043. CPA8 BEST Tender Form Redacted FINAL

RESTRICTED – COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

MWA ITT Questionnaire FINAL V0.1 1

EMPLOYMENT RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

MINI COMPETITION FOR THE PROVISION OF

MANDATORY WORK ACTIVITY

Invitation to Tender Form

CONTRACT PACKAGE AREA TENDER FORM CPA 8 – YORKSHIRE & HUMBER

Tender Round title: Mandatory Work Activity

Organisation Name:

Business Employment Services Training Ltd (BEST)

CPA:

CPA8 YORKSHIRE & HUMBER



PART 1: ORGANISATION DETAILS [1.1] Your response to Part 1 is for information purposes only. If any of this information

has changed since the Framework Agreement application stage, please state this within the table below including a short explanation as to why. If you cannot provide any of the information below please explain this within the table. DWP will not be responsible for contacting anyone other than the persons named in this part of your form. If any of this information changes during the bidding period you must inform DWP of the changes by email to: [email protected]

Name of the Legal Entity in whose name this tender is submitted and with whom DWP will contract:

Business Employment Services Training Ltd (BEST)

Trading Name (if different from above):

Company Registration Number:

2268665

Company Registered address:

Warwick House, Wade Lane, Leeds, LS2 8NL

Head Office Address, if different:

VAT Registration Number:

804 853233

Website Address (if any):

www.best-train.com

Name, address and company registration number of parent company, where applicable:

Redacted

Name and Job Title of main contact: Redacted

Address: Redacted

Telephone no:

Redacted

Mobile telephone no:

Redacted

Fax no:

Redacted

E-mail address:

Redacted

Alternative contact Name and Job Title:

Redacted

Address (if different from above):

Redacted

Telephone no:

Redacted

Mobile telephone no:

Redacted

Contact e-mail:

Redacted

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.best-train.com/



PART 2: TENDERER DECLARATION [2.1] You must complete this Declaration by Tenderer. Failure to include this declaration

may result in your bid being disqualified. To: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions For the benefit of the Department for Work and Pensions, we hereby warrant and undertake as follows:

1. We have examined, read, understand and accept in full the proposed Contract documents and all other documents and Annexes provided with this declaration and the clarifications issued during the Invitation to Tender period.

2. We have completed and submitted all information required in the Invitation to Tender

Form in the format and order required. 3. We confirm the information set out in our response is complete and accurate to the

best of our knowledge and belief.

4. We hereby acknowledge and agree that we have read, understand and accept

Mandatory Work Activity Call-Off Terms and Conditions, Mandatory Work Activity Specification and the draft Order Form.

Scanned Signature:

Redacted

Date: 27/02/2011

Name:

Redacted

Job Title:

Redacted

Duly authorised to sign Tenders on behalf of:

Name of Organisation: Business Employment Services Training Ltd (BEST)



PART 3: MANDATORY WORK ACTIVITY CALL-OFF CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS - ALTERNATIVE AND/OR ADDITIONAL CLAUSES [3.1] 3.1 The terms and conditions of Mandatory Work Activity will be the Standard Call-Off

Terms and Conditions (set out in Schedule 4 of your Framework Agreement), as modified by Mandatory Work Activity service requirements (“Mandatory Work Activity Additional Requirements”).

3.2 Mandatory Work Activity Additional Requirements are set out in the „Call-Off

Terms and Conditions for Mandatory Work Activity‟ which is supplied with your Invitation to Tender. A document highlighting the modifications made to the Standard Call-Off Terms and Conditions to reflect Mandatory Work Activity Additional Requirements will be issued by Friday 18 February; for ease of identification, the changes made since the draft version issued on 8 December 2010 are shown in boxes within the document.

3.3 Any proposed amendments to Mandatory Work Activity Additional Requirement

must be detailed by completing the section below, giving full details of the clause(s)/Appendix you wish to amend and your proposed amendments. DWP will consider proposed amendments strictly on their merits. Please note that you may only propose amendments to Mandatory Work Activity Additional Requirements; proposed amendments to the Standard Call-Off Contract Terms and Conditions will not be considered.

Comments on Mandatory Work Activity Additional Requirements: -

MINI COMPETITION – ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS (For Framework Supplier Comments only)

No. of the clause(s)/Appendix you wish to amend

Proposed amendment with proposed wording

N/A

Other than those provisions identified above, [Tenderer to insert name] confirms that it has reviewed the Call-Off Terms and Conditions for Mandatory Work Activity and agrees in principle to each of their provisions.



Name:

Redacted

Scanned Signature:

Redacted

Position:

Redacted

Telephone No:

Redacted

Date: 27/02/2011

DWP reserves the right to amend any provisions of Mandatory Work Activity Additional Requirements at any time during the mini-competition procurement exercise.



PART 4: SERVICE REQUIREMENT

[4.1] Customer Journey - Process

Please describe the end-to-end customer journey through your MWA proposal for this CPA. Your response should include:

your process to ensure that the customer will commence placement within 10 working days of the referral by Jobcentre Plus.

an explanation of how you will ensure that a customer completes the four week placement;

Confirmation that you will issue a completer certificate when a customer successfully completes placement, and when you will issue this certificate

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 2 sides of A4



4.1 Our Approach - our MWA delivery model builds upon our highly successful delivery

of VS and ETF within our New Deal Prime Contract in West Yorkshire which are currently performing at 39% and 40% respectively and have delivered 2352 placements of community benefit across the CPA in 2010. Customers will access motivating, meaningful work placements that offer community benefit, whilst developing work disciplines and transferable skills. This will be achieved through managing the expectations of the placement host through clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and managing the expectations of the customer through our „Skills Promise‟. Core stages of the customer journey are detailed below:- STAGE 1 - Initial Referral. JCP Advisors will be able to make initial referrals via a dedicated MWA telephone number to 4 dedicated Customer Service Advisors (CSAs). CSAs will obtain name and address details for the referred customer and ascertain any factors that would make specific placements unfeasible (e.g. a health problem). The CSA will speak with the customer on the telephone to offer them a choice of a telephone or face to face initial interview. CSAs will then diarise an appointment with the appropriate Placement Matcher (PM), who will commence a preliminary placement search. CSAs will verbally advise customers of the meeting date and address any initial concerns. Details of the initial interview will then be confirmed by formal notification letter, with accompanying directions and transport details for customers who have elected to attend a centre. Letters will also advise of the potential sanction consequences of failing to participate in any element of the MWA provision. Upon receipt of the subsequent PRaP referral, CSAs will then input customer details onto our WEBYETI MI system on the day of receipt . Commencing Placements Within 10 Working Days of Referral – to ensure that 100% of customers start placements within 10 working days of referral, all initial interviews will be booked to take place within 2 working days. Therefore if the customer fails to attend on the original date, we can comfortably accommodate a revised interview date and placement start within 10 working days. All placements are pre vetted to facilitate prompt starts. Initial interviews with PMs will be available from Monday to Saturday and will also be available via telephone to ensure accessibility. Due to our own and our Placement Provider Partners extensive links with placement hosts we are confident that over 80% of placements will be sourced and agreed on the day of the first initial interview. STAGE 2 - Initial Interview and Placement Activity Selection. This will incorporate

an overview of MWA and a discussion regarding the customer‟s previous work history and qualifications (if any), career goals and any issues that could prevent them from undertaking a particular placement (e.g. a health condition – to be confirmed by their JCP Advisor). We will also provide customers with our Skills Promise – a 1 page matrix that clearly details the types of skills that they can achieve within specific placements. This allows customers to see the vocational value of the various placements and also consider which best match their own career goals. Based upon this discussion, the customer and the PM will select an appropriate placement from our BEST Placement Directory. All placements will be pre risk assessed and placement activities agreed within an SLA. We will seek to provide a placement for the customer that matches their career goals, however, customers will not be able to refuse to undertake a work placement on the grounds that it does not match their job aspirations. The PM will then contact the placement host to provide them with the customer‟s details and agree a start date and location. The PM will verbally advise the customer of the start date, attendance times and location. Financial provision for any additional support needs (e.g. childcare, travel) will also be agreed. Appropriate workplace behaviours, H&S requirements (including emergency procedures) will also be confirmed. The customer will also be advised of the consequences of failing to start, attend or complete MWA. All



