Framework agreement for the provision of boarding services for seized dogs

Report: 9
Date: 13 May 2010
By: Director of Human Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

Members are asked to approve the award of contracts to nine companies using a supply framework for the supply of Boarding, Transport and Veterinary Treatment of Dangerous Dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

The supply framework will be for an initial period of 24 months with an option to extend for two 12 month periods. The total budgeted value of the supply framework is £10.6m

A. Recommendation

That Members are asked to approve the award of a framework of contracts to nine companies for the supply of boarding, transport and veterinary treatment for dangerous dogs as set out in this report. The framework will be for a period of 48 months and a value of £10.6m. Nine companies are judged to provide the optimum mix of capacity, location and capability.

B. Supporting information

1. Logistical Services has, for the past four and a half years, been managing the contracts for the provision of the boarding and veterinary care service for dangerous dogs seized under The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. The existing contracts for the provision of these services will expire on 31 May 2010.

2. During this time, there has been an increasing tendency of criminals to use dangerous dogs as weapons of intimidation and this has been described as the “new knife in the street”. The Metropolitan Police have responded to this threat and progressively more dogs have been seized, increasing the required volume of spaces at kennels and supporting care services significantly since the original contract was let in 2005. The number of dogs seized has increased by over 110% in the last three years to 1,146 per annum.

3. In recognition of the need to adopt a corporate approach to tackling the issue, Management Board approved the creation of the Status Dogs Unit. Responsibility for contract management passed to the Status Dogs Unit on 29 March 2010.

44. When the current contracts were put in place, the estimated number of kennel spaces required at any one time was in the region of 30. Currently there is a need to have 400 kennel spaces available to the Status Dogs Unit at any one time. This requirement is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Procurement Process

5. The tender action was initiated in January 2010 and a two-stage restricted procurement process was undertaken, this included a pre-qualification selection stage and an invitation to tender stage. The procurement was advertised to all kennels in the South East via the CompeteFor (government procurement advertising website) and BlueLight (national police force procurement website) electronic tendering systems. The predicted spend over the term of the contract was advertised at £10.6m as per the allocated budget and the intention to create a supply framework was notified to all candidates at the pre-qualification stage.

6. The supply framework will be for an initial period of 24 months from date of commencement, with the option for two extensions of 12 months each. This approach was deemed to be flexible enough to allow for any possible changes to the supply strategy for the tendered services over the period of the framework and gives confidence to the marketplace that the agreement would be a worthwhile opportunity.

7. During the tender process, full consideration was given to the statement of requirements to ensure that the specification is in line with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1964.

88. The Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) and Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents were drafted jointly by members of Procurement Services, Logistical Services and the Status Dog Unit of CO11 Public Order and Operational Support. The PQQ was published on the 28 January 2010 with a deadline for submissions of 17 February 2010.

9. The level of response to the PQQ was varied; however the majority provided a good level of information and detail. There were 16 respondents at the PQQ stage. Four of these respondents did not meet the Financial Standing criteria and so were excluded from the process. Of the remainder, only respondents who scored above 50% on the scored questions were invited to the ITT stage, this was a total of nine companies.

10. The award criterion for the framework was split into three elements:

• Day rate for boarding (inc. basic veterinary services) 55%
• Technical Ability 40%
• Transportation Costs 5%

11. Selection and award criteria were provided to all bidders at each stage of the procurement process. The award scores are listed in the exempt Appendix 1.

12. Once Contracts have been awarded, the framework will operate in a direct award format; this will aid operational efficiency as it does not require a mini-competition to be undertaken for the placement of each individual dog. In place of this, a cascade list of the suppliers appointed to the framework will be created on the basis of the scores obtained in each of the above elements. Suppliers who scored highest on the ‘Day rate’ will be utilised first, where two suppliers have offered the same ‘Day rate’ cost then the most technically competent supplier will be used first, where both these scores are equal the transport costs will then be taken into account.

13. This approach will ensure that the best value suppliers are used in the first instance and will provide value for money to the organisation. Appendix 1 shows the proposed cascade list with the scores for each element:

14. The anticipated spend on the contract will be in line with the allocated budget over the four-year period at the costs submitted by the bidders. The framework agreement includes the provision to undertake cost reviews on an annual basis, which will either affirm the cascade list or allows for adjustment on the basis of the criteria listed above. This will provide the mechanism to ensure continued value for money is obtained over the life of the agreement.

