Insurance and Related Services for The Havebury Housing

Partnership

Pre-Qualification Questionnaire

December 2015

PART 2 – THE PRE QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE

Bidders should answer every question referred to below. A failure to do so may result in your application being disqualified. In the event that a question does not apply to your organisation, please write "Not Applicable" in the relevant response box with a brief explanation.

Section 1: BIDDER DETAILS (for information only)

Name of the organisation in whose name this PQQ is submitted:

Address:

Website:

Section 2: PRINCIPLE CONTACT DETAILS (for information only)

Name:

Position:

Telephone Number:

Email address:

Section 3: QUALIFICATION ( Responses will be evaluated on a pass / fail basis, are required for information only, or are scored in line with the table set out at 13.6 above)

    ID BIDDER Guidance Question

  Title: PART A - BIDDER ACCEPTABILITY

  1 SA1

Pass / Fail

The Havebury Housing Partnerhip (Havebury) will not select you to tender if any of the mandatory grounds for exclusion apply, unless you have included an adequate explanation and/or mitigating factors. You should check the full text of Regulation 57 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and take legal advice where appropriate. Havebury may make its own checks and will require you to provide a record of convictions. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0215-public-contracts-regulations-2015

NB: If any of the mandatory grounds for exclusion become applicable after data has been submitted for a contract, you must inform Havebury. Failure to do so will cause any contract awarded to be terminated.

Regulation 57 (1-7) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 sets out grounds on which a bidding organisation must be deemed ineligible to tender for, or be awarded, a public contract. Within the past five years, has your organisation, Directors or partner or any other person who has powers of representation, decision or control been convicted of any of the following offences?(a)conspiracy;(b)corruption; (c)bribery (common law offence);(ch) bribery within the meaning of

section 1, 2 or 6 of the Bribery Act 2010, or section 113 of the Representation of the People Act 1983;

(d)fraud, including –i. cheating the Revenue; ii. conspiracy to defraud; iii. fraud or theft; iv. fraudulent trading; v. defrauding the

Customs/HMRC; vi. an offence in connection

with taxation in the European Union;

vii. destroying, defacing or concealing of documents;

viii. fraud within the meaning of section 2, 3 or 4 of the Fraud Act 2006; or

ix. the possession of articles for use in frauds, or the making,

adapting, supplying or offering to supply articles for use in;

(dd)any offence listed(i) in section 41 of the Counter

Terrorism Act 2008(ii) in Schedule 2 to that Act

where the court has determined that there is a terrorist connection;

(e)any offence under sections 44 to 46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 which relates to an offence covered by paragraph (f)

(f) money laundering;(ff) an offence in connection with the

proceeds of criminal conduct; (g) an offence under section 4 of the

Asylum and Immigration Act 2004; (ng) an offence under section 59A of

the Sexual Offences Act 2003; (h) an offence under section 71 of

the Coroners and Justice Act 2009;

(i) an offence in connection with the proceeds of drug trafficking; or

(j) any other offence within the meaning of Article 57(1) of the Public Contracts Directive.

If you answered "yes", please provide details that will enable Havebury to determine whether or not it is required to exclude you under the mandatory grounds for exclusion laid out in Regulation 57 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Response:

  2 SA2

Pass / Fail

Havebury will exclude you from participation in the procurement procedure if, having investigated the circumstances, any of these grounds for exclusion is found to apply. Havebury may include additional questions covering some of these grounds more specifically, for example, on conflicts of interest, on employment practices such as Blacklisting and False Self-Employment and on offences under Equalities, Environmental and Health and Safety legislation. See Regulation 56(2) for more details.

Regulation 57 (8) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 sets out discretionary grounds on which a bidding organisation may be deemed ineligible to tender for, or be awarded, a public contract. Should it become apparent to the buying organisation that any of the following situations has applied to your organisation within the past 3 years, or currently applies to your organisation, you may be excluded from the procurement. Select "Yes" if you wish to discuss any of these matters with the buying organisation.a) your organisation has violated

obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law;

b) your organisation is bankrupt or is the subject of insolvency or winding-up proceedings;

c) your organisation is guilty of grave professional misconduct, which renders its integrity questionable;

ch) your organisation has entered into agreements with other economic operators aimed at distorting competition;

d) your organisation has a conflict of interest with the buying organisation which cannot be remedied;

dd) the prior involvement of your organisation in the preparation of the procurement procedure has resulted in a distortion of competition which cannot be remedied;

e) your organisation has shown significant or persistent deficiencies in the performance of a substantive requirement under a prior public contract which led to

early termination of that prior contract or damages;

f) your organisation has been guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying information during a procurement exercise, or has withheld such information or is not able to submit the supporting documentation; or

ff) your organisation has attempted to unduly influence the decision-making process of the contracting authority, or to obtain confidential information; or has negligently provided misleading information that may have a material influence on decisions concerning exclusion, selection or award.

Response:

  3 SA3

Pass / Fail

If you or your organisation has used or run prohibited lists within the last 3 years, as defined in The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010, you must disclose this. Havebury will deem you ineligible to tender unless you can demonstrate adequate evidence of 'self-cleaning' (see Regulation 57 (13) - (17)). The measures you have taken will also be evaluated taking into account the gravity and particular circumstances of the misconduct.

Have you, or has your organisation been found to have employed the practice of 'blacklisting' in the last three years?

If you answered “yes”, please include details outlining the circumstances, including actions you have since taken to put matters right, as described in the guidance to this question.

Response:

  4 SA4

Pass / Fail

Havebury will not select a bidding organisation to tender without first having taken steps to avoid or mitigate any conflicts of interest. NOTE: In the event that you fail to declare a potential conflict of interest Havebury will cancel any contract awarded

Are you (if an individual) or any of your directors, partners, shareholders, owners, officers, employees, agents or associates (if an organisation) related or connected to any elected officials of or any officers of Havebury involved in the procurement?

If yes, please provide details

Response:

5 SA5

Pass / Fail

Havebury may deem you ineligible to tender if any of these grounds for exclusion apply.

Have any of your organisation’s tax returns submitted on or after 1 October 2012;

a) Given rise to a criminal conviction for tax related offences which is unspent, or to a civil penalty for fraud or evasion; or

b) Been found to be incorrect as a result of: HMRC successfully challenging

your organisation under the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) or the "Halifax" abuse principle; or

a tax authority in a jurisdiction in which the legal entity is established successfully challenging it under any tax rules or legislation that have an effect equivalent or similar to the GAAR or the "Halifax" abuse principle; or

the failure of an avoidance scheme in which your organisation was involved and

which was, or should have been, notified under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Scheme (DOTAS) or any equivalent or similar regime in a jurisdiction in which your organisation is established.

If yes, please provide details of any mitigating factors that you considers relevant and that you wish the Authority to take into consideration. This could include, for example:

Corrective action undertaken to date;

Planned corrective action to be taken;

Changes in personnel or ownership since the Occasion of Non-Compliance (OONC); or

Changes in financial, accounting, audit or management procedures since the OONC

Response:

  Title: PART B - ECONOMIC / FINANCIAL STANDING

  6 FS1

Info only

This information will be used for identification purposes to enable Havebury to produce an Credit Safe or equivalent report.

Havebury will analyse the report and may exclude your organisation should you fail to meet our requirements.

Bidders established outside the United Kingdom may provide

Is your organisation (please indicate the option that applies):

i) a public limited companyii) a limited companyiii) a limited liability partnership (LLP)iv)other partnershipv) a sole trader vi)other (please specify)

Please provide your company or LLP registration number (if applicable).

equivalent information as detailed in Schedule 5 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Please provide your organisation’s FCA registration number.

Response:

7 FS2

Info only

This information is for verification only but Havebury may exclude you if you provide incorrect information. If you are not registered for VAT this will not necessarily preclude you from bidding.