4.1 continued the above information will then be confirmed to the customer in writing via JCP‟s formal notification letter, accompanied by the Skills Promise for the selected placement, maps and transport timetables. Added Value – helping customers to tackle personal barriers is key to placement sustainability. All customers will have access to our BEST Friend Directory, which currently includes over 139 support organisations providing specialist IAG services. By go live the BEST Friend Directory will be updated to include organisations operating in NEY&H providing details of over 200 support services. PMs will facilitate referrals as required, arranging appointments either prior to placement start or out of placement hours. Customers will also be able to access welfare benefit and debt advice via our customer advice line, operating from 8am – 6pm 6 days a week. STAGE 3 – Ongoing Monitoring and Review to Ensure Completion. Through the

use of SLAs with placement hosts and the Skills Promise to customers, we will ensure that the expectations of both parties are effectively managed and the potential for non completion is minimised. PMs will also endeavour to match customers with placement hosts that deliver community benefits that match the customer‟s own interests so that there is a commonality of aims and interests. Both the placement host and the customer will be provided with the PM‟s telephone number and will be encouraged to contact them at any time, particularly to discuss any emerging issues that could threaten the placement continuation. Key to achieving completion will be ensuring that customers receive sufficient support from the placement host. Our PMs therefore agree specific inductions with every host. Inductions will cover issues such as H&S, emergency procedures, expected behaviours and agreed placement activity. It will also welcome the customer to the placement and introduce them to the organisation. A member of the placement host‟s team will be allocated to mentor the customer throughout their placement activity. CSAs will contact the placement host on the first day of the placement to confirm attendance and notify JCP of start via PRaP within 24 hrs. CSAs will then contact the customer and the placement host individually by telephone on a twice weekly basis to review the customer‟s progress and ensure that they are undertaking agreed activities at the required time and location. In order that we can effectively manage the customer‟s requirement to comply with MWA requirements, the SLA‟s confirm that all placement hosts are required to notify the CSA immediately of any non attendance, non completion of agreed activities or where the customer is required to leave. Our twice weekly telephone calls provide an additional process to ensure that customers are complying with the MWA requirements. If the customer has failed to attend or participate in an agreed activity, or the placement host has required them to leave through misconduct, the CSA will also immediately report this to the appropriate PM. The PM will raise the sanction doubt with JCP within 24 hrs via the DMA form and PRaP. If the customer or placement host reports an issue that does not require a DMA, this will be immediately reported to the PM, who will visit the placement venue within 24 hours to resolve the issue. STAGE 4 – Completion and Certification. Upon completion / early leaving, PMs will conduct an exit interview with the customer to summarise progress. PMs will contact the host to confirm attendance, assess customer progress and performance, recording this on a Feedback Form. Hosts will also complete our „Skills Starter‟ form, which provides a detailed matrix of vocational and general workplace skills achieved. This will be incorporated within the Completion Certificate (where completion has occurred). Our objective is to provide a comprehensive level of feedback so JCP can build on the progress made during MWA. The completed Feedback Form and Completion Certificate will be returned to JCP within 10 working days of the customer leaving. The placement end date will be inputted onto PRaP within 24 hrs of the customer leaving. Where the customer has failed to complete their placement and are re-referred by JCP, our PMs will source an alternative „balance of time‟ placement as required.



PART 5: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT [5.1] Delivery Strategy

Please describe in detail your delivery structure for all elements of Mandatory Work Activity provision across this CPA, in terms of overall percentage of delivery and geographical coverage, and explain why you consider your delivery strategy to be the best approach for customers in this CPA. If delivering of the Service includes by sub-contracting complete the following information: State clearly how you intend to work with your sub-contractors and describe how you will ensure the needs of the customers in this CPA are fully addressed from within your supply chain. Please also complete Annex 1 (Sub-contractor Declaration) for your proposed sub-contractors as appropriate. Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 2 sides of A4.



5.1 Delivery Structure - Our model enables us to maximise placement opportunities

across Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H). We have engaged with 4 placement provider partners through service level agreements (SLAs) which will include funding arrangements for these suppliers. BEST and our partners will be responsible for sourcing work placements of community benefit across Y&H. This strategy reduces dependence on one provider to source multiple sector opportunities across the area they are operating in. Our delivery rationale supports the Big Society Agenda, offering customers access to placement hosts that empower and support communities nationally and locally. In accordance with Merlin, our supply chain incorporates representation from the Public, Private and Voluntary Sectors. Geographical Coverage – BEST will deliver 78.5% of all placement sourcing and placement pre vetting activity across Y&H. Our placement provider partners – BTCV, Sector Solutions, North Yorkshire Learning Consortium (NYLC) and Hull City Council (HCC) will deliver 21.5% of all placement sourcing and placement pre vetting activity across the CPA. BTCV will source and pre vet work placements across Y&H; Sector Solutions will source and pre vet work placements across South Yorkshire, HCC will source and pre vet work placements across the Humber and NYLC will source and pre vet work placements across North Yorkshire. Due to BEST‟s established presence within South and West Yorkshire (S&WY), we will undertake the majority of placement sourcing and pre vetting activity within these areas. As BEST do not currently have a presence within North East Yorkshire and the Humber (NEY&H) the majority of placement sourcing and pre vetting activity within these areas will be undertaken by our placement provider partners and fed into our single database of placement opportunities. BEST will be responsible for undertaking 100% of placement matching for individual customers from our database. BEST will also be responsible for 100% of the ongoing monitoring of customers within their placement activity until placement completion. Why this is the best delivery model for Y&H - our delivery model has been specifically developed to meet the needs of Y&H. Our extensive supply chain ensures we can offer placements in more rurally isolated areas (e.g. NYLC will support North Yorkshire customers across all localities). The wide variety of placements that we can offer will help to support individual job goals and motivate customers by directly impacting upon the communities in which they live e.g. current placement hosts include Voluntary Action Calderdale, Wakefield District Housing . BEST will undertake the majority of delivery within S&WY. Rationale - BEST is an established delivery presence in these areas, supporting 23,000 customers every year through provision including New Deal Prime Contractor and FND (as a subcontractor). Our extensive local premises and staffing infrastructure means that we are ideally placed to implement and deliver MWA from day one with minimal set up and resourcing requirements. Within our current provision we offer high quality work placements that equip our customers with transferable skills and work disciplines to enter sustainable employment. Last year, we moved 39% of VS and 40% of ETF customers into employment, exceeding national average job outcomes by 13% and 3% respectively. Last year we sourced and regulated 2,352 placements (offering community benefit) for our S&WY customers. This activity is supported by an extensive infrastructure of placement hosts, currently covering vocational sectors including Retail, Hospitality, Customer Service, Catering, Ground Work, Warehousing, Logistics, IT, Administration. Examples of current placement hosts include RSPCA, Bluebell Wood Hospice, PDSA, Oxfam, Shelter, The National Trust and The Salvation Army. Many of our current hosts can offer extremely high volumes of work placements to our customers, e.g. last year, British Heart Foundation (BHF) provided 170 Retail and Logistics placements to our Halifax customers; Oxfam provided 100 Retail placements to our Huddersfield customers. Across Wakefield, Featherstone Rovers and Nostell Priory respectively offer up to 20 placements to BEST customers at any one time. We



5.1 continued are therefore confident that we already have a comprehensive placement infrastructure to support MWA. In the event that additional placements were required, we have engaged with BTCV to source placements for West and South Yorkshire customers. BTCV has extensive experience of sourcing voluntary placements – they are 1 of 4 partners responsible for the delivery of the Volunteering into Employment Programme, supporting 34,000 starts between 2009 – 2011. They are an established Y&H presence with 7 centres across Y&H. Within South Yorkshire we have also engaged with Sector Solutions to source any additional placements required for South Yorkshire customers. Sector Solutions is the consortium lead for 45 Third Sector organisations across S. Yorks, thereby offering access to an extensive network of placement opportunities, they are also an experienced FJF provider. NEY&H – BEST has 23 years experience of delivering work placement based provision to our customers and we will build on this experience to develop opportunities across NEY&H. In order to ensure a consistently high standard of one to one support and to ensure consistency in our monitoring activity, placement matching and monitoring activity will be undertaken by BEST‟s Placement Matchers and Customer Support Advisors across the CPA. In recognition of their infrastructure and track record, the majority of placement sourcing and pre vetting activities in these areas will be undertaken by our supply chain. Rationale - we recognise that BEST does not have an existing presence within NEY&H. Whilst we are confident that many of the placement hosts that we currently use within S&WY (e.g. Oxfam, BHF), will be happy to extend their support to NEY&H, in order to ensure that our NEY&H customers have equal access to a comprehensive range of work placements, we have engaged with Hull City Council (HCC), BTCV and North Yorkshire Learning Consortium (NYLC) to source and pre vet work placements. HCC has extensive experience of sourcing and monitoring work placement activities through delivery of ETF and VS and will be able to offer a range of diverse placement opportunities via internal council departments (e.g. libraries, and museums). NYLC are also experienced provider of work placements via FJF and will be able to provide internal placements via its network of providers. We have engaged with BTCV (see above) to provide placements in NEY&H. BTCV have centres in York and Hull and available placement across the whole of NEY&H. How this model meets the needs of our customers – our comprehensive supply chain and infrastructure of placement hosts offers customers convenience, choice and meaningful work activity. We have selected supply chain partners with demonstrable records of coordinating placement opportunities (e.g. via ETF and VS). Our Skills Promise will set out to customers the vocational skills and knowledge that they can achieve with every individual placement, so they can clearly see how MWA will boost their employability prospects. Our delivery model also ensures equality of access – a significant issue for customers living in more remote rural areas such as the Yorkshire Dales. Customers will be able to access initial interviews from 23 delivery centres and access to telephone interviews. We will also align placement activity to address the needs of the local labour market. For example, the Trinity developments in Leeds and Wakefield will create large scale Retail employment opportunities. BEST has established links with over 30 placement hosts currently providing Retail placements for our customers which also offer community benefits. For example, we have worked with Oxfam in Huddersfield for over 10 years, last year Oxfam provided over 100 Retail placements to our Huddersfield customers. We also currently work with Featherstone Rovers in Wakefield District, who provides local placement opportunities for customers who are taking part in the BEST New Deal programme. The placement opportunities with Featherstone Rovers are structured to ensure skills development is guaranteed to provide customers with the experience they need to compete at interview for local jobs.



