2425 0021 School Meals Services

The requirement

The council seeks a single provider to deliver a school lunches and early years meals (breakfast, lunch, light afternoon meal and snacks) service to 57 sites in Islington, employing staff at 49 kitchens and supplying food in line with the council’s food standards, as per national statutory standards and additional standards as particularly described in the specification.

The provider will be expected to manage delivery of around 11,000 meals per day to a variety of types and sizes of school and early years setting, serving a diverse population, with more than 200 kitchen staff involved in meal preparation and delivery.

The council and schools have significant social value ambitions across inclusive employment, net zero carbon agenda, population health and engagement in whole school development.

The contract requires the provider to pay staff at least London Living Wage pay rates and to pay sick pay to its employees from the first day of any absence due to sickness.

Lots

This services contract is not being divided into lots. The council requires a single provider to deliver this contract in order to secure better value for money for the schools via economies of scale. 

TUPE [Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations]

Potential providers must be aware that TUPE may or may not apply to this service. Further details will be available in the invitation to tender. 

Contract period

The contract will run for an initial period of 60 months from an estimated start date of 5 April 2025. There will be options to extend the contract period on one or more occasions for a period of up to two years in total (maximum contract duration of 84 months). 

Value of the contract 

The estimated total value of this contract is £42,000,000 over the maximum 84-month period. This is based on £6,000,000 per annum.

Award criteria

The contract will be awarded to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. 

MEAT for this contract:

• Price 50%
• Quality 50%

Quality made up of:
20% Proposed approach to social value:

• 10% - supporting net zero achievement
• 5% - inclusive employment
• 2.5% - population health outcomes
• 2.5% - staff involvement in whole school/setting development

15% - Proposed approach to food quality and nutrition

5% - Proposed approach to managing the contract

2.5% - Proposed approach to kitchen staff pupil interaction

2.5% - Proposed approach to quality assurance

2.5% - Proposed approach to stakeholder engagement

2.5% - Proposed approach to managing diverse school cultures

Total 100%

Further details will be provided in the invitation to tender.

Procurement process

As the value of the contract is above the threshold for wider advertising of the opportunity, a Contract Notice will be published on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender Service.

This procurement will be conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, under Chapter 3 Section 7 Social and Other Specific Services (known as the “light touch” regime). Under Regulation 76 the council is free to establish a procedure, provided the procedure is sufficient to ensure compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment of economic operators (service providers).

The procedure the council has designed is based on the open procedure. All economic operators (service providers) who successfully express an interest will automatically have access to the tender documents. Standard selection questions will be part of the tender response and will need to be passed before evaluation of price and quality aspects. Further details will be available in the procurement documents.

How to express an interest

If you wish to apply for this contract opportunity, please follow these steps:

• Register your organisation free of charge on the London Tenders Portal website.
• When you receive an email confirming your username and password use these to log on to the London Tenders Portal and express your interest in “2425 0021 School Meals 2025”: 55524000 School catering services; 55523100 School-meal services; 55520000-1 Catering services; 55510000-8 Canteen services. 
• Shortly after you have expressed interest, you will receive a second email containing a link to access the procurement documents.

Deadlines

The deadline for expressions of interest is: 11.59am Monday 19 August 2024

The deadline for submission of Tender documents is: 12 noon Monday 19 August 2024

Late submissions may not be accepted.

Additional information

• Islington Council and its partners are committed to work towards a more equal future for Islington, where everyone who lives here is able to thrive, for more information see www.islington.gov.uk.

• Islington Council aims to provide equality of opportunity and welcomes applicants who meet the qualitative selection criteria from black and minority ethnic communities and disabled groups.

• The council encourages all types of organisation who meet the qualitative selection criteria including Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations, Social Enterprises or not for profit enterprises and small to medium enterprises (SME) to tender.

• All questions relating to this contract should be raised via the messages section of the relevant contract on the London Tenders Portal. Please do not contact any officer of the council directly.

• As part of a commitment to transparency the council is now publishing all spend over £500 each month. This includes spend on contracts, so the successful contractor should expect details of spend against the contract to appear on the council website Islington Council: Council contracts. The council is also committed to publishing tender and contract documentation after contract award stage. Commercially sensitive information will be redacted from documentation. What constitutes commercially sensitive information is a matter for the council’s sole discretion. However, tenderers will be invited to identify information they consider to be commercially sensitive in their tender return and this will be taken into account in the council forming a view.