Functional Assessment Services (FAS) 2023
A Tender Notice
by DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS
- Source
- Find a Tender
- Type
- Contract (Services)
- Duration
- 7.5 year
- Value
- £2B-£3B
- Sector
- HEALTH
- Published
- 12 Nov 2021
- Delivery
- To 24 Jun 2032 (est.)
- Deadline
- 27 Jan 2022 00:00
Concepts
Location
United Kingdom:
1 buyer
- Department for Work & Pensions Sheffield
Description
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. Full details relating to the application of a Market Share Limiter can be found in the associated procurement documents. Lot 5, Northern Ireland, will be excluded from any Market Share Limiter.
Lot Division
| 1 | Northern England and Scotland
To support the determination of an individual’s entitlement to benefit, the Authority requires the delivery of a range of Functional Assessment Services (FAS). The results of these assessments form one part of the evidence utilised by the Authority Decision Maker in making a decision on benefit entitlement on behalf of the Secretary of State. FAS Suppliers will be expected to deliver functional assessments in relation to the following benefits: • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)- https://www.gov.uk/pip • Employment Support Allowance (ESA)- https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance • Universal Credit (UC)- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition • As well as a number of other specialist benefits for and on behalf of other Government Agencies (full list is provided within the associated procurement documents). The Scottish government will take responsibility for administering a replacement for PIP, Adult Disability Payment, in advance of 1st August 2023. However, there may be a requirement for the FAS supplier to provide elements of the PIP service in Scotland on an ad-hoc basis for a small number of in-progress cases. Additional detail will be available in the service requirement section of the associated procurement documents. Suppliers will be required to provide the necessary estate to support PIP assessments across all lots. The Authority will provide the majority of estate to facilitate work capability assessments (WCA), to assess ESA and UC entitlement, and specialist benefit assessments in Great Britain. In Lot 5, Northern Ireland, the supplier will be expected to provide and manage the estate to support all assessment types. More detail on the estate provision is contained in the associated procurement documents. 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. |
| 2 | Midlands and Wales
To support the determination of an individual’s entitlement to benefit, the Authority requires the delivery of a range of Functional Assessment Services (FAS). The results of these assessments form one part of the evidence utilised by the Authority Decision Maker in making a decision on benefit entitlement on behalf of the Secretary of State. FAS Suppliers will be expected to deliver functional assessments in relation to the following benefits: • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)- https://www.gov.uk/pip • Employment Support Allowance (ESA)- https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance • Universal Credit (UC)- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition • As well as a number of other specialist benefits for and on behalf of other Government Agencies (full list is provided within the associated procurement documents). The Scottish government will take responsibility for administering a replacement for PIP, Adult Disability Payment, in advance of 1st August 2023. However, there may be a requirement for the FAS supplier to provide elements of the PIP service in Scotland on an ad-hoc basis for a small number of in-progress cases. Additional detail will be available in the service requirement section of the associated procurement documents. Suppliers will be required to provide the necessary estate to support PIP assessments across all lots. The Authority will provide the majority of estate to facilitate work capability assessments (WCA), to assess ESA and UC entitlement, and specialist benefit assessments in Great Britain. In Lot 5, Northern Ireland, the supplier will be expected to provide and manage the estate to support all assessment types. More detail on the estate provision is contained in the associated procurement documents. 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 |
| 3 | South West England
To support the determination of an individual’s entitlement to benefit, the Authority requires the delivery of a range of Functional Assessment Services (FAS). The results of these assessments form one part of the evidence utilised by the Authority Decision Maker in making a decision on benefit entitlement on behalf of the Secretary of State. FAS Suppliers will be expected to deliver functional assessments in relation to the following benefits: • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)- https://www.gov.uk/pip • Employment Support Allowance (ESA)- https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance • Universal Credit (UC)- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition • As well as a number of other specialist benefits for and on behalf of other Government Agencies (full list is provided within the associated procurement documents). The Scottish government will take responsibility for administering a replacement for PIP, Adult Disability Payment, in advance of 1st August 2023. However, there may be a requirement for the FAS supplier to provide elements of the PIP service in Scotland on an ad-hoc basis for a small number of in-progress cases. Additional detail will be available in the service requirement section of the associated procurement documents. Suppliers will be required to provide the necessary estate to support PIP assessments across all lots. The Authority will provide the majority of estate to facilitate work capability assessments (WCA), to assess ESA and UC entitlement, and specialist benefit assessments in Great Britain. In Lot 5, Northern Ireland, the supplier will be expected to provide and manage the estate to support all assessment types. More detail on the estate provision is contained in the associated procurement documents. 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 |
| 4 | London, South East & East Anglia
