Unemployed People (Courses) (Hansard, 1 April 1993)

§ Ms Short
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether unemployed people who have once been required to attend either a Restart course or a jobplan workshop, and who have complied with that requirement, are free from a subsequent requirement to attend such a workshop or course in a particular spell of unemployment; and if she will make a statement.
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§ Mr. McLoughlin
It is not our intention that people should be required to attend more than one Restart course or more than one jobplan workshop within a spell of unemployment if they have already been required to attend and have completed the full programme.

§ Mr. Illsley
To ask the Secretary of State for Employment who were the successful bidders for the contracts for jobplan workshops—JWPC/B93/12—and Restart courses—RCC/B93/11; what criteria were used for the selection of the successful tenders; and whether the lowest tenders were accepted.

§ 10. Mr. McLoughlin
Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Eric Illsley, dated March 1993:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question about Restart Courses and Jobplan Workshops. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
It may help if I explain that contracts for Employment Service programmes are normally awarded as a result of competitive tendering. Such an exercise has recently been carried out for all Jobplan contracts and for Restart Courses contracts. Potential providers are normally invited to a briefing with the Employment Service Contract Manager where they are issued with the national specification for the programme that they wish to tender for. It is made clear at pre-briefing sessions that the over-riding factor which the Employment Service will consider when assessing tenders is value for money. I am attaching an extract from the Employment Service "Tendering and Contracting Guide" laying out the key criteria used to assess a tender. As you will see, these include cost factors but not to the exclusion of other items. Indeed, the point is stressed throughout the process that the Employment Service will not necessarily accept the lowest price on offer.
You refer to two specific cases in Barnsley. The Jobplan contracts have been awarded to the Chamber of Commerce Training (Barnsley) and Personal Evaluation Consultants, a local training organisation. The Restart Course contract has been awarded to the Chamber of Commerce Training (Barnsley). These organisations were judged to have submitted the best tenders. The decision followed full consideration of all the proposals in line with the guidelines set out by the Treasury's Public Purchasing Policy.
You asked whether the lowest tenders were accepted. I believe that it would be inappropriate to disclose confidential information relating to the costs of any of the individual proposals.
I hope this is helpful.
As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Assessment of tenders
10.1 The over-riding principle is that the assessment process must be systematic, thorough and fair, and be seen as such. After the final schedule of tenders has been prepared, all tenders should be submitted at once to the ACM, who has the authority to recommend acceptance of a particular tender.
10.2 When assessing proposals the main factors to take into consideration are:
(i) that the proposal meets the required specification;
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(ii) that 'value for money' is being met; in other words, that the desired quality can be achieved at a reasonable cost, that the proposed outputs are satisfactory;

(iii) the cost (including total costs, staff costs, premises costs, and consumable costs, VAT whether payable or not). A management fee, or profit margin can reasonably be included; it is the total cost which is important in relation to numbers helped/outputs specified;

(iv) the premises (accessibility, situation, space, heating, lighting, toilets, access for people with disabilities, etc);

(v) the ability and expertise of the tutor/leader, management support and back up arrangements;

(vi) other considerations eg administrative support, facilities and equipment; and

(vii) the ability of the provider to be flexible in the delivery of courses in terms of location, frequency and tutor/leader cover.
10.3 A record sheet should be completed to compare tenders on each of the major factors above. A suggested proforma is at Appendix 10.
10.4 Note: Tender cost comparisons should be made on the price before VAT is added.
The lowest tender should be accepted only if the quality of the proposed programme is considered to be of an acceptable and appropriate standard. The over-riding factor is "Value for Money".
10.5 Other factors may, however, influence the decision, eg, a more suitable location or a more experienced tutor or leader. It is therefore recommended that a shortlist of possible providers be drawn up.