Title and Reference – PCC/D/072
Subject: Sub £50K Competition Process for MoJ & CSF Funding 2023-2024
Report of: Police and Crime Commissioner
Date: 15/02/2023

Summary

Introduction

In June 2022, an enhanced commissioning strategy was developed as a new team was implemented. The new commissioning strategy states that all commissioning activity, predominantly through the core two funding streams, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Community Safety Fund (CSF), will be developed according to an evidence base fed by needs assessments developed using both quantitative and qualitative evidence and supported by working with partners including Bedfordshire Police.

This will ensure that commissioned services are reflective of, and specifically targeted to, the needs of the communities of Bedfordshire, further detail on the Needs Assessment completed for Commissioning activity for 2023-2024 are detailed within this paper.

The strategy also outlines a commitment to working closely with 7 Force Commercial Services, ensuring that the commissioning team adhere to the local Financial Regulations and Contract Standing Orders which set out the following financial thresholds:

• £0-£5,000 – one written quote required to commission services
• £5,000 – £50,000 – three written quotes required to commission services
• £50,000 and above – services to be commissioned via competitive tender

For the commissioning of services between the threshold of £5,000 to £50,000, three quotes are required with 1 quote being received from a local provider, this is in accordance with the 7 Force Standing orders document. Due to the implementation of the new commissioning strategy in June 2022, the Commissioning Team chose to complete a small competition process instead of completing the three-quote process for the reasons outlined below;

New Commissioning Strategy

The new commissioning strategy outlines that commissioning processes will be completed and funding will be awarded in a fair, transparency and open process to ensure the quality of services provided. The Commissioning Team wanted to learn from this experience to inform future larger competitions/ tender processes.

Progression to Formal Tender Processes in 2024-2025

The Commissioning Team have an ambition to develop their strategy in line with commissioning principles, moving forward, where relevant competitions will be held in an open and transparent way, striving for continuous improvement, innovation, best value for money and social value which are principles that current providers have not been required to respond to due to previous funding levels and the use of one-year agreements. The competition element introduced for 2023-2024 will provide an opportunity for providers to experience the bid writing process and a formal evaluation process in preparation for future tender processes.

The competition process the Commissioning Team completed for funding opportunities on 2023-2024 included the following stages, each of which are detailed in the paper.

1. Needs Assessment Against the Police and Crime Plan
2. Decision Paper to Police and Crime Commissioner based on the findings of the needs assessments
3. Writing and sharing of Specifications
4. Clarification Question Period
5. Application Deadline
6. Due Diligence Process
7. Show Stopper Process
8. Evaluation Panels
9. Inform of Process Outcomes

CSF Needs Assessment

As per the new commissioning strategy all commissioning activity will be completed in accordance with evidence gathered in the form of a needs assessment. In October/ November 2022, the Commissioning Officer for Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner completed a needs assessment against the Police and Crime Plan 2021-2024 with a focus on the needs of Bedfordshire in accordance with the Community Safety Fund. The research focused on Bedfordshire Police Athena data whilst considering The Police and Crime Plan 2021-2024, the Victim Needs Analysis 2021, and national data available via the Crime Survey for England and Wales/ Office for National Statistics.

The research focused on crime types detailed in the priorities within the Police and Crime Plan alongside the priorities outlined by each Local Authority area. The needs assessment confirmed areas of continued need, such as domestic abuse and sexual violence, and also acknowledged new areas for the OPCC to focus on such as stalking and hate crime/ community mediation. The needs assessment identified these areas of focus as current data on the topic is limited and Bedfordshire Police Athena data is not currently representative of the national picture. These aspects of criminality were taken forward to inform a decision paper which outlined funding proposals for 2023-2024.

Decision Paper and Process

A decision paper was prepared by the Commissioning and Income Generation Lead and the Commissioning Officer following the findings of the needs assessment. The decision paper focused on allocation of the two core funding streams, MoJ and CSF.

The proposal document was shared with the Head of Victim Services and Commissioning on 25th October 2022 for discussion, challenge, and feedback on financial, research and proposal aspects to ensure they fully considered demand, feasibility and followed procurement regulations.

Following the discussion with the Head of Victim Services, the Commissioning team presented the proposal paper in full to the Director of Operations and the Chief Executive Officer for the OPCC on 15th November 2022. The Director of Operations and the Chief Executive gave further challenge and feedback against each proposal, considering wider views including governmental strategies such as VAWG and local policing arrangements. During this discussion, all proposals were approved, with a consideration for clarity on some aspects such as the inclusivity of VAWG terminology.

The Commissioning and Income Generation Lead and the Head of Victim Services and Commissioning presented the finalised proposal paper presented in summary to the Police and Crime Commissioner for authorisation on 24th November 2022. During the discussion, all proposals were approved.

