PROVISION OF AN AUTISM COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICE FOR HERTFORDSHIRE

Hertfordshire County Council is currently out to procurement for the Procurement for the Provision of a Hertfordshire Autism Community Support Service. The Council will procure this contract using the Open Procedure as defined in the Procurement Act 2023. The Service Specification is for the provision of a countywide service to support autistic people with key elements of the service being: * Helpline service * Navigation Service * Peer Support * Social Groups * Workshops and Courses It is expected that as part of the delivery of this service close liaison with other services within Hertfordshire including Adult Disability Teams, 0-25 Together teams and Community Mental Health Teams. The Contract has not been split into lots as the Council is purchasing one solution to be managed by one central team, the service purchased will fulfil all our requirements and it is not reasonably practicable for it to be supplied by more than one Supplier. Full details of the requirement and context of the procurement can be found in the Service Specification which is in Schedule 1 of the Tender Document. Organisations wishing to take part in this project are invited to 'express an interest' and also 'opt in' which will give access to the full procurement documents in the e-tendering system. To be considered as a Tenderer you must complete and submit a Tender by the deadline of 12 noon on Monday 6th July 2026. Please allow sufficient time to make your return, as Tender submissions cannot be uploaded and submitted after this return deadline. Please ensure that where possible documents are uploaded as a PDF and that file names are succinct. Any questions relating to this procurement must be made via correspondence on the website, in accordance with the procurement documents, and can be addressed to the main contact as shown in the details above. Tenderers should be aware that due to the nature of the Services provided, any Contract formed as a result of this procurement process shall be executed as a deed. Tenderers should seek independent legal advice on the implications of this prior to submitting their Tender, where appropriate. Please note that the contract requirements will be subject to available financial resources, supplier performance and flexibility to meet changing demands. Please Note: The TUPE Employee Liability Information has been provided along with other documentation for this procurement. TUPE related information must be protected as personal data in accordance with the requirements of Data Protection legislation and must also be kept confidential. By clicking on the View Details button and accessing the documentation for this procurement, Tenderers agree: a) To undertake to treat the information as confidential and commercially sensitive at all times and take all reasonable steps to prevent any inadvertent disclosure to any third party. b) That under no circumstances will any of the information be disclosed by your organisation to any third party without the Council's prior consent in writing. c) That the information supplied will be stored securely and destroyed or returned to the Council, after your Organisation's bid has been submitted or you decide not to proceed with a tender submission. d) That you will indemnify the Council for any losses, arising from your breach or breach by any of your personnel of these confidentiality requirements specified above and data protection requirements in relation to TUPE Employee Liability Information. e) The requirements above apply whether the supplier uploads a tender response to this procurement or not. To access this opportunity please visit https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire/aspx/Home If you are experiencing problems In-Tend offer a help section which includes a dedicated UK support desk which can be contacted via email: support@in-tend.co.uk or Telephone: +44 1144070065 for any website/technical questions, Monday to Friday, 8:30-17:00. The Council reserves the right at any time to cease the procurement process and not award a Contract or to award only part of the opportunity described in this notice. If the Council takes up this right, then they will not be responsible for or pay the expenses or losses, which may be incurred by any organisation or tenderer as a result. In February 2025 the UK Government formally invited Hertfordshire County Council (the "Council") and the various district and borough Councils of Hertfordshire (see attached - District and borough councils | Hertfordshire County Council) to develop proposals for local government reorganisation in Hertfordshire which is likely to result in the current two-tier system of local government being reorganised into a single tier of local government with one or more unitary councils for the whole of the Hertfordshire area. If implemented, local government reorganisation is currently expected to take effect in April 2028 and, on that date, the existing two-tier councils will be dissolved and replaced by one or more new unitary authorities. Existing contracts held by the Council and the district and borough Councils of Hertfordshire are expected to transfer to their successor authorities on vesting day in accordance with the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and the Local Government (Structural Changes) (Transfer of Functions, Property, Rights and Liabilities) Regulations 2008. These reforms will be subject to a decision of the Secretary of State and could be subject to change at any time. As these reforms may occur during the term of this contract and result in changes to the form, structure, size and shape of local government in Hertfordshire, they are a known risk to the Council within the meaning of paragraph 6, Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023 (Act) in that the reforms could jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the contract but because the nature and extent of the reforms are presently unknown, it is not possible to address the risks in the contract. If these risks materialise, the contract may need to be modified under paragraph 5 of Schedule 8 of the Act. Such modification could include, but not be limited to, the need to replace the contracting authority with a successor public authority and/or vary the structure, scope, nature and/or geographical location/boundary within which the contract is delivered. Tenderers should note that any variation(s) to the terms and conditions of the contract will be made in accordance with its terms.