Tendering For Care

A report carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has revealed that the older generation wants to be offered "real" choices when it come to establishing what kind of elderly care they receive.

According to the survey results, social care should encompass all aspects of getting older, not just the medical ones and the respondents wanted social care organisations to ask older people what they actually want in order to help them to choose the best lifestyle for them.Paul Snell, chief executive of the CSCI, said that the Making Choices: Taking Risks report was designed to highlight some of the risk-related factors that may prevent older people from living life the way they choose. It also proposes some ways that social care can support people's aspirations and choices and identifies some challenges that still need to be addressed. "People tell us that real choice means having real options, with the support to choose between them," he added. One of the anonymous elderly respondents explained that at times, they were left frustrated with the attitude of some of the care workers who assumed that the older generation were incapable of making decisions "You spend your whole life making decisions about things – your work, your relationships, your children - you don't want to suddenly give up that responsibility because you're older," they said.

A letter, signed by a raft of organisations including the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, warned Gordon Brown against giving social care a poor financial settlement in next year’s comprehensive spending review.

It claimed the current system is "unsustainable" and thousands of older people would be condemned to isolation. They warned the current social care system is unsustainable and needs further investment if it is to move beyond "rationing intensive social care support".

It followed being raised by local authorities through local government leader Lord Bruce-Lockhart that worsening settlements each year had now forced many to raise eligibility for support is restricted to the point where already only those in severe need are likely to receive help.

Signatories, including John Coughlan, president of the Association of Directors of Social Services, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the King’s Fund and Michael Lake, director general of Help the Aged argued investing in older people’s care will yield financial as well as social gains. Targeting investment on new technology – such as telecare systems to monitor older people in their own homes – should also produce savings in health and social care.

The letter urged the chancellor to heed the recommendations of the influential Wanless report for the King’s Fund earlier this year, which warned that services for older people were already being pared back to worrying levels, so that only those in severe need are likely to receive help.

"We are deeply concerned that there are currently no signals that the government is moving to address this critical issue adequately. Within the current constraints it ought to be possible to ensure levels of social care support for older people at least do not worsen," they wrote.

"Without additional funds for social care, very many vulnerable people will be condemned to isolation and dependency. The decisions taken now will affect the lives and prospects of hundreds of thousands of older people, their families and their carers."

The British Dyslexia Association (BDA), a charity dedicated to helping children and adults who are affected by the learning disability, has issued a public appeal for help after its recent financial troubles left it in real danger of being forced to shut down.

A written statement from Richard Phillips, chair of the trustees and Judi Stewart, chief executive of the BDA, declared that one of the main causes of the problems was the "complex set of bureaucratic circumstances" which had prevented government departments' contributions getting to the charity in time." The BDA continues to lobby the government and civil servants at the highest level to find a solution...The BDA will continue its efforts to resolve this issue," they wrote. A small silver lining was offered in the news that the trustees, friends of the charity and several other contributors had raised enough money to tide the organisation over for the time being when they met on December 1st for the Save the BDA appeal. Mr Phillips and Ms Stewart thanked the contributors for their efforts but warned that unless a long-term funding solution was found, the BDA could find itself in a similar situation in the near future. The BDA is one of several British charities specifically designed to aid the UK's estimated six million dyslexia sufferers in finding ways to get through life as best they can.

The lobbying organisation Black Mental Health UK held a symposium to address theproblems of mental health within Black communities.

Recent National Statistics show that new cases of homelessness have fallen by nearly half since their recent peak 3 years ago. Housing Minister Yvette Cooper welcomed progress made in reducing homelessness and today announced a £47.2 million grant to help tackle and prevent homelessness.

TfC is a suite of support services which have been developed to meet the needs of providers of all types of  health and social care services, consultants, housing associations and RSLs when tendering or re-tendering for public sector contracts. Those companies benefitting from the support and/or the training which TfC offers, encompasses organisations from very small to the largest care providers in the country. The smallest company to receive our help and tender successfully in 2009 has an annual T/O of £150,000 whilst the biggest turns over £200 million. We also provide training and support to the public sector - the "purchasers". This includes managing the public procurement process to ensure Regulatory compliance; providing training courses for Commissioners; and participating in tender appraisal.

Customers can purchase services on a one-off basis. These are set out on the right. Please click on the heading TfC Tendering Support Suite.

