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While staff recruitment and retention is perhaps the number one challenge for most social care providers, it comes second to the need to get and retain business. In another blog we considered the various ways in which social care providers can seek out new business, these included having a good social media presence, a great website and developing a good reputation.
In social care, reputation is important, not only in terms of gaining new business from private clients, but also in opening the gateway to Local Authority (LA) contracts. Providers with poor reputations generate complaints and, in many instances, people who complain will go on to raise their concerns with the local authority, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
So as a starting point providing good care is a must!
In this blog, we will consider some of the things social care providers need to think about when preparing to submit a local authority tender.
Understanding Tendering
Tendering is essentially an opportunity for social care providers to submit a proposal for the delivery of services which are commissioned by the LA. Typically tendering in social care cover a variety of provisions including:
• Home / domiciliary care
• Supported living
• Day Care
• End-of-Life care – although this is often NHS funded through continuing healthcare.
Local authority tenders are also specific to certain areas, as are many CQC registrations, so there is no sense to applying for a tender in Manchester, when you are a provider based in Northampton for example. They are also specific about the service user bands they cover, for example:
• Older people (65+)
• People living with learning disability.
• People living with mental health conditions.
There is no merit in applying for tenders for a service for which you are not registered, nor in an area you do not work in.
Care England, provide a resource for social care providers to find current tenders on their website: https://www.careengland.org.uk/tender-opportunities/.
Why tendering is important
There are a number of reasons why it is important for all sizes of social care businesses to tender for local authority contracts:
• Increasing the client base means the business can grow.
• There is a constant stream of clients through the local authority contract.
• It helps the credibility of the business to grow and with it the all-important reputation which in turn generates new business.
• Many small business do not survive without LA business.
Get your house in order
Tendering is not just a matter of filling in a form and waiting for the business to come in, there is some background work providers need to do to ensure they are eligible to apply.
More often than not, eligibility is checked by completing a Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire (PQQ), which assesses the eligibility of bidders who are then invited to tender – although sometimes the two run simultaneously with the PQQ sometimes called the selection questionnaire (SQ) or standard selection questionnaire (SSQ).
The first stage of the eligibility checking is for the provider, you, to check the information provided by the LA about the tender in the contract notice to ensure you provide the sorts of services the tender is asking for.
At this stage if anything is unclear there is usually a message board on the webpages associated with the tender via which clarification questions can be asked.
Top tip: Read all of the clarification questions and stay up to date with these throughout the process.
Some of the eligibility requirements for tenders, especially in social care, may include:
• Having a CQC registration in place.
• Having the right insurance – this will include as a minimum at least £5m (some ask for £10m) of Employers and Public Liability Insurance.
• Having a CQC or a LA, often termed Provider Assessment and Market Management Solution (PAMMS), assessment rating of good or above.
• Proof of turnover or financial stability.
• A level of experience in the provision of health and social care services.
If your service does not meet the thresholds it is not worth making the application as it will be rejected out of hand.
Remember this is not all about you or the quality of the service you can provide, tendering is competitive and LAs often have dozens of providers competing for contracts.
Completing the PQQ
It is important that you spend as much time on the PQQ as it needs and that you take the time to understand and answer truthfully and fully all of its questions. PQQs are all different but tend to focus on the same areas, some of which are:
• The application of a Health and Safety Policy and Procedure.
• Safer recruitment processes.
• Equality, diversity and inclusivity policies, procedures and practices.
• Your approach to apprenticeships and skills development.
• Your approach to the environment.
• Your approach to modern slavery – although this only applies to very big organisations.
• If you have a PREVENT policy
Summary
Bid writing is not just a matter of sitting down, ticking some boxes, and answering some questions, it takes preparation. Providers should ensure that they meet the qualifying criteria for any tender before they spend time on the application.
In a subsequent blog, we will discuss how to successfully complete the main tender including answering the tender questions in order to score maximum points.
Bettal Quality Consultancy has a comprehensive and regularly updated suite of policies, procedures and risk assessments, which support social care providers to met many of the requirements for tender eligibility. This includes all of the policies and procedures mentioned in the blog.
Contact Bettal Quality Consultancy today to learn how our comprehensive and value for money policies and procedures, can help you achieve successful care provision and local authority compliance.
To find out more please email us or call us at 01697 741411 to get started!
Peter Ellis MA MSc BSc(Hons) RN
Consultant, Bettal Quality Consultancy
Call on 01697 741411 or fill out the form below:
