contractPeriod": {
            "startDate": "2021-04-12T00:00:00+01:00",
            "endDate": "2022-04-11T23:59:59+01:00"
        },
        "suitability": {
            "sme": true,
            "vcse": true
        },
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services"
    },
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-LAE-HRT",
            "name": "Hertfordshire County Council",
            "identifier": {
                "legalName": "Hertfordshire County Council",
                "scheme": "GB-LAE",
                "id": "HRT"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "PEGS LANE",
                "locality": "HERTFORD",
                "postalCode": "SG138DQ",
                "countryName": "England"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "strategic.procurement@hertfordshire.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-COH-04777870",
            "name": "Shield Safety Group Limited",
            "identifier": {
                "legalName": "Shield Safety Group Limited",
                "scheme": "GB-COH",
                "id": "04777870"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "45/47 - 1st Floor Newton Street Manchester M1 1FT"
            },
            "details": {
                "scale": "sme",
                "vcse": false
            },
            "roles": [
                "supplier"
            ]
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-LAE-HRT",
        "name": "Hertfordshire County Council"
    },
    "awards": [
        {
            "id": "ocds-b5fd17-889567f5-d6b7-447b-a20f-7f28543e79e5-1",
            "status": "active",
            "date": "2021-03-30T00:00:00+01:00",
            "datePublished": "2021-06-02T16:36:09+01:00",
            "value": {
                "amount": 2300000,
                "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "suppliers": [
                {
                    "id": "GB-COH-04777870",
                    "name": "Shield Safety Group Limited"
                }
            ],
            "contractPeriod": {
                "startDate": "2021-04-12T00:00:00+01:00",
                "endDate": "2022-04-11T23:59:59+01:00"
            },
            "description": "The value of the initial pilot is PS213,000",
            "documents": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "documentType": "awardNotice",
                    "description": "Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder",
                    "url": "https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/b5532907-61e3-47e1-a4d0-97ddf2555074",
                    "datePublished": "2021-06-02T16:36:09+01:00",
                    "format": "text/html",
                    "language": "en"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}