[5.2] Management Structure

Please provide:

A description of the proposed management structure for this CPA and how the required management skills and expertise, including working with local stakeholders, have been identified and will be delivered. You should also include a description of associated responsibilities and reporting lines ;

A description of how you will work with the management teams of any supply chain organisations and key delivery partners; and

An explanation why your management structure is appropriate for Mandatory Work Activity within this CPA.

Please include an organisation chart (attach as Annex 2) showing the proposed management structure for Mandatory Work Activity for this CPA. Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 2 sides of A4. Note: Format requirement and page limit does not apply to the organisation chart(s) which you must insert as Annex 4.



5.2 The BEST Mandatory Work Activity (MWA) model will benefit from a highly

experienced senior management team who are in post and completely dedicated to managing delivery across this CPA. A working group led by our Human Resources Manager (HRM) have identified the skills and experience required to deliver the MWA by conducting an evaluation falling into three main categories: 1) Comprehensive analysis of the MWA specification; 2) evaluation of the BEST delivery model & performance offer and 3) a mapping exercise of local stakeholders and the skills

associated to work effectively with them. This exercise has concluded that the core management competences required are: Experience; existing relationships with stakeholders (including JCP and voluntary sector organisations), performance monitoring and management of welfare to work programmes, supply chain management (Regional Performance Manager (RPM) level) and a track record of delivering welfare to work solutions across the CPA. Skills; excellent communication skills at all levels, including IT skills, performance reporting, good problem solving skills and proven leadership skills. As an example of how this mapping works in practice, our existing RPM‟s skills were evaluated against the criteria above. She has worked across Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) for over 30 years, with 21 years employment history within welfare to work. She has significant knowledge of the local economic landscape and has 19 years experience of performance management expertise. For MWA all existing staff and new applicants will be evaluated against these criteria before interview and appointment. Across every district BEST can demonstrate extensive experience of working with local stakeholders and employers. This includes membership of the Association of Learning Providers (ALP), as well as working with a wide range of sub regional and local organisations including the 21 LA‟s and over 200 voluntary and community organisations. We will harness this expertise through our Strategic Management Steering Group (SMSG) which will include stakeholder representation. Proposed prime contractor management structure:- Operations Director (OD) reports to the MD, responsible for the overall management of the MWA including the supply chain, liaising with DWP and JCP to ensure that provision constantly meets KPI‟s and quality standards. The OD will be responsible for the strategic direction of the service, ensuring that the MWA is constantly aligned with local community priorities. This will include ongoing engagement and partnership working with existing and new stakeholders identified through the application of our Stakeholder Engagement Strategy. Regional Performance Manager - will report directly to the OD, responsible for the monitoring and management of performance across the MWA programme. This will include managing the quality of our supply chain of funded placement provider partners, monitoring their delivery against service level agreements. The RPM will work with employer forums and other stakeholders and conduct 1 to 1 performance reviews with BEST delivery staff. Regional Compliance Manager – reports to OD. Responsibility for managing implementation of new contracts & compliance for MWA. Further responsibility for the management of a range of functions including: BEST‟s Provision Assurance Management system; MI systems; Security; PRaPs; Merlin Standard and other quality kitemarks. A Development & Compliance Officer will report to the RCM and carry responsibility for the compliance of MWA across the supply chain. Account Manager – will report the RPM. Sources and secures large scale placements opportunities and manages the delivery of our placement strategy across the CPA, updating and managing the BEST Friend Placement Directory. Further management structure and support is provided by apportioned support from our HRM, Accounts Manager and Data Information Manager. How we will work with the management teams of our supply chain and key delivery partners – We have a strong track

record of working in partnership and building relationships based on trust and transparency. In 2007 Ofsted commented on our “strong leadership of the supply chain”



5.2 continued and this was further validated in 2010 when Ofsted reported that “BEST makes good use of partnerships to deliver the contract. BEST has been very effective in developing a subcontractor network”. We have consistently worked with the management teams of our supply chain to meet the Code of Conduct and since the introduction of the Merlin Standard we have re-evaluated our structures to ensure we meet the supply chain management principles of “Commitment, Conduct and Review”. South Yorkshire provides an effective example. We have developed extensive relationships at grass roots level over the past 3 years through effective management of our DWP ESF Key Support Worker (KSW) contract which is the largest programme within the South Yorkshire Progress Together ESF model. This programme is diverse and we sub-contract 70% of the programme‟s delivery to 8 voluntary & community organisations, working with another 30 local organisations who refer into KSW. Our management structure is highly effective, ensuring we have exceeded the specification target of 25% in 2010 by delivering 30% of customers into work. For MWA, our supply chain of formal placement provider partners will be required to have an accountable manager for MWA who will attend our SMSG. The SMSG is the strategic forum that provides the opportunity for us to review programme performance and shape a responsive MWA model. Chaired by our RPM and meeting quarterly, it provides an effective channel for our supply chain and wider partners to influence the programme delivery. In addition to senior representation from across our supply chain, membership of this group includes DWP, JCP, a LA representative and a rolling membership of diverse local voluntary organisations. To manage the four placement provider partners (with whom we have formal service level agreements) we will undertake compliance activity through our Provision Assurance Management (PAM) system. Feedback will be provided formally via individual meetings between our placement provider representative and RPM. PAM will examine key performance aspects for our placement providers, including referral to start within 10 days, placement availability and the compliance of placement Health & Safety risk assessments. Why this management structure is appropriate for MWA in Y&H:- Our management structure

has developed over 23 years to meet the needs of the CPA. We have a long standing, experienced management team in Y&H that has a history of successfully delivering complex DWP provision at a local level. The effectiveness of our management structure can be demonstrated in our highly successful delivery of New Deal (ND) Prime Contractor across West Yorkshire. This is currently the largest contributor to ND job outcomes in the UK (8.86%). Recognising the distinct requirements of the MWA programme, we can demonstrate comparable experience through our programme delivery where across the CPA we have delivered a combined total of 9200 placement opportunities to JSA customers in 2010. Our head office at Leeds is based within the CPA. Our entire management structure includes senior, middle and junior managers who are based in Yorkshire and dedicated to serving the needs of customers and employers who live and work in Yorkshire. We understand the strategic and local challenges within each sub region of Y&H and the management structures that work in delivering high levels of performance. Our management structure is embedded into the network of services tackling worklessness across the CPA. We have existing relationships with 8000 employers operating across the CPA and over 200 community and voluntary sector organisations. We are members of strategic and local groups attending for example: Worklessness Meetings; Work & Skills Board meetings and provider groups; Leeds City Region Employer Coalition meetings and JCP Cluster Meetings. Our outstanding working relationship with JCP senior managers and personal advisors across Yorkshire is evidence of our responsive approach and provides additional evidence of the effectiveness of our management structure. Furthermore, established, effective relationships exist with our supply chain across the CPA which we will harness to support the achievement of performance levels from day one.



[5.3] Management of Delivery

Please clearly describe:

How you and your supply chain will manage and monitor the quality of delivery of Mandatory Work Activity to ensure that the whole provision within this CPA is of a consistently high standard and meets the Service requirements;

Your approach to performance improvement activities for your supply chain as a whole, outlining how you and your supply chain will act on the findings of any monitoring activity including the resolution of issues from within your own supply chain, partners or other bodies.

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 2 sides of A4.