15. The framework which includes all nine suppliers, provides the kennel capacity of 400 spaces as required by the Status Dogs Unit. All suppliers appointed to the framework are located within a 40 mile radius of the centre of London to support operational efficiency. This structure of agreement will also provide both ongoing cost competition and the potential to increase capacity by up to 15% should it be required, (for example during the Olympic Games period or should further legislation be introduced).

116. This additional capacity can be increased with the agreement of each of the kennels. Demand for kennel places is also being managed by the Status Dog Unit, with particular focus on reducing the average number of days dogs are held; the current average stay of dogs seized since the formation of the Status Dogs Unit has reduced to approximately 70 days.

C. Race and equality impact

1. There are no immediate implications on equality or diversity arising from this tender process.

2. The Status Dog Unit will manage this framework and will take appropriate action if there is shown to be any disproportionate impact on any particular group.

3. The Status Dog Unit acknowledges its responsibilities towards the members of London’s diverse communities and will engage with, and value the contributions of, communities and our partners and continue to nurture positive relationships of constructive support.

4. All of the suppliers who are being proposed for the framework are categorised as Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME’s), with a significant number being family owned businesses.

D. Financial implications

1. The budget for the Boarding Services and ancillary requirements is £2.65m per annum, which equates to a total cost of £10.6m over the four-year agreement period. This has been calculated on an average daily requirement of 400 kennel spaces.

2. The value of the current contract over the original three-year period from 1 April 2006 was £450,000 (£150,000 per annum). Due to the increase in demand, in August 2008 it was estimated that the total cost over the contract period, including forecast outturn for 2008/09 would exceed the original contract value by £2.26m.

3. Approval was sought and granted by the MPS Contracts Board on 5 November 2008 to increase the contract value to £2.7m for the remainder of the contract term until March 2009.

4. Simultaneously, approval was also sought and granted for a £1.35m one year extension of the contract to allow further market interest to be generated ahead of re-tender and to ensure that sufficient competition was available.

5. The cost of supplying this service is a continuing concern and the MPS have taken measures to streamline processes and reduce costs. The Status Dogs Unit is creating a 'time profile' to identify where the delay in processing dogs rests and will address any identified delays. The management and administrative support has been reorganised leading to greater efficiency. All cases are regularly reviewed to ensure that time is not lost or details overlooked leading to longer kennelling periods.

6. Efficiency savings have been identified in the court process and the MPS has worked with a number of other agencies including the Justices Clerk's Society and DEFRA lawyers on compiling 'Courts guidance' that was recently published to all Courts. The document gives guidance to Courts how dangerous dog cases can be managed that are both positive in terms of animal welfare issues and cost effectiveness.

7. The MPS have worked together with other police forces and the RSPCA to draft changes to the law to give greater flexibility to the police when dealing with dangerous dogs. This work consolidates existing legislation and if implemented will result in a reduction in the numbers of dogs seized by police.

8. The MPS will continue to provide a monthly monitoring report to the MPA.

E. Legal implications

1. The services that have been tendered are veterinary services and so are Part B services for the purposes of the EU and UK procurement regulatory regimes. Part B services are exempt from many of the obligations contained in the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (PCR) and there is no obligation in relation to this contract to place a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

2. The MPA Contract Regulations require that where services tendered exceed the PCR financial threshold (£156, 442), and the principles of EU procurement law are followed. Contracts must therefore be awarded in accordance with Treaty of Rome principles, namely they must be tendered in a non-discriminatory, transparent and objective manner. MPA Contract Regulations state that in this situation the contract should be awarded using the open or restricted procedure.

3. Due to the overall value of the framework agreement and the potential sensitivity of the services required, external legal advice was sought and followed as to the most suitable form of tender process. External legal advice identified that the most suitable procurement process is the restricted procedure.

4. The restricted tender procedure will result in the establishment of a framework agreement with contracts awarded on a cascade basis (as set out in the exempt Appendix 1), as recommended by external legal advisors, which will be compliant with EU and UK procurement law and the MPA Contract Regulations. MPS Directorate of Legal Services have endorsed the approach.

F. Environmental implications

1. The Metropolitan Police Service is committed to proactively manage and minimise our environmental impacts and prevent pollution through the implementation of the Environmental Strategy.

2. Mindful of environmental considerations, the intention would be to minimize the transportation of dogs seized, the pre-qualification questionnaire required the kennels to be located within a 40 mile radius from WC2N 5HS which is adjudged to be the centre of London.

G. Background papers

None

H. Contact details

Report author: Mark Fox, Head of Criminal Exhibit Services

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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