Official UK procurement notice
Optical Consumer Complaints Service (Mediation)
Authority: General Optical Council (Charity / VCSE)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionOur requirements are that:
(a) The service must be free to users and will be funded by the GOC;
(b) The service must be demonstrably independent of the NHS, UK Government, optical professionals and optical professional bodies;
(c) The service must treat individuals fairly, regardless of their background, characteristics or circumstances and the service provider must collect EDI data (with appropriate regard to data protection legislation);
(d) The service must be unbiased and resolution-focused;
(e) The service must be visible on the Internet and have a dedicated web presence via the www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk ↗ domain (which will continue to be owned by the GOC);
(f) The service must not be subcontracted unless the GOC has agreed this in advance in writing;
(g) The service must have a documented appeal and review mechanism for circumstances where the proposed resolution is not accepted;
(h) The service must operate a mechanism for consumers to complain about the Service, if they are dissatisfied;
(i) The service provider must work closely with the GOC and abide by the published ‘Working Together’ policy
(j) The service provider must work with the GOC and with the optical profession to further establish awareness of the service and to promote its benefits to the profession.
(k) The service provider must collect trend and outcome data and must publish an annual report in the form that previous annual reports have taken;
(l) The service provider must report annually to the GOC Council; and
(m) The service provider must maintain the OCCS service on the list of accredited ADR providers pursuant to the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015
CPV: Arbitration and conciliation services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1The ServiceRenewalPublished value£720,000
The Service
We are seeking to procure a provider for an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation service in respect of consumer complaints about optical goods and services provided by General Optical Council (GOC) registrants, or by the businesses that employ them in the UK.
The Optical Consumer Complaints Service (OCCS) is an independent and free mediation service for consumers (patients) of optical care and the professionals providing that care. The service is funded by the GOC and will be provided to members of the public, registrants, optical businesses and others.
Disputes generally relate to the supply of spectacles, frames, lenses or contact lenses and the supply of optical eyecare and dispensing provided by opticians (optometrists and dispensing opticians).
The provision of the OCCS service will be governed by an agreement commencing 1 April 2024 and concluding 31 March 2027, with an option for the GOC to extend for 12 months at the conclusion of the three-year contract period.
We are looking to appoint a single service provider.
The current OCCS website is at: www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk ↗
Service Requirements
Our requirements are that:
(a) The service must be free to users and will be funded by the GOC;
(b) The service must be demonstrably independent of the NHS, UK Government, optical professionals and optical professional bodies;
(c) The service must treat individuals fairly, regardless of their background, characteristics or circumstances and the service provider must collect EDI data (with appropriate regard to data protection legislation);
(d) The service must be unbiased and resolution-focused;
(e) The service must be visible on the Internet and have a dedicated web presence via the www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk ↗ domain (which will continue to be owned by the GOC);
(f) The service must not be subcontracted unless the GOC has agreed this in advance in writing;
(g) The service must have a documented appeal and review mechanism for circumstances where the proposed resolution is not accepted;
(h) The service must operate a mechanism for consumers to complain about the Service, if they are dissatisfied;
(i) The service provider must work closely with the GOC and abide by the published ‘Working Together’ policy
(j) The service provider must work with the GOC and with the optical profession to further establish awareness of the service and to promote its benefits to the profession.
(k) The service provider must collect trend and outcome data and must publish an annual report in the form that previous annual reports have taken;
(l) The service provider must report annually to the GOC Council; and
(m) The service provider must maintain the OCCS service on the list of accredited ADR providers pursuant to the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015
The service provider should expect to receive approximately 1800 cases a year and these should be resolved within approximately 45 days.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- Suitability
Assessment Criteria (Expression of Interest stage only)
Expressions of Interest will be assessed against the following criteria:
- Previous experience of having provided, or other significant and relevant knowledge/experience of, mediation/arbitration/conciliation/resolution services, or
equivalent;
(This is a PASS/FAIL criterium – where no relevant evidence is provided, those applications will fail and will not be assessed further. Applications that pass will be assessed up to 50% of the available maximum score).
Applications that pass stage A will then be further assessed against the following criteria:
- Evidence of a very good knowledge/understanding of consumer rights, and the applicable UK legislation; (20%)
- Evidence of previous experience of developing stakeholder relationships; (15%)
- How the applicant proposes to access relevant clinical expertise, and to be able to identify matters that raise fitness to practise concerns; (10%)
- Evidence of previous experience of publishing a formal annual report and formal reporting to an executive board, or equivalent. (5%)
You should therefore ensure that your Expression of Interest addresses these criteria.
We are unlikely to progress more than a maximum of the top 5 applicants to full tender stage.
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Restricted procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 31 Oct 2023, 10:36 GMT
- Last source update
- 31 Oct 2023, 10:36 GMT
- FTS notice number
2023/S 000-032088- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-041067Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic payment
- Performance terms
The service provider will receive approximately 1800 cases a year.
Information about the scale of the service and expected performance can be found in the OCCS annual reports found here: www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk/insights/downloads/ ↗
Publisher note: We are the regulator for the optical professions in the UK. Our purpose is to protect the public by promoting high standards of education, performance and conduct amongst opticians. We currently register around 30,000 optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses. A brief description of our four core regulatory functions is: - Setting standards for optical education and training, performance and conduct. - Approving qualifications leading to registration. - Maintaining a register of individuals who are qualified and fit to practise, train or carry on business as optometrists and dispensing opticians. - Investigating and acting where registrants’ fitness to practise, train or carry on business is impaired. This procurement process is being undertaken as a restricted tender procedure, pursuant to section 4.9 of the GOC Contracts and Procurement Policy: contract-and-procurement-policy-approved-sep-23.pdf (optical.org). Please note that contracts for the provision of mediation services fall outside of EU procurement regulations (Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014, and Part 10 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015). If there are any concerns about the timeline to deliver this service, please raise these within the expression of interest so that we can consider these on receipt of applications. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the myTenders Web Site at https://www.mytenders.co.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=230607. The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.mytenders.co.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx. Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems. (MT Ref:230607)
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 1 Dec 2023, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Participation fee
- document
Timeline
31 Oct 2023 → 8 Dec 2023 · 3 dates- Notice published31 Oct 2023, 10:36 GMT
- Submission deadline1 Dec 2023, 17:00 GMT
- Invitations to tender expected8 Dec 2023
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Public Procurement Review ServiceReview body
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Technical selection criteria
- Economic and financial selection criteria