WSCC AE Integrated Community Equipment Service

West Sussex County Council and NHS Sussex have reflected on the late clarification update to the document 06 ICES Pricing Schedule and the resulting impacts this may have had on bidders’ submissions and that the original tender has now closed on our e-sourcing solution. Commissioners believe that it is in the public interest that potential bidders have sufficient time to respond to a set of tender documents with accurate information e.g. there have been updates to TUPE information, recycling rates, activity rates etc. and therefore have made the decision that the current tender will be abandoned on 15.06.2022. West Sussex County Council confirms that the tender responses already received will not be opened. A subsequent new open tender will be released on 17.06.2022 with a closing date of 19.07.2022. A key consideration in reaching this decision was that bidders may need to consider the more accurate information in relation to their initial responses to Method Statement Questions, as well as the Pricing Schedule. Our aim is that by starting a new procurement process (which will give bidders more than the minimum 30 days to respond) this will ensure that every potential bidder is treated equally and has adequate time to submit their best tender based on the most accurate data available. To mitigate the impact of this decision on bidders we will ensure the majority of the new tender document set remains the same with the main changes being to the new tender timelines and more accurate information. Further, potential bidders should be aware that it is the intention of the commissioners that contract start date and duration remain the same so that the tendered economic opportunity remains unchanged