Are you VAT registered?

If so, please provide your registration number

Response:

8 FS3

Pass / Fail

This information will be used by Havebury or a third party in order to analyse your financial strength. Please ZIP documents together where necessary. NOTE: you will be notified of any thresholds or tests to be applied to the accounts.

Provide accounts for the most recently completed two financial years. If possible, submit audited accounts.

If you are unable to submit audited accounts, please explain why audited accounts are not available.

Response:

9 FS4

Pass / Fail

This information may be used by Havebury or a third party in order to analyse your financial strength. Please ZIP documents together where necessary. NOTE: you will be notified of any

If available, provide any quarter or half-year accounts, results or management reports for the period since the end of the most recently completed financial year.

If this information is not available, please state “Not Applicable”, and

thresholds or tests to be applied to the accounts.

provide a brief explanation why.

Response:

10 FS5

Info only

This information may be used by Havebury or a third party in order to analyse your financial strength. Please ZIP documents together where necessary. NOTE: you will be notified of any thresholds or tests to be applied to the accounts.

If your organisation is a wholly-owned subsidiary or a larger trading or holding company provide the registration number of the parent company, along with accounts for the two most recently completed financial years.

If you are unable to submit audited accounts, please explain why audited accounts are not available.

If this question is not applicable to your organisation, please state “Not Applicable”.

Response:

  11 FS6

Pass / Fail

If you answer "no" to this question and it is determined that your financial strength is not adequate you will not qualify to tender. If you answer "yes" Havebury may need to explore these options with you before determining whether you will qualify to tender.

If analysis of your financial position shows that further measures are necessary to provide adequate assurance of your financial strength, could you provide at least one of the following?

A parent company guarantee

A performance guarantee bond

Bank guarantee

Advance payment bond

Response:

  12 FS7

Pass / Fail

It is a condition of contract participation that if successful you must have insurances at the following minimum levels:

Public liability £5,000,000.00 (five million pounds sterling) for each and every event with the number of events unlimited.

Employers liability £5,000,000.00 (five million pounds sterling) for each and every event with the number of events unlimited.

Professional Indemnity £2,000,000.00 (two million pounds sterling) for each and every event with the number of events unlimited.

It is a legal requirement that all companies hold Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance of £5 million as a minimum. Failure to evidence that these insurances are in place at the point of award will result in the immediate termination of the contract. Failure to maintain the required insurance through the life of the contract will also result in immediate termination of the contract.

Please confirm whether you already have, or can commit to obtain, prior to the commencement of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated in the guidance to this question. Select "yes" to confirm this. If you are successful you must be in a position to provide insurance certificates, if required, without delay, to confirm this prior to contract award.

Response:

  Title: PART C - CAPACITY & CAPABILITY

  13 CC1

Info only

This answer will not be evaluated, but will be used by Havebury) to understand what services your organisation provides. The answer to this question will not be used by Havebury as part of a procurement exercise. Any evidence demonstrating your suitability to tender should be covered in your answers to other questions.

What are the main business activities of your organisation? Please include a brief history of the your organisation, detailing any parent and associated companies and any changes of ownership over the last 5 years including details of significant pending developments, changes in financial structure or ownership, prospective take-over bids, buy-outs and closures, etc which are currently in the public domain.

Response:

14 CC2

Info only

This answer will not be evaluated, but will be used by (Havebury) to understand how your organisation is structured. The answer to this question will not be used by Havebury as part of a procurement exercise. Any evidence demonstrating your suitability to tender should be covered in your answers to other questions.

Please provide a one-page chart illustrating the ownership structure of the bidder, including relations to any parent or other group or holding companies.

Response:

15 CC3

Info only

Bidders must answer this question. Where a Bidder becomes aware of the intention to subcontract at later stages in the procurement they are required to notify Havebury of this and provide the information requested below at that time.