Alternatively there is an option to become a Member of TfC based on an annual Subscription. Membership offers a Menu of Benefits from which the customer may select the most appropriate for their organisation. Membership can be cost-effective for smaller companies, organisations and consultancies as substantial discounts are available. In early mid 2009 the Membership of TfC passed the 300 mark and continues to grow. Details can be found by clicking on the heading on the right TfC Membership

OUR MISSION

To build the capacity of companies, organisations and individuals in the HEALTH, SOCIAL CARE, HOUSING, SUPPORT and CONSULTANCY SECTORS to tender effectively for contracts to deliver services on behalf of public sector purchasers. These may be Local Authorities, Central Government Departments, Government Agencies, PCTs, the  NHS, etc.

WE DO THIS

By providing a wide range of information, training and support services, on a menu basis, each service being capable of being tailored to the needs of companies, organisations and individuals.

Companies, organisations  and individuals across the UK, both large and small are loosing contracts - often to deliver their core business - because they do not understand how the purchasing of public services now works. They, and often other consultancies offering advice and training on tender preparation, do not fully understand the requirements of the public sector purchaser. These are different and much more highly regulated than tendering to private sector purchasers. Tendering to the public sector is not selling in the sense that pretty, well produced documents are a requirement. Indeed it is often the plain but clear and easy to read document which wins. Public Sector tendering is much more about compliance, capacity, due diligence, standards, policies and procedures. On the other hand very large, sometimes American or European private companies are chasing and winning health and social care contracts through the tendering process. The pattern is similar for housing, support and consultancy services. There is now evidence of companies and providers will be forced to close, sometiems facing bankruptcy simply because they do not understand how the new tendering and procurement processes work.

The first and most important questions to ask of any company offering tendering advice, support, training or writing services is "does your company meet the minimum standards required in public sector purchasing?" These are:

• do you hold the ISO 9001:2000 (or 9001:2008) standard?
• do you have in place Health and Safety; Equality and Diversity and Environmenal policies which meet the requirements of the minimum scoring standards?
• Is your credit rating at a level of 80 or higher?

Unless a company is working to these standards it is very difficult, if not impossible, for it to truly understand the requirements of the public sector purchaser and how the required level of compliance can be practically demonstrated in the tender.

TfC is successfully filling these gaps

Is your company or organisation winning tenders?

Are you failing at the first, all-importants, or PQQ phase?

Does your company or organisation need help with the tendering process?

Would your company or organisations's approach to tendering be improved possibly through:

staff attending a workshop?

• an "in house" training session for your Directors and staff team?
• on-going help and support including reviews of the tenders which you prepare?
• or even tenders prepared for you?

If you have any of these requirements, or need other help with the tendering process, please contact us to discuss your requirements.

TfC Membership

Membership is designed on a menu basis and is available for companies, charities and consultants to buy in packages at various levels to meet your tendering requirements:

Bronze - offers a menu of options such as a tendering helpline;  access to the Members' section of this website; our weekly e-journal s "Staying Ahead" and "UPDATE", etc. which can be purchased alone, in combination or together with silver Membership;

Silver - provides information on calls to tender in your specialist areas of care or consultancy, together with our regular journals Staying Ahead and upDATE

Gold - provides the benefits of silver membership, in addition gives access to the members' section of this website. This level also offers a tender review service providing advice as to how tenders can be improved;

Platinum - provides all of the benefits of gold Membership, in addition we will write two tenders for you.

In addition - Special arrangements can be made for companies and charities providing services in the care sectors needing help to prepare an urgent tender. We also offer a range of tendering support services including tender and bid writing - click on the "TfC Tendering Support Suite" or contact us for details

 

A Membership Summary which sets out the benfits of membership and the full Membership Pack for 2010 are available for download below.

The Pack gives details of the various Membership packages and discounts.

OUR RATES HAVE NOT BEEN INCREASED for 2010

The Pack includes an application form.

Please note that the form is NOT designed to be completed on screen. Please print out and fill in by hand.

 

TfC Membership offers a cost effective, fixed price packages of tendering help and support suitable for providers of health, social and medical care services, housing associations, RSLs and consultants from all sectors.

Autumn 2010

 

"How Tender for Health and Social Care Contracts" 

Tendering for health and social care contracts in the public sector is fundamentally different from bidding for grants. This one-day course provides details of the fundamental differences between both processes. Many tenders are not successful as the difference is not recognised and are written in the same manner. Essential information will be provided regarding the procurement procedures for health and social care services and as to what purchasers from local authority adult and children services departments, PCTs, the NHS, etc. are looking for in successful tenders. Also provided are details of how tenders are appraised and how your scores can be improved. This course is for managers and those involved in tendering for contracts in the health, social care and medical sectors, housing associations, etc. It is for charities, companies and other independent providers of all sizes .