To support the determination of an individual’s entitlement to benefit, the Authority requires the delivery of a range of Functional Assessment Services (FAS). The results of these assessments form one part of the evidence utilised by the Authority Decision Maker in making a decision on benefit entitlement on behalf of the Secretary of State. FAS Suppliers will be expected to deliver functional assessments in relation to the following benefits: • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)- https://www.gov.uk/pip • Employment Support Allowance (ESA)- https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance • Universal Credit (UC)- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition • As well as a number of other specialist benefits for and on behalf of other Government Agencies (full list is provided within the associated procurement documents). The Scottish government will take responsibility for administering a replacement for PIP, Adult Disability Payment, in advance of 1st August 2023. However, there may be a requirement for the FAS supplier to provide elements of the PIP service in Scotland on an ad-hoc basis for a small number of in-progress cases. Additional detail will be available in the service requirement section of the associated procurement documents. Suppliers will be required to provide the necessary estate to support PIP assessments across all lots. The Authority will provide the majority of estate to facilitate work capability assessments (WCA), to assess ESA and UC entitlement, and specialist benefit assessments in Great Britain. In Lot 5, Northern Ireland, the supplier will be expected to provide and manage the estate to support all assessment types. More detail on the estate provision is contained in the associated procurement documents. 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 |
| 5 | Northern Ireland
To support the determination of an individual’s entitlement to benefit, the Authority requires the delivery of a range of Functional Assessment Services (FAS). The results of these assessments form one part of the evidence utilised by the Authority Decision Maker in making a decision on benefit entitlement on behalf of the Secretary of State. FAS Suppliers will be expected to deliver functional assessments in relation to the following benefits: • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)- https://www.gov.uk/pip • Employment Support Allowance (ESA)- https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance • Universal Credit (UC)- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition-quick-guide/universal-credit-if-you-have-a-disability-or-health-condition • As well as a number of other specialist benefits for and on behalf of other Government Agencies (full list is provided within the associated procurement documents). The Scottish government will take responsibility for administering a replacement for PIP, Adult Disability Payment, in advance of 1st August 2023. However, there may be a requirement for the FAS supplier to provide elements of the PIP service in Scotland on an ad-hoc basis for a small number of in-progress cases. Additional detail will be available in the service requirement section of the associated procurement documents. Suppliers will be required to provide the necessary estate to support PIP assessments across all lots. The Authority will provide the majority of estate to facilitate work capability assessments (WCA), to assess ESA and UC entitlement, and specialist benefit assessments in Great Britain. In Lot 5, Northern Ireland, the supplier will be expected to provide and manage the estate to support all assessment types. More detail on the estate provision is contained in the associated procurement documents. 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. |
Renewal Options
Following implementation, the contractual term is for 5 years, with the provision to extend at the Authority’s discretion, for up to a maximum of a further 2 years (i.e. any number of extensions, in any number of months provided the total extension period does not exceed two years).
CPV Codes
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
Indicators
- Restrictions apply to the lot award allocation.
- This is a one-off contract (no recurrence)
- Options are available.
- Renewals are not available.
- Financial restrictions apply.
- Professional qualifications are sought.
- Staff qualifications are relevant.
- Technical restrictions apply.
Other 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. Detailed instructions regarding this process can be found in the ‘Additional Information’ section. The selected supplier(s) will have access to a 10 month implementation phase followed by service delivery, expected to commence on 1 August 2023. 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 ** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** Suppliers Instructions: How to Express Interest in this Tender: 1. Register on the Authority e-Sourcing portal, Jagger (this is only required once): https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk & click the link to register - Accept the terms & conditions & click 'continue' - Enter your correct business & user details - Note your chosen username & click 'Save'. You will receive an email with your password (keep this secure) 2. Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant (project number (23953))- Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. - This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page. (A secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box 3. Gaining access to the tender Data Room – Following expression of interest, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) will be shared to your nominated point of contact via Jaggaer or email. This NDA must be reviewed, signed and returned to the Authority. Once the NDA has been signed by your representative and accepted by the Authority, access will be granted to the procurement Data Room which contains key information relating to this procurement. 4. Responding to the tender - Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion for both Indicative Bids and BAFO. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the Qualification Envelope - There may be a mixture of online & offline actions to complete (detailed online help available). To submit your reply, use the 'Submit Response' button (top of the page). For further assistance, please consult the online help, or the eTendering help desk . The Authority expressly reserves the rights: (i) to cancel this procurement at any stage without giving any notice: (ii) to not award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this Notice; (iii) to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of this procurement; (iv) to award one or more public contracts in relation to part only of the requirements covered by this Notice. In no circumstances will the Authority be liable for any costs, expenditure, work or effort incurred by a recipient of this Contract Notice and associated procurement documents in connection with or resulting from this procurement including (without limitation) attending any meetings, talks, presentations, open days etc. Competitive Dialogue has been selected under IV.1.1 (Type of Procedure) as it is closest to the Commercial Dialogue procedure to be used by the Authority, and the procedure to be followed by the Authority will be set out in the procurement documents. The Authority expressly reserves the right to (i)cancel this procurement at any stage; (ii)to not award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; (iii)and in no circumstances will the Authority be liable for any costs incurred by potential suppliers.
Reference
- ocds-h6vhtk-02f666
- FTS 028407-2021