5.3 We have high levels of Operational Governance in place with comprehensive

processes to manage, monitor & evaluate the quality of delivery. We will actively seek feedback, providing the opportunity for stakeholders and suppliers to shape proposals and influence the quality of our delivery. Monitoring the Quality of Delivery:- Quantitative performance:- We will evaluate monthly quantitative performance by harnessing our web based, software enabled WEBYETI MI system. Our key evaluation will be based on our performance against the MWA Service Delivery Standards. Additionally, we will benchmark performance against other prime contractors across the UK through analysis of DWP performance data. Performance will be monitored on a weekly and monthly basis by our Regional Performance Manager (RPM) who will harness MI from WEBYETI which holds our Case Management System and captures information on placement activity and service delivery standards. Standard reports will be generated, identifying any trends in performance and enabling performance comparison across the project. Qualitative performance:– In addition to our cycle of quality inspections we will regularly obtain and evaluate feedback from placement provider partners and placement hosts through questionnaires and forums. Our new Customer Service Centre will deliver a comprehensive solution to collating regular feedback by undertaking questionnaires on a rolling cycle. Managing the Quality of Delivery - Provision Assurance Management (PAM).:- PAM is the overarching system we use to manage the quality of delivery across our programmes and supply chains. Due to our existing infrastructure across the CPA and extensive track record of delivering work placements (we delivered 9200 individual placements across the CPA in 2010) BEST will manage 100% of the MWA management and compliance functions for this programme. We have engaged with four placement provider partners through a funded service level agreement to enhance our MWA placement offering across the CPA. These formal placement providers will provide additional capacity for placement opportunities. Whilst we will complete full Health & Safety pre-vets for these placement providers they will undertake further risk assessments for the customers dependant on the activity undertaken. We will apply the relevant functions of our PAM process to this funded supply chain, whilst assessing (via PAM) our internal management of all aspects of programme delivery. Our PAM process includes a series of self assessment and validation activities. Based on the DWP Provider Assurance Team (PAT) framework model and taking into account the four principles of the Merlin Standard, PAM examines the 4 aspects of: Quality (including customer feedback), Value for Money (including eligibility), Claims & Payments and Security & Data Protection. Our operations team undertake a formal self assessment of our programme delivery on an annual basis which is subject to a robust cycle of validations, feeding into our final Self Assessment Report which is published in August each year. Validations include quality inspections, financial audits and evaluations of processes and procedures. Our Regional Compliance team have overall responsibility for our PAM process working in conjunction with Operations and Finance & Claims teams. Our Regional Compliance team lead on quality inspections of programme delivery. This provides us with critical qualitative analysis of the quality of delivery across the CPA. Financial audits manage assurance and risk and are led by our Finance & Claims Department. For MWA this will include assessment of the Health & Safety placement risk assessments that will be undertaken by BEST and our supply chain, timesheets, notification letters, evidence of robust systems to raise sanction doubts within 24 hours and audit of our ability to return the customer feedback form within 10 days of exit. Audits are based on a risk rating system (Green – further audit within 9 months, Amber within 6 months & Red within 3 months). All of this data feeds into our PAM Action Plan which is reviewed monthly by our Operations Director (OD) and Regional Performance Manager (RPM). If our funded placement providers are not complying with the requirements of sourcing placement



5.3 continued opportunities within 10 days and/our complying with our robust Health & Safety risk assessment requirements then a 2 month PAM Improvement Action Plan will be produced and monitored on a monthly basis. Evidence to substantiate the entire PAM system is held electronically in our MI Supplier Database. Our approach to performance improvement:- We have a robust series of mechanisms in place to implement improvement activity with our supply chain, managed through our established structure of meetings. Governing Body:-The MWA contract will have a Strategic Management Steering Group (SMSG), attended by our funded placement providers and key stakeholders (eg JCP, DWP). Chaired by our RPM and meeting quarterly this meeting will undertake critical review of quality and performance by both BEST as prime contractor and our supply chain. A critical feature of our approach is the joint planning that takes place through the SMSG. This body will provide strategic input on when and how to make further improvements across our delivery model including the opportunity for the supply chain and stakeholders to provide feedback and review in line with the Merlin Standard. Senior Management Group (BEST internal SMG):- Providing the opportunity for BEST to implement any recommendations made by the SMSG our internal BEST SMG meet monthly. This Group is chaired by our MD and is responsible for directing the internal activity required to deliver our programmes to a consistently high standard at all levels including the approval of any additional investment in resource requirements, training & development and process improvements. Building on our existing structure, we will operate a host of quality improvement mechanisms to support performance improvements. Training and Development:- We will run quarterly BEST Practice Workshops for MWA staff, all of which will be open to our placement providers. These prove a highly effective way to disseminate good practice and capacity build. Process Improvements:- Our Regional Compliance Manager is responsible for driving forward process improvements across a range of critical functions including:- Service Delivery Standards; MI; Security and Procedures. All process change is managed on the principles of Prince2 methodologies including a comprehensive cycle of training to embed any new policies and/or procedures. Resolving issues identified within/outside the supply chain:- Harnessing the application of Prince2 project management principles we have developed a robust range of processes to resolve any issues identified within or outside our supply chain. Our delivery management structures provide a range of effective communication channels for the supply chain and stakeholders to raise any issues. Where such problems are process driven, we have a project management approach through the delivery of “Task and Finish Groups”. Led by the BEST Senior Manager with relevant departmental responsibilities these can be called within 48 hours and provide a responsive opportunity to examine the issue and direct resolution activity. Chaired by a senior manager, any further investment needed to resolve the issue can be sanctioned immediately. We recently utilised this facility to review and re-structure our customer feedback process. The Task & Finish group produced a new sustainable feedback process which was signed off by our senior management group and implemented across the supply chain within four weeks. Where more formal issues arise, these will be dealt with fairly, comprehensively and quickly. Our Dispute Resolution and Complaints Procedures are made available to suppliers on our Website and in the case of Disputes as part of our Service Level Agreements. Minor issues will be handled by our RPM with a report issued to our OD. All issues raised by our supply chain, partners or other bodies and deemed to be of a serious nature will be handled at executive level by our OD in an open, honest and transparent manner. Our OD will acknowledge receipt and then liaise with the necessary staff to investigate the issue. Fair, balanced review will take place and findings promptly reported to the supplier/partner within 14 days of them lodging the issue. Our response will document any actions to be taken by either BEST and/or the supplier, and will include associated timelines for implementation of improvement or resolution activity.



[5.4] Delivery Locations

Please provide details of where and how you and your supply chain will undertake the initial customer interview to ensure full geographical coverage of provision for the delivery of Mandatory Work Activity within this CPA.

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 1 side of A4.



5.4 BEST has an established local presence, having delivered welfare to work provision

across Yorkshire for the past 23 years. Our current delivery encompasses New Deal Prime Contract in West Yorkshire, FND in South Yorkshire and a range of ESF funded provision. These provisions, which currently support over 23,000 customers across the CPA are supported by an infrastructure of 16 fully functional BEST delivery premises. Similarly, our placement provider partners (Hull City Council, Sector Solutions, BTCV and North Yorkshire Learning Consortium) are all established Y&H presences, delivering a range of provision including Work Prep, GROW – Local Work Guarantee and Future Jobs Fund with an extensive range of delivery sites across the CPA. Our comprehensive infrastructures mean that customers will be able to access initial interviews from 11 BEST and 9 placement provider partner delivery centres. All initial interviews will be undertaken by a BEST Placement Matcher. We will dedicate a specific Customer Service Centre based in Leeds with four dedicated direct lines which will ensure we exceed the specification requirement of answering calls within 80% of cases. Geographic Coverage:- Our selected premises will offer full geographical coverage. In

order to maximise accessibility customers will be able to choose whether to conduct the initial interview via a face to face interview or over the telephone. For customers choosing to attend a face to face interview, a total of 20 delivery centres will be available to facilitate interviews. We have concentrated delivery centres in areas with high levels of JSA claimants – for example, in Hull, 7.6% of residents are JSA claimants; Within Rotherham 4.8% of residents claim JSA; Central Doncaster contributes 10.3% of Doncaster‟s total JSA claimants. All premises are located within close proximity to public transport routes – for example, our Bradford centre is just a 4 minute walk from the Bradford Interchange. All delivery centres will be open from 9am – 5pm, we have further maximised accessibility by offering these opening times from Monday to Saturday across the BEST centres from June 2011. All districts provide at least one centre which is DDA compliant. Placement Matchers will be equipped with mobile phones and laptops to enable them to work remotely across each district. In Grimsby and Scunthorpe for example, the Placement Matchers, who will be based in Doncaster will meet with customers in a range of outreach centres and further placement provider partners will be sourced in these areas in first few months the contract. A summary of our premises information is provided below. (please note the 9 * locations are the only ones that are to be paid for all other are at no charge)

Location Number of Premises Location Number of Premises

Barnsley 1 Bradford 1 *

Dewsbury 1 Doncaster 1 *

Huddersfield 1 * Hull 2 (1*)

Knaresborough 1 Leeds 3 (1*)

Rotherham 3 (1*) Scarborough 1 *

Sheffield 2 (1*) Wakefield 2

York 1*

All of the locations detailed are existing delivery centres. Full address details are available on request. Facilities – All centres have confirmed that at least one 1-2-1 room will be set aside to accommodate initial customer interviews. All centres are equipped with, rest and refreshment facilities. Added Value – every selected centre contains at least one fully equipped job search suite, containing telephony, stationery (including stamps and envelopes), PCs (with internet access), and printers. Suites also contain fully equipped and up to date careers resource libraries including careers directories, newspapers and journals, specific trade journals, job specific journals (e.g. Jobs and Careers). All MWA customers will be encouraged to access these facilities outside their work placement activity times for the purposes of job search activity.



