This section refers to Section B of Part IV of the ESPD (Scotland) (‘ESPD Scotland’) and covers questions 4B.2 — 4B.6.1 of the ESPD (Scotland) and responses will be assessed on a pass/fail basis:
4B1.2 Bidders will be required to have an average yearly turnover of a minimum of 800,000 GBP for the last 3 years based on submitted accounts for this period.
4B.2.2 Bidders will be required to have an average yearly turnover of a minimum of 800,000 GBP in the business area covered by the contract for the last 3 years.
4B.3 Where turnover information is not available for the time period requested, the bidder will be required to state the date on which they were set up or started trading.
4B.4 Bidders will be required to state the value(s) for the financial ratio(s) from their last three years accounts and will be evaluated as set down in the Project Manager Framework Economic/Financial Standing Evaluation guidance attached to this ESPD Question.
4B.6 — Qualitative Moderation — As a requirement for the financial economic and financial standing evaluation, each potential supplier must complete Question 4B.6 of the ESPD setting out the information as indicated in the instructional attachment to this question.
If the combined weighted score for the ratios in 4B.4 achieved is below 3, the score may be subject to qualitative moderation based on the information provided by the potential supplier in response to 4B.6 and NSS's review of verified information relating to the potential supplier which is publicly available over the year up to the date of the ESPD submission. Such moderation may, subject to the following, result in the scores awarded being amended upwards.
If following the above moderation exercise it is considered appropriate by NSS that a potential supplier should be invited to proceed to the Tender stage of this procurement exercise because in light of the further information considered by NSS, that potential supplier is considered, overall, to have evidenced adequate financial standing, then NSS may make that selection conditional upon the potential supplier providing appropriate performance and financial guarantees from relevant parent company(ies).
NSS therefore reserves the right to require the provision to it of appropriate parent company financial data, and to assess risk as part of the qualitative moderation exercise on the basis of that parent company financial data (which will be assessed on the basis of the tests set out in section 3 above) is acceptable, and that a Parent Company Guarantee, in the form stipulated by NSS, would be entered into by an approved parent company or other guarantor acceptable to NSS.
Potential suppliers must confirm that appropriate parent company information will be made available if sought, and that a Parent Company Guarantee in the form stipulated by NSS will be entered into as a condition of participation in the framework.
Credit Scoring — NSS will credit check all potential suppliers and will use Creditsafe for these checks.
Creditsafe ratings are as follows:
— 71-100 Very Low Risk
— 51-70 Low Risk
— 30-50 Moderate Risk
— 21-29 High Risk
— 1-20 Very High Risk
Potential Suppliers with scores within the Very High Risk and High Risk categories as defined above will not be permitted to proceed to Tender Stage unless information provided through the response to ESPD Question 4B.6 is further assessed through the prescribed moderation process and NSS make a decision to invite the potential supplier to proceed to Tender stage.
Please download and read the scoring guidance document for further information.
It is a requirement of this Framework that bidders hold, or can commit to obtaining prior to award of the Framework the forms and levels of insurance indicated below:
4B.5.1 Employer's Liability Insurance of not less than the sum of 10 million GBP in respect of each and every claim or series of claims arising from the same original cause or event;
4B.5.2 Public Liability Insurance of not less than the sum of 5 million GBP in respect of each and every claim or series of claims arising from the same original cause or event;
Professional Indemnity Insurance of not less than the sum of 5 million GBP in respect of each and every claim or series of claims arising from the same original cause or event.
Refer to the SOR for full details.