Specifications Preparation and Release

Following authorisation from the Police and Crime Commissioner, a specification was written for each funding opportunity. The specification consisted of the following aspects;

• Executive Summary – the executive summary comprised of detail of the need for the service and the provision requested. The basis for this was developed using the decision paper presented and approved by the Police and Crime Commissioner. Information relating to the showstopper process in later stages was outlined in the specification element of the summary.
• Grant Duration – The grant duration was stipulated as 1 year for each funding opportunity with the exception on the pilots. This would enable all projects to be brought in line with current funding arrangements which cease in 2024/2025 and therefore would be subject to renewal allowing for full tender process to take place. With advice from 7 Force Procurement colleagues, the funding opportunities for the pilot projects were shared with a 1-year extension potential.
• Elements of Service – The elements of service outlined the expectations of the provider if they were to apply for the funding opportunity.
• Funding – The funded element outlined the total funding allocation available, for providers to apply for funding up to this amount. Where future funding potential was available for pilot projects, this was outlined accordingly.
• Underpinning Service Principles and Values – The underpinning service principles and values outline the expectations of the service, detailing the aspects they must consider in their delivery. These details ensure the operational processes and service design is appropriate to the client’s needs and that the service operates with community interests in mind aligning to the Police and Crime Plan.
• Equality and Diversity – Equality and diversity guidance was provided to ensure that the providers are able to provide a service that are inclusive and accessible to all, considering all clients needs, including protected characteristics.
• Equality Impact Assessment – The equality impact assessment builds upon the accessibility and inclusivity of the service an ensures that the provider has monitoring arrangements in place according to protected characteristics.
• Performance and Quality Indicators – The provider is expected to monitor the project in line with KPIs and outcomes agreed with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, the provider will be required to provide data on project activity and demographics. The quarterly monitoring will include detail of the activity undertaken during the project to ensure compliance with the agreement in place, and also to celebrate good work and inform future commissioning cycles.
• Data Protection Responsibilities – The provider must be compliant with GDPR legislation.
• Policies – The provider will be expected to have a series of policies in place to ensure the safeguarding for both employees and clients, inclusivity, and data security.
• Bidder Response form inclusive of contact details, due diligence, evaluation questions and pricing submission
• Scoring and scoring guidance – The scoring information was provided to the providers to inform the bidder response form. The transparent approach allowed all providers to have the same information accessible to them.

Specification were released on 2nd December via the OPCC website and social media portals such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. A circulation list was used to inform current and past providers via email of the funding opportunities. The variety of release methods were used to reach a wide audience of providers, ensuring the opportunities were available to both current and unknown providers.

Clarification Questions Period

A period for clarification questions was open between 2nd December 2022 and 20th December 2022, this period allowed providers to query the specifications released to inform their bids. In total 25 questions were submitted via email and 1 repeated via telephone, each query was responded to directly and a document of all queries was formed.

Application Deadline

The application deadline for all applications was 1700hrs on Monday 9th January 2023. Applications were to be submitted by email to the PCC-Commissioning@beds.police.uk inbox.

In total 18 applications were received, a mixture of both current and unknown providers.

A further application was received beyond the initial application deadline, the acceptance of the bid was considered on good will, based as the notion that the minimum procurement requirements for a sub £50,000 process were to obtain 3 quotes, on this occasion the additional bid was accepted.

Due Diligence Process

The Commissioning Officer completed due diligence checks on all 19 applications to ensure their legitimacy as part of a transparent process. Each provider was considered against the under 3 categories OPCC Information, Companies House/ Charity Commission Information and Financial Information.

The following aspects were reviewed;

OPCC Information
• Funding stream
• Funding Opportunity
• Organisation Name
• Name of Project
• Whether the provider had been funded previously
• Number of years funded, if funded previously
• Amount requested
Companies House/Charity Commission
• Company type
• Nature of business
• Companies House Number
• Charity Commission Number
• Registered Address
• Date Incorporated/ Registered
• Financial Accounts up to date
• Date next accounts due
• If Overdue, the length of time overdue
• Name of Director and Trustees (current and resigned)
• Website Link
Financial Information
• Amount Requested
• Budget Code
• Supplier Reference (if a current supplier)

Showstopper Process

The Head of Victim Services and Commissioning and two Commissioning Officers reviewed all applications received against 4 showstopper questions on 10th January 2023. The showstopper questions were developed using stipulations detailed by the Ministry of Justice in their grant agreement to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The 4 clarification questions were;
1. Is this project/ service county wide? – this stipulation was not appropriate for the Sports-based funding opportunities as they were specifically targeted to each local authority area.
2. Has the application form been completed correctly? – all applications were reviewed to ensure that all required fields required for the evaluation process were completed.
3. Is the project/ service inclusive? – inclusivity and accessibility are requirements of the Ministry of Justice, for example the projects/ services must be available to all gender identities.
4. Is financial data provided in detail for all aspects of the project/ service? – the providers must provide enough detail for the evaluation panel to understand the value for money and financial breakdown of the service.

Each application was read independently then reviewed against each showstopper question in turn, results were recorded in a table. If an application was not compliant with the showstopper questions they were withdrawn from the process. During this process, 3 organisations were deemed non-compliant, 1 under the DA counselling category and 2 under the sexual exploitation category, all 3 were rejected due to a lack of inclusivity, detailing female only services.