[5.5] Volume Fluctuations and Customer Group Changes

Describe how you and your Supply Chain will maintain service delivery in the event of fluctuations in customer volumes and changes to the customer group referred including potential alterations resulting from changes to the welfare regime referred to in Annex 6 of the MWA Specification. Your response should include the following:

How you will maintain minimum performance levels;

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 1 side of A4.



5.5 We anticipate that the introduction in of stricter application of conditionality and

stronger sanctions for JSA customers together with the introduction of Universal Credit in 2013 will have a significant impact on benefit dependency and in turn the volumes of referrals onto MWA. Our financial modelling process has examined the financial and resourcing impacts of customer group change and volume fluctuations at varied timelines throughout the contract period. We further anticipate unforeseen change resultant from the economic recovery path of the Yorkshire & the Humber CPA. Identifying potential changes – Local Labour Market Information:- Our Business Development Department drive our data research and analysis function which examines previous referral levels and economic assessments that will affect future customer referral volumes. Utilising Jobcentre Plus:- We will continue to work with JCP at district and regional level so that we receive an accurate and detailed picture from a JCP perspective of what is happening politically and in the economic marketplace and how this is likely to impact upon customer groups and volumes. Maintaining Minimum Performance levels:- The intelligence we collect is used by our internal Senior Management Group to develop responsive plans in preparation of fluctuations in customer volumes and changes to customer groups. These are disseminated across our supply chain through our programme led Strategic Management Steering Group. Our established procedures include comprehensive MI reports which track performance during volume shift situations. Our comprehensive structure of strategic and operational meetings provides the mechanism for us to take immediate action to respond to such changes, agreeing prime and supply chain responsibilities. We can demonstrate considerable experience in managing significant changes. In our first year of New Deal operation (2006) we effectively managed a 96% increase in volumes across our supply chain supporting an additional 7000 customers. Increased Referrals:- The key to managing increased referrals for MWA will be our ability to source and secure additional placement opportunities. Across our existing programmes within this CPA we sourced and managed 9200 placement opportunities in 2010 and we have the capability to apply these existing resources to MWA should referrals increase. In selecting a supply chain for this programme we have considered the potential need for increased capacity across the CPA and have selected four funded partners who have the resources to provide significant additional placement capacity. Providing full CPA coverage, these partners have been selected because of their capacity to deliver large scale placement opportunities. This supplier network will be able to provide significant additional capacity should we require it. Managing Decreases in Customer Fluctuations:- We understand there are wide ranging implications from regional economic recovery and growth, which may result in reductions in benefit claimants and decreased referrals onto the MWA. Both BEST and our supply chain are delivering other services from all of the premises we will be delivering MWA from and will be able to re-apportion centre space to other programmes. In terms of staffing resource, where we experience minor fluctuations we will utilise re-deployment and natural wastage to manage staffing requirements. Nevertheless, BEST are equally experienced in handling redundancy processes should fluctuations decrease significantly and have a range of established and tested procedures in place. Customer Group Changes:- The impacts of the Welfare Reform Bill and changes to benefits will significantly change the JSA customer group. Although the introduction of a single Universal Credit will still allow for differentiation of individual customers (e.g. lone parents/carers/health conditions) we anticipate it will increase the likelihood that some of these current customer groups will refer to MWA. We have extensive experience of managing these customers through our ESF and West Yorks New Deal contracts and will apply this expertise to ensure we consistently meet the minimum service delivery standards of referral and start commitments, & the robust mechanisms to raise sanction doubts and customer exits.



[5.6] Managing the Customer Experience

Please describe:

How you will evaluate and monitor the quality of the Mandatory Work Activity placement in this CPA;

What procedures will be in place for handling complaints as well as feedback from customers of their experiences on the programme; and

How you will act on any findings. Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 2 sides of A4.



5.6 How we will evaluate and monitor the quality of provision:- Our Provision Assurance Management system (PAM) is based on the DWP PAT audit process and evaluates performance across our supply chain against four key measures including the overall quality of our provision. We use three key mechanisms to allow us to effectively evaluate the customer experience which in turn enables us to determine appropriate steps to deliver a cycle of continuous improvement. These mechanisms include the evaluation of MI; our Quality Inspection regime and the evaluation of learner and employer/placement host feedback. The effectiveness of these systems was comprehensively validated in our October 2009 Customer First assessment where assessors identified that “the customer journey is clearly defined; consistent processes are embedded throughout each area of provision and there was robust evidence provided of processes being put into practice effectively.” To deliver a comprehensive cycle of improvement we will work towards an ongoing programme led PAM action plan which will address any variations in performance across the CPA, build on best practise and will set out agreed delivery improvement activities across BEST and our supply chain. MI Evaluation:- Integral to consistent benchmarking and identifying performance improvement opportunities is our WEBYETI IT MI system. We are currently making significant investments to enhance this software and create an exhaustive case management system. This will capture increasing qualitative information and generate reports on all aspects of programme delivery including placement activities and the breadth and depth of opportunities available to customers across the CPA. Standard reports are generated, identifying how effectively we are meeting our performance delivery standards as detailed within the specification. In addition to the specified requirements we will be measuring how effectively we are moving customers into Mandatory Work Activity (MWA) placement activity within 5 and 10 days in line with our customer journey, and measuring the range of sectors where we are offering placement activity to ensure a wide variety of activities that provide both community benefit and the opportunity to meet the future economic needs of employers across the CPA. Building on our existing management structures MWA will have a Strategic Management Steering Group (SMSG). Chaired by our Regional Performance Manager (RPM), this quarterly meeting will examine the customer experience, with specific emphases on the quality and effectiveness of the community placement opportunities the provision is providing. Inspection regime:- Forming part of our overall PAM system we will evaluate qualitative delivery through a comprehensive inspection regime undertaken by our Compliance team. Our inspection process has been developed from the customer-centric principles of the Ofsted Common Inspection Framework. This provides key evaluations of the impact of placement activity providing extensive qualitative evaluation on the effectiveness of provision. This process is currently applied consistently internally and across our supply chain and evaluates the programme offer from the perspective of the learner. Post inspection we agree a risk rating and series of possible improvement activities all of which are recorded in the PAM Action Plan. Customer evaluation:- We regularly obtain and evaluate feedback from customers through questionnaires and customer forums. We plan to increase our evaluation function by investing in our Customer Service Centre (CSC). The CSC team will lead on the management of evaluation through our Customer Service Advisors, evaluating programme delivery at induction and at the end of the work placement opportunity. For our MWA we will further develop our evaluations to gather more detailed information on the long term issues customers may face in sustaining work. Additionally, we evaluate qualitative performance through customer, employer/placement provider and staff forums, harnessing the expertise of our highly qualified frontline teams. Building on this established qualitative mechanism, and led by our Regional Compliance Manager



5.6 continued (RCM) our bi annual customer forums will provide robust evaluations to inform delivery as set out in our response to how we act on findings, (below). Procedures for Handling Complaints:-Our organisation has a formal written complaints policy which sets out clear guidelines and timescales for managing both customer comments and complaints. We recognise the value of feedback and have actively created a number of channels that customers can use to give feedback including: Through our dedicated Customer Service Centre and Customer Advice Line which will provided added value from being staffed 8am – 9.00pm 7 days a week; via our website; through our internet evaluation process and via the weekly telephonic progress review. Our Compliance Team manage a centralised monitoring system enabling a formal review of the complaints log on a quarterly basis. Feedback from this monitoring exercise is reported to our internal senior management group and the programme led SMSG on a quarterly basis. Our systems for acting on these findings are set out in the “How we will act on evaluation findings” response below. Escalating Complaints:- All complaints are reported to our Compliance Team and entered into our Complaints Log and forwarded within 24 hours to the relevant departmental head who will contact customers within 48 hours. For MWA our supply chain will be required to implement our complaints procedures referring all complaints into BEST. Our detailed procedures mean unresolved complaints are escalated up through our management structure via RPM, OD and then to MD level. If still unresolved they are currently referred to JCP district office. We understand this stage will be replaced by the Independent Case Examiner (ICE), although we anticipate that JCP will continue to receive and manage complaints via the Personal Advisers. We welcome the impartiality of the ICE to our existing processes and are confident that any investigations will find our processes to be robust and fit for purpose. Our complaints procedure, including details on the Independent Case Examiner will be discussed and issued at the initial meeting and a summarised copy of the procedure including full contact details, will be included in the formal notification sent to the customer detailing their attendance on MWA. How we will act on findings:- Our PAM system and meeting structures enable

us to effectively act on evaluation findings. Our quarterly SMSG meeting is critical in agreeing strategic direction across the provision. This meeting forms the hub of activity to act on findings and deliver robust improvements. The SMSG is attended by a range of stakeholders, BEST Account Manager and our funded placement provider partners. The depth of representation will ensure a responsive delivery model that meets the needs of the different sub regions. It will be chaired by our RCM who will summarise quality evaluations and recommend specific improvements. Reports on quality improvements are fed both upwards and downwards to the SMSG and feed into the strategic planning of programme delivery. At an operational level our RPM works directly with our internal teams and supply chain of funded placement provider partners. We adopt the same improvement practices across the sub regions with the PAM Action plan including targets and activities to improve the quality of delivery as agreed by the SMSG at a district level. Where we identify specific under performance, our RPM identifies and agrees a clear set of actions to support improvement to the service and an additional 3 month Improvement Action Plan is produced and monitored internally through the individual monthly operational Performance Reviews which take place between the OD and the RPM. Underperformance from our funded placement provider partners will be treated in exactly the same way with the Improvement Action Plan managed by the RPM and respective partner. To continuously improve the customer experience and to directly support the activity set out in an improvement action plan we operate a host of quality improvement tools. We run Task & Finish groups and quarterly BEST Practice Workshops for BEST delivery staff and supply chain partners. These mechanisms prove a highly effective way to disseminate good practice, capacity build and improve performance.