All participants will receive the TfC Resource CD for this course

Venue - West London        

Dates -  Thursday    4th November

           Thursday    11th November

Venue -  Birmingham

Date -   Wednesday      24th November

          

"Preparing Effective Tenders"

This is an advanced course which, until now, has been available on an in-house basis only. This highly acclaimed, very practical course takes students through all of the stages of tender preparation from the receipt of the call to tender to the submission of the document. Examples from the health and Social care sectors are used. The course is groupwork based, using actual tender documents.  This course is not for beginners and we recommend that students first attend "How to Tender for Health and Ssocial Care Contracts" Students who have attended this course have gone on to achieve considerable successes with their tender preparation and contracts awarded.

The course assumes an understanding of the legislation which underpins tendering and procurement,  a knowledge of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 and the relevant case law. An understanding of tender appraisal procedures is also assumed. PLEASE NOTE - it will not be possible to address these matters during the day.

 Venue - West London        

Date - Thursday   18th November              

Venue -  Birmingham

Date -  Thursday   2nd December

A leaflet giving more details of both courses and a booking form can be downloaded  - please scroll to the bottom of this page

Reduced fees are  available for TfC Members

We recommend that booking forms are faxed to us  at 01629 584972 in order to ensure that a place is available - TfC courses fill up very quickly

We are happy to invoice and receive payment by BACS we regret that we are unable to accept payment by credit card.

For further details please telephone or email

Tel. 01629 57501

email info@tenderingforcare.com

 

The Briefing Programme 2010

This programme is comprised of a series of seven individual sessions each of 3 hours which can be delivered singly or in groups.

The Briefings can be delivered in agreed locations in the UK. They are designed for Senior Managers, Business Development Managers, Practice Managers, etc. The sessions are direced at providers of Health, social care and medical services  as well as RSLs and Housing Associations wishing to develop an approach which produces tenders which can compete successfully for public sector contracts.

All participants in any of the Briegings receive a CD containing the slides and a set of documents relevant to the subject discussed

All of the Briefings are available for delivery "in-house" either alone or in combination. This can be for individual organisations, groups of companies/providers, federatikons, etc. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

 

TfC Briefings Available in 2010

 

How to Price Your Tender Often feedback to failed tenderers includes - your tender did not provide "Value for Money" (VfM). What does this mean? What is the difference between full cost recovery and the correct pricing of your tender which achieves VfM? The Principles of Tender Pricing will give you an insight into how the public sector purchaser views price; how to achieve VfM and Whole Life Costing; and how to meet the requirements of the Purchaser more effectively - all essential for a successful tender.

Due Diligence for Successful Tendering Due Diligence is a phrase which is becoming more and more important for those who tender for public sector contracts. It encompasses the processes which the purchaser uses to assess a tenderer's capacity and capability to enter into a commercial contract to deliver public services. Undertaking due diligence is also an essential phase in the development of any collaborative working, consortium or merger arrangements. Understanding Due Diligence will help you to view your company or organisation as the purchaser would, to identify areas of weakness and to see how gaps or weakness might be mitigated.

 

How to Manage your Contract So you have been awarded a contract - what systems and procedures do you need to have or put in place in order to ensure compliance with the contractual terms. It is important that you give full consideration to these matters at an early stage as the tender may aske you to explain exactly howyou will meet the requirements of the specification. So Managing your Contact can attract a high score during tender appraisal. This needs to be thought through and the requirements put in place well before the tendering process starts.

 

What are the Basics of Tendering and Procurement Main reasons for tenders to public sector purchasers failing to be successful include - a belief that tendering is the same process as bidding for grants; preparing the tender as a marketing document; making unsupported claims lacking evidence; not understanding what the purchaser is looking for; and a lack of knowledge as to how tender appriasal and scoring works. Understanding Tendering and Procurement provides the essential underpinning knowledge which is necessary for your tendering success for public sector contracts. 

 

Two New EU Directives which Fundamentally affect all Tendering Much of the December 2009 news for those involved in public sector tendering and procurement focussed on the implementation of two new EU Directives - the Remedies Directive on 20th December and the Services Directive on 28th December. These new Directives will have a major impact on all charities, companies and independent providers whio contract with public sector authorities. Although the government has not decided specifically that both Directives will apply to Part B contracts, there is little clarity, with purchasers being advised to apply aspects of the Directive including the standstill period to health, social care, medical and many housing support and consultancy contracts. This Briefing is designed to bring you up to date with the changes and the circumstances where they are likely to apply to Part B tenders.

 

How to Avoid Failure at the Selection or PQQ Stage It is quite surprising how many tenders fail at the "selection" or PQQ stage. It is also clear that increasing competition is becoming an important factor in driving up the standards of compliance and management for public sector contracts. It is also true that failure at the selection stage means exclusion from the remainder of the tendering process. How to Increase your PQQ Score provides you with theinformation you need to stay competitive at this crucial first stage in the process.