Is your organisation:

a) bidding to provide the Insurance required itself;

b) bidding in the role of Prime Contractor and acts as a Managing General Agent or Managing General Underwriter for some or all Insurance services; or

c) an independent broker?

If you are bidding in the role of Prime Contractor and act as a Managing General Agent or Managing General Underwriter for some or all Insurance services, please confirm the classes of insurance for which you are expecting to act as Managing General Agent or Underwriter and details of the Insurer(s) for which you act. Please give a brief outline on the extent to which it is envisaged they may be used in any contract and whether alternative markets are available through the Bidder for the stated classes of insurance.

Response:

16 CC4

Pass / Fail

Havebury will only select you to tender if you are registered with an appropriate trade or professional register(s) in the EU member state where you are established.

Is your organisation registered with an appropriate trade or professional register(s) in the EU member state where you are established?

If yes, please provide further details and support your answer with evidence if required.

Response:

  17 CC5

Scored - 40%

Higher marks will be awarded where you can demonstrate that you have appropriately qualified and experienced personnel who will be dedicated to servicing the requirement, and that you have sufficiently robust arrangement in place for business continuity and succession planning should a team member not be available.

Do you have the necessary numbers of experienced and qualified staff to service the requirement? Please provide a 1 page chart showing the staffing structure you propose to service the requirement.

Response:

  18 CC6

Scored – 40%

Higher marks will be available where you are able to demonstrate recent evidence of successfully delivering relevant services and the quality of any testimonials provided; Havebury may also request that you provide references to support your answer.

Provide a description of up to 3 relevant contracts you have successfully delivered in the last 5 years that show experience that is relevant to the requirement. Provide details of:

• Services delivered

• How these are relevant to the requirement

• How the contract was delivered successfully; include testimonials where possible

• Period over which the contract was delivered

Response:

  19 CC7

Pass / Fail

Havebury will use this information to determine whether you have a record of successful delivery of contracts. If you answer "yes" to this question and fail to provide convincing evidence that you have taken appropriate action to ensure the problems will not be repeated you will not be selected to tender

Has your organisation had a contract cancelled, or not renewed, for breach of contract or failure to meet requirements within the last three years?

If you answered “yes”, please provide details including name of customer, reasons for cancellation (including where a contract has been cancelled as a result of a merger or similar change in business entity) and any action taken to avoid this happening again

Response:

  Title: PART D – QUALITY MANAGEMENT

  20 MA1

Scored -20%

Higher marks will be awarded where you can demonstrate that you have an appropriate system for making sure that the quality of the product or service you deliver is consistent.

Do you operate in accordance with a Quality Management System that is certified by a UKAS-accredited (or national equivalent) third party against ISO 9001 or an equivalent standard? If you are successful you must be in a position to provide evidence prior to contract award and without delay.

Response:

  21 MA2

If you answered "yes" to question MA1 you do not need to answer this question. If you answer "no" to this question you will be excluded from tendering.. If you are successful you must be in a position to provide

Do you have a formal quality management policy, linked to your business plan and customer needs, that is understood and followed by all employees?

evidence prior to contract award and without delay. Please ZIP documents together if necessary.

Response:

  22 MA3

If you answered "yes" to question MA1 you do not need to answer this question. If you answer "no" to this question you will be excluded from tendering. If you are successful you must be in a position to provide evidence prior to contract award and without delay. Please ZIP documents together if necessary.

Do you have a documented process designed to ensure that the quality of your products or services is consistent.

Response:

  23 MA4 If you answered "yes" to question MA1 you do not need to answer this question. If you answer "no" to this question you will be excluded from tendering.. If you are successful you must be in a position to provide evidence prior to contract award and without delay. Please ZIP documents together if necessary.

Do you regularly review performance through internal audits and meetings, and keep a record of the results?

Response:

  Title: PART E - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

  24 EO1

Info only

Havebury will not select you to tender if you have been found to have unlawfully discriminated in the last three years, unless you have provided adequate evidence that you have taken appropriate action to stop it happening again.