PART 6: RESOURCES [6.1] Staff Resources – Staffing Numbers, Job Titles and Roles

Please provide:

Details of the number of staff, shown as full time equivalents, including job title and key roles you and your supply chain propose to employ to manage and deliver Mandatory Work Activity for this CPA.

a description of why you consider this staffing level is appropriate for this CPA at contract start date, together with details as to how you will manage the staffing levels as customer volumes rise and fall over the lifetime of the contract.

a detailed description of the number of staff to be drawn from o current resources, o those to be recruited by both your organisation and any supply chain

organisations involved.

Details of how you have identified the skills required by staff in your organisation, and your sub-contractors, to deliver the service you have proposed at Section 4. Details of how you will acquire staff with these skills.

A resource plan should be provided (attach as Annex 3) showing how staffing, by full time equivalent and job title/role, will be allocated across this CPA and a description of the job roles of staff shown in Annex . Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 2 sides of A4. Note: Format requirement and page limit does not apply to the resource plan which you must insert as Annex 3.



6.1 Redacted



PART 7: STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT] [7.1] Local Stakeholders

Please describe in detail, in relation to this CPA how you and your supply chain will engage with local Partners, voluntary sector organisations and employers to ensure effective on-going relationships with them throughout the life of the contract. Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 2 sides of A4.



7.1 Having served the needs of the CPA for over 23 years BEST is embedded into the

structure of services that tackle worklessness and contribute to economic growth across the region. At a strategic level, it is the responsibility of our Senior Management Group (SMG) to effectively implement and maintain our comprehensive and effective Stakeholder and Employer Engagement Strategies across BEST & our supply chains. We define “effective” as “activity providing a direct contribution to programme performance”. Our strategies set out the objectives and processes we have in place for identifying and engaging with a range of stakeholders and employers. They provide a detailed methodology on how we will engage with a diverse range of stakeholders, aligning our services to national, regional, and local policies and provisions. The principle objective is to improve our contract performance across our supply chain. We aim to achieve this by effectively aligning our programmes with existing provision and delivering provision that will meet the needs of employers operating across the CPA. Managing Stakeholder and Employer Engagement:- The principle mechanism for managing engagement strategies across our supply chain is delivered through the quarterly programme led Strategic Management Steering Group (SMSG). This forum also ensures that stakeholders outside the supply chain consistently engage and influence the programme design and development and targets activity at a local level across our supply chain. We will invite strategic stakeholders to sit on this body including the DWP, an LA representative, JCP and two employer representatives. We will also have a rotating membership of 3 voluntary and community organisations, operating outside our supply chain. The breadth of stakeholder representation on the SMSG will ensure objectivity, creating an opportunity for external information on other provisions to be fed into the project design at both a strategic and grass roots level. In addition, involvement of voluntary organisations in this strategic body will also support our commitment to capacity building in line with the Merlin Standard. By providing an objective external viewpoint on programme delivery, stakeholders and employers will have the opportunity to inform improvements in the quality of MWA delivery. Employer and stakeholder engagement activity will be a standard agenda item with strategic and local activity agreed and minuted. Engagement Activities:- BEST and our supply chain

currently engage with stakeholders across the region at a number of levels including: LEP‟s – (Our MD is on the Board of the Leeds City Region Employer Coalition); the Rotherham Work & Skills Provider Group (SY), the One Hull Strategic Partnership; the Barnsley and Doncaster Work & Skills Board Provider groups (SY), Skilled in Sheffield (SY); the Doncaster Worklessness Forum (SY; the West Yorkshire Worklessness meetings & the North Yorkshire Strategic Partnership. Whilst we cannot provide examples of how we will engage with each of the stakeholders operating across the CPA, we have selected some pertinent examples as evidence of how, together with our supply chain, we will deploy our strategy as follows: Jobcentre Plus (JCP):- Having worked closely at strategic and operational level with the JCP West & South Yorkshire District offices as Prime Contractor for New Deal and ESF contracts we consider our relationship with JCP to be outstanding. We work closely with JCP at strategic and operational level. They are a key member of our SMSG and at a local level our WY cluster meetings provide a regular opportunity to ensure our programme management is reflective of JCP needs. Our objective is to build on this platform to deliver a unique and responsive MWA model. Local Authorities:- Our Managing Director and Business Development Manager will lead on the strategy for effective engagement with the CPA‟s LA‟s. Like JCP, we have an excellent track record of working with the LA regeneration teams across the CPA. We are actively involved in aligning our services to the LA‟s priorities through the meetings detailed above. Community and Voluntary Organisations:- In line with the Merlin Standard we will engage with wider networks across the CPA. With over 23 years effective delivery of our stakeholder engagement



7.1 continued strategy in Y&H, we have an unrivalled understanding of existing local provision delivered by community and voluntary organisations. By creating a wider network of aligned services we can offer further opportunities to support customers. Organisational and referral details for all of our aligned services will be recorded on our BEST Friend Directory which currently holds details on 139 organisations and is already available across the supply chain in West & South Yorkshire. We will work with our placement provider partners to develop a similarly comprehensive record of accessibly services in NEY&H before go live on the 18th April. Our supply chain can demonstrate equivalent relationships across the districts they serve and we have specifically engaged with the key players in NEY&H including the North Yorkshire Learning Consortium to support our delivery of this strategy across this sub region. In SY we are in the unique position of being able to build on our extensive relationships with smaller and voluntary organisations developed from our involvement in the SY Progress Together model. As the Prime Contractor for DWP ESF Key Support Worker in SY we have developed extensive relationships at grass roots level over the past 3 years. Delivering an outreach based key support worker service our supply chain for this programme is diverse and we have embedded ourselves into the infrastructure of local delivery through our relationships with over 30 contracted voluntary and community organisations who refer customers into our Key Worker contract. Housing Associations (HA’s):- Recognising the social impact housing has on customers, we are committed to working closely with HA‟s across the CPA. We have recently engaged with Wakefield District Housing (WDH), developing a partnership that aligns our joint objective of tackling worklessness. WDH are offering a rolling placement opportunity for 12 customers at any time over a 12 week period. Customers are undertaking work related activity across Wakefield with the aim of improving the communities in which they live. Our first cohort started in December 2010, based in Lupset and in their first week of activity the group cleared over 10 tons of rubbish across the ward. Customers attending this work placement activity are guaranteed interviews with WDH and 6 have secured work. Working Collaboratively with Employers:- We will engage with

employers in their capacity to provide placement opportunities where they are of community benefit. Our RPM will lead on the continued development of our enhanced IT WEBYETI Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. This system will enable effective account management, recording of placement opportunities and measurement of employer/placement satisfaction. We recognise that this programme is targeting the most disengaged JSA customers and that limited numbers of customers are expected to secure employment during their MWA journey. However our key objective is to work collaboratively with placement providers so that our delivery model provides customers with the disciplines required for employment. We will work with placement providers to target skills acquisition that will support employer needs. We will ask all placement hosts to complete our „Skills Starter‟ form. This will identify the skills and knowledge that the customer has had the opportunity to acquire within their placement. So, for example, a conservation placement might include skills and knowledge elements such as „team work‟, „ability to comply with H&S procedures‟. The placement host will select appropriate boxes from the Skills Starter Matrix to confirm the skills and knowledge that that individual has successfully achieved and sign a short statement of confirmation at the end of the document. The Skills Starter is then incorporated within the completion certificate. This provides customers with a very specific record of vocational and general workplace skills achieved that can be presented to potential employers. We have relationships at CPA level with a number of employers who are committed tackling worklessness and supporting the delivery of regional growth plans. We will seek their representation on our SMSG in order that they can inform our delivery model and ensure that MWA consistently provides customers with the discipline and experience that employers need.



