--- title: "Functional Assessment Services FAS 2023" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS" published: "2021-11-16" --- # Functional Assessment Services FAS 2023 Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f.json) ## Summary The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is initiating a tender titled "Functional Assessment Services FAS 2023" aimed at appointing supply partners to deliver claimant functional assessment services. This procurement falls under the health and social work services category and is set to be executed using the Light Touch Regime with a competitive dialogue approach. The procurement is currently in the tender stage, with an end date for submissions on 27 January 2022. The service areas will be divided into five geographical lots across various regions including Northern England, the Midlands, South West England, London, and Northern Ireland. Successful contractors will commence service delivery on 1 August 2023 and can expect a contract period lasting until 31 July 2028. This tender presents significant growth opportunities for businesses specialising in health and social work services, particularly those with capabilities in delivering functional assessments. Companies that are experienced in working within a government framework, have the necessary expertise and resources, and can demonstrate capacity across the specified geographical lots would be well-positioned to compete. Moreover, smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are encouraged to participate, as the DWP aims to maintain a diverse supply base through its Market Share Limiter policy, promoting competitive bidding and potentially increasing the volume of contract awards across multiple lots. ## Notice The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Authority, is issuing this Notice as a formal intent of its wish to appoint supply partners with the prerequisite expertise, resources and capacity to deliver DWP claimant Functional Assessment Services (FAS). The service provision will be primarily contracted through this procurement to the Authority but may allow other Government Departments and their Agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies, and devolved administrations (including but not limited to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, Ministry of Defence, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, National Health and Social Care) to access the services. This procurement will be undertaken using the Light Touch Regime and a modified process with commercial dialogue in accordance with Regulations 74 to 76 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The procedure the Authority intends to follow is set out clearly in the associated procurement documents. The service will be divided into five (5) geographical lots (indicative lot volume and values parameters can be found in the associated procurement documents): Lot 1 - Northern England and Scotland Lot 2 - Midlands and Wales Lot 3 - South West England Lot 4 - London, South East & East Anglia Lot 5- Northern Ireland (For Lot 5, the Authority shall be DWP acting for and on behalf of the Department for Communities (DfC) in Northern Ireland. The DfC will assume responsibility for managing the service in Northern Ireland.) The Authority intends to use the lot approach in its aim to deliver a fair procurement that attracts participation from the widest possible spectrum of appropriately qualified and experienced bidders. The procurement process will require Bidders to indicate their lots of interest prior to indicative bid. Initial interest will be subject to confirmation of lot interest during latter stages of the bidding process (Best and Final Offer). The Authority reserves the right to limit the award of FAS contract lots to any one organisation, or limit the percentage of delivery that one organisation can be awarded as a Prime and or a subcontractor across lots 1 to 4, through the application of a Market Share Limiter. This is to support the key principle of developing and maintaining a diverse supply base that supports in-life contingency for a critical service. The Authority will not accept bids that are conditional on the award of multiple lots where such would be detrimental to the division of lot awards according to the Financial Viability Risk Assessment (FVRA) formula and/or principles that will be applied to the Market Share Limiter. The selected supplier(s) will have access to a 10 month implementation phase, followed by service delivery expected to commence on 1 August 2023. Additional information: The Authority will be using an eProcurement Solution throughout the procurement. Potential suppliers will need to register their interest via the following website: https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk and complete the expressions of interest form available on that site. A FAS Procurement Briefing Event will be held on 19/11/21. Further information regarding the event will be shared with all registered suppliers via the eProcurement Solution https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk. The Authority reserves the right to issue multiple Lot awards in accordance with any Market Share Limiter in Lots 1 through 4. Northern Ireland can be included in multiple lot awards, but shall remain exempt to the effects of the Market Share Limiter. Market Share Limiter effects also remain exempt in the instance of no bid and/or no competing bids. The application of the Market Share Limiter shall be at the sole discretion of the Authority. The Authority will provide the IT, through third-party providers, as a managed service to support the delivery of functional assessments across all Lots. One system will specifically support PIP assessments, whilst a second system will support all other assessments. Further details regarding the IT service is provided in the associated procurement documents. As a result of the Government's commitment to continual improvement of accessing pathways to support for disabled people and people with health conditions, the Authority anticipates the potential for changes to the service during the life of the FAS contracts will be likely. These changes may include, but are not limited to, - Channel Mix - change in proportional requirements relating to virtual assessments and face to face assessments. For example, the requirement may change from 60% face-to-face to 20%; - Improvements to the PIP Service requirements which seek to maximise volume capacity; - Potential policy changes (e.g. HCP qualifications); - Partial rollout of the Health Assessment Service between 2025 and 2028; - the expansion of a DWP developed digital system and operating model with one or more suppliers, and; - the test and implementation of policy reform arising from, for example, the upcoming Health and Disability Green Paper, and in Northern Ireland, the recommendations or outcomes of a number of recent independent reviews conducted on the delivery of PIP assessments. The Authority will build FAS related flexibilities into the contract and work with suppliers to facilitate these changes. Further details regarding flexibilities can be found in the associated procurement documents. Associated procurement documents, including the specification and an indicative high-level timeline, can be accessed via the eProcurement Solution https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/f2454851-894a-4b51-8afe-a70cccdddbc5 | | Notice type | Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Other - Light Touch Regime with Competitive Dialogue | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 16 Nov 2021 | | Submission deadline | 27 Jan 2022 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 29 Sep 2022 - 31 Jul 2028 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £2,796,800,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS | | Locality | SHEFFIELD | | Post town | Sheffield | | Postcode | S1 2FD | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber | | ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire | | ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield | | Local authority | Sheffield | | Electoral ward | City | | Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central | | Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England), TLL Wales, TLM Scotland, TLN Northern Ireland | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85000000 - Health and social work services ## Release History - 16 Nov 2021 at 10:39 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/f2454851-894a-4b51-8afe-a70cccdddbc5 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/f2454851-894a-4b51-8afe-a70cccdddbc5 16th November 2021 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder - https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk Link to The Authority procurement portal for further details of this procurement. ## Notice URLs - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-4405249a-22fc-488b-aa2c-2ad69e345c2f.json.