In the last three years,

• has any finding of unlawful discrimination been made against your organisation by an Employment Tribunal, an Employment Appeal Tribunal or any other court (or in comparable proceedings in any jurisdiction other than the UK) and/or

• has your organisation had a complaint upheld following an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission or its predecessors (or a comparable body in any jurisdiction other than the UK), on grounds of alleged unlawful discrimination?

If you answered "yes", please provide a summary of the nature of the investigation and an explanation of the outcome to date. If the investigation upheld the complaint against your organisation, please explain what action (if any) you have taken to prevent unlawful discrimination from reoccurring.

Response:

  25 EO2

Info Only

Havebury will not select you to tender if you do not have in place adequate vetting processes to check 3rd Party record on compliance with equalities legislation.

If you use 3rd Party providers, do you have processes in place to check whether any of the above circumstances apply to these other organisations?

Response:

  Title: PART F- SUSTAINABILITY

  26 SU1

Info only Havebury will use your answer to determine if you have an appropriate system for addressing your environmental, sustainability and CSR obligations in a consistent manner.

Do you operate in accordance with an Environmental Management System that is certified by a UKAS-accredited (or national equivalent) organisation (e.g. EMAS, ISO 14001, Green Dragon or BS8555)? If you are successful you must be in a position to provide evidence if required, prior to contract award, and without delay.

Response:

  27 SU2

Info only

If you answered "yes" to question SU1 you do not need to answer this question.

Do you have an environmental policy statement committing your organisation to a programme of improvement?

Response:

  28 SU3

Pass / Fail

Havebury will not select you to tender if you have been convicted or served notice under environmental legislation in the last three years unless you provide adequate evidence of action taken to stop similar incidences from happening again.

Has your organisation been convicted of breaching environmental legislation, or had any notice served upon it, in the last three years by any environmental regulator or authority (including local authority)?

If you answered “yes”, please provide details of any conviction or notice and details of any remedial action or changes you have made as a result of conviction or notices

served.

Response:

  29 SU4

Pass / Fail

Havebury may not select you to tender if you do not have in place adequate vetting processes to check your 3rd Party Providers record on compliance with environmental legislation.

If you use 3rd Party Providers, do you have processes in place to check whether any of these organisations have been convicted or had a notice served upon them for infringement of environmental legislation?

Response:

  Title: PART G - HEALTH & SAFETY

  30 HS1

Pass / Fail

All companies with more than five employees must have a Health and Safety Policy. Havebury will require you to confirm that you have reviewed your Health and Safety Policy within the past two years. Failure to provide the adequate information may result in you not being selected to tender.. Please ZIP documents together if necessary.

Please confirm that your company has a Health and Safety Policy which has been reviewed within the last 2 years, and which includes the following:

a Policy Statement signed & dated.

The Organisation and Responsibilities - how Health and Safety requirements are implemented.

The Arrangements – standards and procedures adopted in practice.

Response:

  31 HS2

Pass / Fail

Havebury will not select you to tender if your company has been prosecuted or served notice under health and safety legislation unless

Has your organisation or any of its Directors or Executive Officers been in receipt of enforcement/remedial orders in relation to the Health and Safety Executive (or equivalent

there is clear evidence that decisive and comprehensive action has been taken to remedy the situation. Havebury may check the HSE database to confirm the accuracy of the information provided. Failure to provide accurate information may result in you not being selected to tender.

body) in the last 3 years?

If your answer is "yes" provide details of the enforcement/remedial orders served and give details of any remedial action or changes to procedures you have made as a result.

Response:

DECLARATION:I declare that to the best of my knowledge the answers submitted to these questions are correct. I understand that the information will be used in the selection process to assess my organisation’s suitability to be invited to participate further in this procurement, and I am signing on behalf of......................... (Insert name of Supplier). I understand that the authority may reject my submission if there is a failure to answer all relevant questions fully or if I provide false/misleading information.

PQQ COMPLETED BYName

Role in organisation

Date

Signature