Title and Reference – PCC/D/129
Subject: Sub £50K Competition Process for Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Community Safety Commissioning Cycle Funding 2024-2025
Report of: Police and Crime Commissioner
Date: 15/02/2024
Summary:
A continuation from the previous year, the Commissioning Team continue to adhere to the enhanced commissioning strategy that was developed as a new team was implemented in 2022. 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, which informs future commissioning into 2024-2025 as well as the ongoing research piece which has been commissioned and developing internal understanding gathered from the support of Project Managers.

The strategy outlined 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-£6,000 – one written quote required to commission services

£6,000 – £60,000 – three written quotes required to commission services

£60,000 and above – services to be commissioned via competitive tender.

For the commissioning of services between the threshold of £6,000 to £60,000, 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 continue in the same format as 2023-2024, completing a funding opportunity process instead of completing the three-quote process for the reasons outlined previously.

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 future Commissioning cycles

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 in 2024-2025 included the following stages, each of which are detailed in the paper.

1. Review of the Needs Assessment Against the Police and Crime Plan
2. Decision Paper to Police and Crime Commissioner based on the findings of the needs assessments and input from project Managers on current activity.
3. Writing and sharing of Specifications
4. Clarification Question Period
5. Application Deadline
6. Due Diligence Process
7. Showstopper Process
8. Evaluation Panels
9. Inform of Process

Outcomes

Decision Paper and Process

A decision paper was prepared by the Commissioning Team focusing on allocation of the two core funding streams, MoJ and CSF.
The proposal document was shared with the Commissioning Lead and the Senior leadership Team on 29th November 2023 for discussion, challenge, and feedback on financial, research and proposal aspects to ensure the proposal fully considered demand, feasibility and followed procurement regulations.

Following the discussion with the Commissioning lead, and the Senior Leadership Team, the Commissioning Lead presented the proposal paper in full to the Police and Crime Commissioner on 13th December 2023. The proposal was approved with minor amendments made to the reserve funding aspects which were considered for anticipated OPCC/ local changes.

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 client’s 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 was released on 22nd December 2023 via the OPCC website and social media portals such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. A circulation list was used to inform current and past providers and key stakeholders via email of the funding opportunities. The variety of release methods was 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 22nd December 2022 and 8th January 2024, this period allowed providers to query the specifications released to inform their bids. In total, 9 questions were submitted via email, each query was responded to directly and a document of all queries was formed, this document was shared via email to those who sent forward questions and was also placed on the website for transparency.

Application Deadline

The application deadline for all applications was 22nd January 2024.

Applications were to be submitted by email to the PCC-Commissioning@beds.police.uk inbox.

In total 18 applications were received for 4 of the 5 funding opportunities, a mixture of both current and unknown providers.

The OPCC did not receive any responses to the Restorative Justice Family Support Practitioner funding opportunity.

Due Diligence Process

The Commissioning Officer completed due diligence checks on all 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.

Funding Information

Funding stream

Funding Opportunity

Organisation Name

Name of Project

Amount requested.

OPCC Information

Funded in previous year Yes/No

Number of years funded, if funded previously

If funded previously, did they comply with financial processes?

If funded previously, did they comply with monitoring processes?
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 relevant including date of reminder to review accounts, date of update of Financial Accounts and Sign Off for update on Financial Accounts)

Reserves are reasonable for the size of the organisation Yes/No

Any significant concerns detailed on accounts.

Name of Directors and Trustees (current and resigned)

Any conflict with the Directors or Trustees and the OPCC

Website Link
Financial Information

Budget Code

Supplier Reference (if a current supplier)
Due Diligence Information

Date completed.

Name of completing officer

Job title of completing officer

Showstopper Process

The Commissioning Officer and Commissioning Lead 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 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. Is the project/ service equitable? – inclusivity and accessibility are requirements of the Ministry of Justice, for example the projects/ services must be available to all gender identities. It is also good practise for the OPCC to extend such criteria to CSF services.
3. Has the application form been completed with financial data provided in detail within budget? – all applications were reviewed to ensure that the budget requested, fell within the budget allocation.
4. Does the bid response meet the needs detailed within the specification? – the providers must provide enough detail for the evaluation panel to understand how the service meets the needs outlined in the specification.
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, all organisations were deemed compliant.