PART 8: CONTRACT PERFORMANCE [8.1] Performance

Please explain in detail;

The types of work placements you will provide;

How you will source placement opportunities, often at short notice, for customers on the programme;

How these placements are of Community Benefit;

How you will tell JCP if a customer signs off benefit;

How you will raise a sanction doubt with JCP.




8.1 Types of Work Placement – BEST and our placement provider partners (supply chain) offer customers access to a comprehensive range of placement opportunities that offer community benefit. Last year BEST sourced 9,200 placements for our customers, 2,352 offered community benefit. Our supply chain of 4 other placement providers partners also have a demonstrable track record of sourcing community benefit placements and in many instances will be able to offer placements from within their own networks (e.g. via Sector Solutions‟ 45 member organisations). We can offer our customers a comprehensive range of vocationally specific, motivating placements across a diverse range of sectors including Retail (e.g. British Heart Foundation & PDSA shops), Hospitality (e.g. St Georges Cript), Customer Service (e.g. Leeds Learning Partnerships), Gardening/Conservation (e.g. Nostel Priory & British Waterways), Warehousing (e.g. Newlands Furniture Service, Logistics (e.g. St Judes & Furniture 4 u), IT (e.g. Airdale computers) and Administration (e.g. St Mary‟s community centre. Our BEST Skills Promise will clearly explain to customers the type of workplace skills that can be acquired on each placement. For example, an admin placement might include skills such as data inputting, reception duties, filing correspondence etc. Sourcing Placement Opportunities – within BEST‟s team, our dedicated Account Manager (AM) and Placement Matchers (PMs) will be responsible for undertaking all placement sourcing and pre vetting activity. The AM will be responsible for the whole CPA and overarching management of the BEST Placement Directory. In addition to working with our established placement hosts, they will also engage with new hosts via cold calling and mailshots to organisations such as local authorities, government departments, Third Sector organisations, social enterprises and environmental agencies. Our marketing literature will contain case studies that clearly demonstrate the mutual benefits that MWA placements offer to both customers and hosts. Having engaged with potential hosts, AM and PMs will undertake an initial meeting with the potential host to ascertain the type of work placement activity on offer, locations, times and dates of availability. PMs will be responsible for undertaking full risk assessments and will be qualified to do so. Where a more complex risk assessment is required, this will be undertaken by our NEBOSH qualified Health and Safety Officer. Induction activity regarding H&S and emergency procedures will also be developed and agreed with the placement host and training materials will be agreed and devised accordingly. As with our current placement sourcing activity, SLAs will be agreed with every placement host. SLAs for placement hosts stipulate the rights and obligations of BEST, the customer and the placement host. It should be noted that these SLA‟s will differ from the funded SLA‟s we will hold with our placement provider partner supply chain. These SLA‟s address H&S, insurance cover, induction activities, expected behaviours and will also detail the community benefit to be achieved. PMs will also agree a „Skills Promise‟ for every placement type with every placement host which clearly sets out the vocational skills and knowledge that the customer has the opportunity to acquire within that specific work placement. Our placement provider partners will adhere to the procedures stipulated above. All placement provider partners have also been required to confirm that they have suitably qualified staff to undertake all placement sourcing activity (e.g. NEBOSH qualified staff to undertake complex risk assessments).Upon completion of required risk assessments, Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and the Skills Promise, details of the agreed placement will be inputted onto the BEST Placement Directory by our Account Manager and/or Placement Matchers. Sourcing Placements at Short Notice – BEST has ongoing access to an extensive network of hosts offering community benefit placements. We have longstanding relationships with many of our hosts, for example, we have worked with the Ground Floor Project in Halifax for the past 4 years, last year they provided 220 computer



8.1 continued recycling placements to our customers. We have engaged with a supply chain of placement providers that can similarly evidence ability to source high volumes of community benefit work placements across Y&H. For example, North Yorkshire Learning Consortium works with a network of volunteer centres across North Yorkshire. These extensive links mean that we can offer placement coverage at an extremely local level and source placements in remote rural areas at short notice. We therefore anticipate that in the majority of instances placements will be sourced from hosts with which we or our supply chain already have an established relationship, who have existing and agreed capacity to support our customers. We can also confirm that all of the BEST examples detailed throughout this document have already been subject to pre vet activity and SLAs. This has the additional advantage of minimising the time from placement sourcing to placement start. Additionally, we have ensured that there is geographic overlap between ourselves and our supply chain, ensuring that we will never be dependent upon a single provider to source placement opportunities in a specific geographic area. So, for example, BTCV will cover the entire CPA and Sector Solutions will provide additional placement support in South Yorkshire. CSAs will be responsible for inputting all new placement opportunities onto our Placement Directory (incorporated onto our WEBYETI MI System) on the same day of receipt. Equally, all Placement Matchers will advise CSAs immediately upon selection of a placement so that the directory can be updated accordingly and the opportunity updated as being filled. In this way we will ensure that all information on the Placement Directory is completely up to date. Ensuring Community Benefit – in accordance with Annex 7, we will ensure that every

placement will offer direct or indirect community benefit. In accordance with „The Big Society‟, wherever possible we will source placements in the town or village where an individual lives, so they can make a direct, positive contribution to their own locality. Through the delivery of services such as ETF and VS, BEST and our supply chain are fully conversant with „community benefit‟ terminology and how to source external placements that offer such benefits. All PMs (and supply chain partners equivalents) will receive training so that they are fully conversant with community benefit stipulations. As detailed above, every placement will be subject to an SLA. This will be a standardised form that will clearly set out the community benefit offered by each placement. A distinct data field will be incorporated within the BEST Placement Directory, where CSAs will be required to input details regarding the community benefit of every placement. Where this information is missing / unclear the placement will not be inputted onto the directory until clarification regarding community benefit has been obtained. Our Account Manager will also undertake spot checks of the Placement Directory to ensure compliance. Customers Signing Off Benefit – We are tracking all customers via twice weekly telephone calls to the placements. However in the unusual event we are not notified of a customer leaving benefits we expect the JCP Advisor to advise BEST as soon as possible. BEST will then update PRaP accordingly and send a completer certificate and feedback form detailing what was achieved by the customer during their time on placement. Raising a Sanction Doubt - As part of our SLA with placement hosts, hosts will be required to advise our CSAs if the customer has failed to attend, participate in an agreed activity, or if the placement host has required them to leave on the day of the occurrence. The CSA will immediately report this to the appropriate Placement Matcher. The PM will then inform JCP within 24 hours via the DMA referral form. Twice weekly monitoring activity by CSAs will enable us to proactively identify any potential threats to attendance or completion of activities. Where a customer has failed to comply with any other non placement related aspects of their customer journey (e.g. failing to attend their initial interview), the PM will inform JCP within 24 hours via the DMA referral form.



PART 9: IMPLEMENTATION [9.1] Implementation Plan

Please provide:

An Implementation Plan for Mandatory Work Activity in this CPA clearly stating the date on which you are proposing to commence delivery of the service. The plan, which must be in the form of a Gantt chart (insert as Annex 4), must include the key activities required to put provision into place by the service commencement date. It must include key milestones, timescales for activities including start and end dates and who is responsible for each activity including the expected start date for delivery. It should also show the critical path and interdependencies.

A narrative to expand on the implementation plan which must identify and address all the key risks, including the impact of winning multiple Mandatory Work Activity contracts and how these risks will be mitigated.

Insert your response in the pre-set, shaded space of the following pages. Your response MUST be limited to 1 side of A4. Note: Format requirement and page limit does not apply to the Gantt chart which you must insert as Annex 4.