 

Tendering Online is Becominging the Norm The Glover Report means that during 2010, e-tendering will become a reality for all those who tender for pujblic sector contracts with a total value of £2o,000 and over, regardless of the sector or type of co ntract. Preparing for e-Tendering will therefore become an important aspect of your tendering success during the coming year. It is important to note that e-Tendering is not just about uploading the tender documentation onto a portal but encompasses an e-marketplace, Government Purchase Cards , Purchase-to-Pay and a range of other activites which will impact on your compa ny or organisation.

 

Providers Invovlement in Drawing up the Specification An invovlement in the commissioning phase or the total procurement process is an essential step in driving the content of the specification and therefore the service to be delivered. Intelligent Commissioning underpins the. precise nature of the service to be purchased. It is the time when options are considered and the case made forimportant aspects of the new service to be either retained within the terms of existing contracts or changed in the new specification. Experience has shown that involvement in the commissioning process can be a great help in the final outcome and making tendering successfully more likely.

 

 

 

In response to huge demand we offer training courses for delivery within companies and organisations on an "In-house" basis. These can be delivered for teams of managers, Directors and/or Trustees within a Company, group of companies or single organisation. The Training is also suitable for groups of Companies or organisations at events arranged, for example by Trade or other Associations, umbrella bodies such as CVS, or for national organisations. Age Concern, Crossroads and Mencap are typical of the larger organisations which have taken advantage of this option. Although based on one of our standard courses, the event can be tailored to meet the needs of the particular participants.

 

Training Workshops are being provided "In-house" for:

- Companies and Charities providing health and social care services;

- Corporate events including Groups;

- Boards of Directors and Trustees;

- Commissioners and purchasers, PCTs, health and social care purchasers;

- Local Authority staff;

- National and regional events as a specific input to a wider event, and for those convened for the purpose;

- Senior and other Management team meetings;

- Trade and other Associations or partnerships with a common interest.

.

Training for delivery In-house.We are booking dates from March 2010 onwards

The following are our most popular in-house taining courses, however, these can be tailored to meet specific requirements

"How to win Tenders"

Our ever popular workshop which sets out the legislation, the tendering process, what the purchasers are looking for; how tenders are scored together with numerous hints and tips for successful tenderin - please see leaflet for download below

 "Tendering as a Consortium" - this is an essential course for companies who are considering working collabiratively to submit a tender. The course includes the legislation, what Managers and the Board should consider, consortium models, advantages and disadvantages and the potential pitfalls- please see leaflet for download below

 

We have developed a number of specialist courses with our Member organisations which are now available on an in-house basis

These courses assume a knowledge of the basics such as the legislation which is driving the trend towards public sector procurement, the rules and regulations and general tendering requirements

 "The Practical Aspects of Tender Preparation" - follows the course of a tender from the receipt of the documents to the final submission. This event can be combined with our introductory "How to Win Tenders"  to make an effective two day event - please see leaflet for download below

 "Completing the PQQ" - how to ensure that the organisation passes the first or selection phase of tendering.

 "Participating in an Appraisal Panel" - it is becoming common for specialist providers to be invited to join Tender appriasal panels. This course is designed to provide a basic training in tender appraisal. An alternative application might be on an in-house basis to help companies/organisations to set up their own pre-appraisal panel to assess tenders before submission.

"Tendering Masterclass" - includes looking at a company's past successful and unsuccessful tenders and identifying areas for improvement.

 

Half day Briefings focus on specific aspects of tendering and procurement. These are now  available as in-house training events.

• The titles of the Briefings are:
• The Principles of Tender Pricing
• Understanding and Implementing Due Diligence for Tendering
• Managing your Contract
• An Introduction to the Services and Remedies Directiives
• How to Increase your PQQ Scote
• Preparing for e-Tendering
• Intelligent Commissioning

 

Contact us for information on these courses.

Delegates at Workshops have said:

"Totally eye opening 'need to know' information that would be difficult to acquire without today — thank you"

"Extremely informative and well presented — a mountain of information with backup info on CD"

"It was wonderful! so much information, scary and humbling — so much to learn"

The Mental Capacity Act regulations extend the powers of local authorities (LAs) and the NHS to instruct independent mental capacity advocates (IMCAa) in certain cases of accommodation reviews and adult protection cases. LAs and the NHS have a duty to decide in which cases IMCAs would most benefit their clients. The most effective way to do this is for LAs and the NHS to prepare local guidance for their staff, to assist them in identifying those would most benefit. It would be unlawful not to consider the exercise of these powers to instruct IMCAs for accommodation reviews and adult protection where the qualifying criteria are met.