Evaluation Panels

Evaluation Panels were held in two sessions with a view to having 2 independents and 2 members of the OPCC on each panel. In preparation for the evaluation panels, each panel member was asked to complete a declaration of interest document, considering their involvement with bid responses. The panel members were also provided with the specification, bid responses, scoring grid and criteria to independently mark each bid ahead of the evaluation panel.

Each panel was hosted by the Commissioning and Income Generation Lead and Commissioning Officer, 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 independently 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.

On the first date, 24th January 2024, an evaluation panel was formed to include an independent member from the Independent Custody Visitor service and an independent member from the Probation Service to support the Commissioning Lead and Commissioning Officer in evaluating bid responses. Due to unforeseen circumstances and availability, the independent member from the Probation Service was unable to support, informing the OPCC the afternoon before the panel. Due to the lack of time and inability to r-schedule, a decision was made to progress with a panel of 3 members, inclusive of 1 independent member.
On the first date, the following bid responses were evaluated.

Ministry of Justice Funding

7 bids were reviewed.

Sexual Violence Counselling Specification

1 bid reviewed.

On the second evaluation date, 25th January 2024, a different panel of 4 was prepared for the morning session, to prevent the same panel evaluating both the Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Counselling services, given a number of organisations bid for both opportunities, it was considered appropriate to score these bid responses with a refreshed panel. The panel consisted of the Commissioning lead, 2 independent members from the Independent Custody Visitors service (1 independent member remained consistent), and a Project Manager from the OPCC, with oversight of Criminal Justice elements.

During the morning session, the following bid responses were evaluated.

Community Safety Funding
Family Support and Advocacy Network Specification

2 bids reviewed.

Ministry of Justice Funding
Sexual Violence Counselling

3 bids reviewed.

Lastly, the final evaluation panel took place on the afternoon on 25th January 2024, with a panel of an independent member from the Independent Custody Visitor service and an independent member from the Probation Service to support the Commissioning Lead and Commissioning Officer.

During the afternoon session, the following bid responses were evaluated.

Community Safety Funding

Sports-based Prevention Luton Specification

6 bids reviewed.

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, Domestic Abuse counselling, Sports-Based Intervention Luton and Family DA counselling, and the Family Support and Advocacy Network.

Evaluation clarification

A tie score was reached by the evaluation panel for the Sexual Violence Counselling bidding opportunity. To respond to the tie, each panel member was asked to share questions that would be put forward to each of the two organisations, ahead of a clarification meeting with the Commissioning Lead and the Commissioning Officer. The questions were gathered and submitted to the bid respondents on 29th January 2024 via email and both organisations were invited to clarification meetings on Tuesday 30th January 2024.

During each clarification meeting, the bid respondent was informed of the process to date, evaluation panel activity and of the tie scoring outcome. For both organisations, there was clarity over criterion 5 and 6 as these were the lowest scoring areas for both organisations. Throughout the meeting, the Commissioning Officer recorder the meeting and notes were taken, the notes were subsequently shared with the evaluation panel members with a request for them to re-score each provider independently.
Following review, each panel member independently shared their updated score and rationale with the Commissioning officer, for collation ahead of a moderation meeting which was held on 13th February 2024. During the moderation meeting, the same process was followed as the evaluation panel, following the below agenda.

Introduction to the moderation meeting – inclusive of detail of the process to date. The introduction informed all panel members that the moderation process would be recorded, and notes would be taken and submitted to the OPCC for transparency purposes.

Each clarification document was read, and notes and scores were recorded individually by each panel member.

Each bid was then reviewed against criteria 5 and 6 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.

Overall scores were recalculated with a highest scoring organisation being identified.

Outcomes