Evaluation Panels

Evaluation Panels were held in two series, firstly the Ministry of Justice funding opportunities.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice Evaluation Panels were held on 12th and 13th January 2023, the panel consisted of 5 members in each panel. On the 12th January 2023, the panel consisted of 2 internal panel members, the Head of Victim Services and Commissioning, Commissioning, and Income Generation Lead and 3 external panel members being a representative of the National Lottery Fund, and 2 Independent Custody Visitors (ICV). On 13th January 2023, the panel consisted of 2 internal panel members, the Head of Victim Services and Commissioning, Commissioning, and Income Generation Lead and 3 external panel members being a representative of the National Lottery Fund, a representative from Central Bedfordshire Council and an Independent Custody Visitor (ICV). External panel members were chosen as they have an awareness of OPCC activity without having an active involvement in the funding areas being evaluated.

Each panel was hosted by the Commissioning and Income Generation Lead; each day followed the following agenda;

• Introduction to the evaluation panel – inclusive of detail of the process to date. The introduction informed all panel members that the evaluation process would be recorded, and notes would be taken and submitted to the OPCC for transparency purposes.
• The host asked each panel member in turn to declare any business or personal interests in the providers being discussed.
• Each bid was read, and notes and scores were recorded individually by each panel member
• Each bid was then reviewed against each individual criteria in turn, reviewing the guidance on each occasion.
• Each panel member was asked by the host in turn to state their score and reasoning.
• A discussion was held until a unanimous agreement was reached against each criterion.
• During the panels, questions were recorded for clarification meetings that would be held for those successful at the evaluation panel.

The outcome of the evaluation panel agreed a successful provider with the highest number of scores for the following funding opportunities; SV counselling, DA counselling, and the Stalking Pilot.

Community Safety Fund Evaluation Panels

The Community Safety Evaluation Panel was held on 24th January 2023, the panel consisted of 4 members; the Commissioning, and Income Generation Lead, commissioning officer and 2 Independent Custody Visitors (ICV). External panel members were chosen as they have an awareness of OPCC activity without having an active involvement in the funding areas being evaluated.

Each panel was hosted by the Commissioning and Income Generation Lead; each day followed the following agenda;
• Introduction to the evaluation panel – inclusive of detail of the process to date. The introduction informed all panel members that the evaluation process would be recorded, and notes would be taken and submitted to the OPCC for transparency purposes.
• The host asked each panel member in turn to declare any business or personal interests in the providers being discussed.
• Each bid was read, and notes and scores were recorded individually by each panel member
• Each bid was then reviewed against each individual criteria in turn, reviewing the guidance on each occasion.
• Each panel member was asked by the host in turn to state their score and reasoning.
• A discussion was held until a unanimous agreement was reached against each criterion.
• During the panels, questions were recorded for clarification meetings that would be held for those successful at the evaluation panel.

The outcome of the evaluation panel agreed a successful provider with the highest number of scores for the following funding opportunities; Community Mediation Pilot, Sports Prevention Pilot for Luton, Sports Prevention Pilot for Bedford Borough and Sports Prevention Pilot for Central Bedfordshire.

Clarification Meetings – Held between 17th-30th January 2023

Clarification meetings were held with providers where additional clarity was needed for elements of the bid.
The clarification meetings provided an opportunity for provider to talk through their bid and answer questions that had been raised during the evaluation panels.

Each provider was provided with the same details, and clarifications were posed to the Commissioning Team for response. Subsequently an additional clarification document was produced to provide all providers with the same information to inform their resubmission.

Additional Evaluation Element – Multi-crime Therapeutic Services Pilot

The outcome of the multi-crime therapeutic services pilot was indeterminate with each provider performing achieving a low score during the evaluation panel. Due to the nature of the project, a decision was made to hold clarification meetings with each provider. Each provider was provided with the same details, and clarifications were posed to the Commissioning Team for response.

The providers were offered the opportunity to re-submit a further application with supplementary information with a deadline of 31st January 2023. The submissions will then be reviewed by the commissioning team as per due process and the highest scorer will be successful.

Subsequently an additional clarification document was produced to provide all providers with the same information to inform their resubmission.

Additional Evaluation Element – Sexual Exploitation Support Service

The outcome of the sexual exploitation support services funding opportunity was indeterminate with each bid not fulfilling the needs of the specification upon evaluation. Due to the nature of the project, a decision was made to hold clarification meetings with each provider to establish the best way forward. Each provider will provided with the same details, and clarifications were posed to the Commissioning Team for response. These meeting are scheduled to take place between the 13th and 23rd February 2023.

Outcomes

Please see below for an overview of the organisation to be awarded following the Sub £50,000 commissioning process for 2023/24. The below outcomes were discussed with and presented to the Police and Crime Commissioner in a meeting by the Commissioning and Income Generation Lead. The Police and Crime Commissioner subsequently sent his approval of the below outcomes in writing to the Director of Operations.