9.1 BEST has implemented 72 contracts over the last 23 years across Yorkshire,

including ESF and New Deal Prime Contracts. Our existing presence means that our Implementation Team (IMT) is already employed by BEST. We are therefore able to commence implementation prior to preferred bidder notification in order to start delivery on 18th April 2011. Our Implementation Plan has been developed and agreed by our IMT, which consists of; Operations Director (OD), Financial Director (FD), Regional Compliance Manager (RCM), Regional Performance Manager (RPM), HR Manager (HRM), Data Information Manager (DIM), Implementation Manager (Servo), Implementation Manager (Cognisoft) and representation from each of our subcontractors. Our Implementation Plan is in the form of a Gantt Chart and all activities have been mapped to the start date of the 18th April. Risk Register (RR). All identified and emergent risks will feed into our RR, which will include: - 1.Potential Risks inc. likelihood of the risk occurring 2. Impact if the risk occurs, assessed as high medium or low 3. Action and Key Mitigation including key controls and action deadlines 4. Responsible Manager 5. Assurance Activity i.e. monthly risk review/reporting to the

IMT. The RR will be reviewed weekly by the IMT. Listed below are our key risks to implementation and throughout the MWA contract: Risk - Security Plan not approved by DWP (Penetration testing, Polices and Procedures (P&P) and Encryption). Mitigation, Independent CESG approved technical penetration testing is already scheduled for the 28th February 2011. This will ensure that any security issues independently identified will be addressed in advance of the preferred bidder notification, ensuring that actions will already have been addressed. We will issue Placement Provider Partners with our MWA P&P manual and our RCM will assess compliance of their systems. The use of encryption for sensitive data at rest or in transit, FIPS140-2 (DWP approved encryption), will be used across the supply chain. Categorised as high risk as could affect the go live date. Owned by OD & RCM. Risk - Insufficient placements for the volumes of customers. Mitigation – BEST currently has over 1500 placements of community benefit available. However we recognise that some rural areas may require additional coverage. Therefore we have agreed formal Service Level Agreements with 3 Third Sector Consortiums who can cover each of the sub regions in the CPA and one Local Authority. Each Partner has over 40 placements available. These Placement Provider Partners will underpin BEST placement sourcing activity, therefore mitigating the risk of not having sufficient placements in any areas of the CPA. Categorised as medium risk, owned by RPM. Risk – Slippage in DWP timetable reducing set up window. Mitigation – Existing BEST staff will be used to deliver the MWA programme, therefore reducing the risk of late implementation. BEST also has existing premises and placements and our 4 Placement Provider Partners are also established providers within each sub region. BEST and our Partners can be mobilized within days of contract award. We have developed our delivery model to ensure we can implement and deliver the MWA contract within 3 weeks of notification. Categorised as medium risk, owned by OD & RPM. Risk - New company wide WEBYETI Case Management System (CMS) not

implemented for start of contract, Mitigation –We have commissioned Servo (hardware) and Cognisoft (software) to manage the design and implementation of the CMS which will be used for all our contracts. An existing premises and ICT infrastructure is in place across the CPA, which mitigates the risk of not being able to implement the CMS (i.e. all have ADSL, Servers etc). However if not fully developed we have ensured our current system can receive PRaP referrals on a short term basis. Categorised as medium risk Owned by Servo, RCM and DIM. Impact of winning multiple contracts- BEST is only bidding for one MWA contract for the Yorkshire & Humber CPA, therefore there is no impact of winning multiple MWA contracts and therefore this is not relevant to BEST.



9.2 Contingency Arrangements

Please describe:

How your proposals for delivery of services within this CPA will be put in place without adversely affecting your organisation‟s or your Sub-contractors‟ ability to deliver existing and recently won contracts as well as other contracts you are bidding for.

Describe your contingency plan for maintaining the entire scope of your proposal within your bid should members of your supply chain withdraw at any point during the delivery of this contract.




9.2 We have conducted a full analysis of BEST’s and our Placement Provider Partners existing and recently won contracts and contracts currently being tendered for. Our MWA proposals will be put in place by transferring our Gateway to

Work staff to deliver the MWA contract from the 18th April 2011. The GTW contract ends in March and therefore this team and our current Yorkshire & Humber infrastructure will deliver the MWA services. We have a clear picture of our commitments and can conclude that the following contractual information will not affect the implementation of the MWA. At the 18th April, BEST‟s existing contracts in the CPA will be; Work Choice in Leeds only, Foundation Learning in Leeds and Wakefield, New Deal West Yorkshire, ERDF Sheffield & Rotherham and Flexible New Deal in South Yorkshire. Each of these contracts currently has its own staffing structure, which will continue until they end during the summer 2011. These contracts are localised to a specific area within the CPA. Our New Deal, DWP ESF and Skills Funding Agency contracts all come to an end between March-August 2011, therefore our infrastructure of premises and staffing will be available for the implementation and delivery of the MWA across the CPA. BEST has recently won a NEET projects to be delivered in Wakefield. This contract is locally managed by the centre management team and the youth division within BEST and therefore will not affect the implementation or deliver of MWA. BEST will manage the delivery of the MWA across the CPA, supported by our Placement Provider Partners, who we have agreed formal Service Level Agreements with. Sector Solutions in South Yorkshire, BTCV across Y&H, North Yorkshire Learning Consortium and Hull City Council for the North, East Yorkshire & the Humber. This model ensures that placements will be available throughout the CPA within the 10 days required. Each of the Placement Provider Partners organisations have confirmed that they can provide 40 placement opportunities at any one time, which will not affect their capacity to deliver current services. Three of our Placement Provider Partners are umbrella organisations whose members have pledged placements for the MWA programme. It should be noted that 100% of these organisations are voluntary sector serving the community thus ensuring that the placement is of community benefit. BEST has recently tendered for the Work Programme in West and South Yorkshire – The MWA programme will be implemented by the 18th April 2011 and will

commence delivery on that day and therefore will have been operating for nearly 2 months before the BEST Work Programme starts on the 6th June, if we are successful. MWA will have its own delivery staffing structure and Regional Performance Manager who will work exclusively on this project. BEST currently has 344 staff working across programmes that all come to an end during the summer of 2011 and therefore we are able to allocate resources effectively, i.e. our New Deal staff (198) will be allocated to the delivery of the Work Programme in West Yorkshire and Flexible New Deal staff (98) to deliver the Work Programme in South Yorkshire. Our Gateway to Work Contract ends in March 2011, which currently employs 19 staff. We have matched the skills and experience of the staff working on this contract to the MWA programme and we are therefore confident that we will be able to deliver the MWA service from the 18th April, with no requirement to recruit. This will not affect our ability to implement and start the Work Programme from the 6th June, as these staff will transfer to the MWA programme prior to the implementation of the Work Programme. The skills and experience of these staff match the requirements for MWA and therefore we can guarantee full coverage for the Yorkshire and Humber lot from the 18th April. The above information provides evidence that the impact of securing this contract alongside others will not have any negative impact of resources. We have enough existing staff and infrastructure to implement and deliver both the MWA and the Work Programme. Working capital - We have assessed our working capital requirements for the delivery



9.2 continued of MWA and can conclude that we will not require any working capital funds. Our Pricing Proposal shows a profit of £184,738 over the lifetime of the contract. However BEST can confirm that our current cash reserves of £6 million are adequate to support any possible requirements and set up costs of the MWA programme. BEST has a successful track record of running simultaneous, complex programmes across Yorkshire. As detailed above, we operate programme specific teams of specialist staff, who are accountable to the BEST Strategic Management Group. This ensures our wide range of contract‟s are properly risk assessed, targets are met and continuous improvement is achieved. Evidence of our ability to implement and manage complex programmes and achieve high performance is intrinsic in the current performance statistics which cover DWP, SFA, ERDF and those which are part of the Get Britain Working agenda. 8 of our 10 Yorkshire based contracts are meeting or exceeding the targets set within the contract specification. BEST have direct experience of implementing multiple contracts at the same time e.g. in 2008 we implemented 2 large scale DWP ESF contracts across 2 sub regions, one in West Yorkshire and one South Yorkshire. Both contracts had a total of 9 subcontractors and each had only 3 weeks lead time from contract award to start date. Using our established procedures and infrastructure both contracts were able to start customers within 3 weeks of the contract award. If a sub contractor withdraws at any time during the delivery of this contract our strategy includes: 1. Our delivery strategy for this CPA involves at least 1 Placement Provider Partner, with a formal Service Level Agreement, per sub region alongside BEST delivery in each of the 3 sub regions. Therefore the risk of having no provision for go live or throughout the contract is significantly reduced. If a Placement Provider Partner does withdraw BEST will undertake 100% of the direct delivery on a temporary basis only – our supply chain strategy has ensured that, each of the sub regions contains a combination of both BEST direct and Placement Provider Partner delivery and that our contingency arrangements for replacing Placement Provider Partners is sufficiently robust and responsive to the needs of the MWA programme. 2. We have identified a number of potential reserve Placement Provider Partners for

each of the 3 sub regions across the CPA, these are: Forster Community College (West), Phoenix Enterprises (South), North Doncaster Development Trust (South), Salvation Army (CPA), Sheffield Works, Bradford Council, GLLP Consortium (North). These organisations can be mobilised quickly as they are currently part of our Approved Supplier Framework (ASF) system which holds information on all local organisations who have expressed an interest in working with BEST to deliver Welfare to Work service across the CPA. All of these organisations have been identified as part of our commissioning phase for previous DWP and Skills Funding Agency contracts and from our 23 years of delivering Welfare to Work services across the Yorkshire and Humber lot and can be mobilised if a Placement Provider Partner or our reserves withdraw at any point during the contract. 3. If a Placement Provider Partner withdraws at any time during the contract we have

already identified through our ASF, in addition to the organisations listed above, over 50 local support organisations including voluntary sector organisations who deliver services across the CPA. Our ASF ensures flexibility of our supply chain engagement and selection processes, meaning we can effectively refresh and replenish our supply chain where necessary. BEST also has our BEST Friend Directory which holds information on all local specialist support services (funded through other sources), which has been developed over the last 3 years and holds detailed information of over 100 local customer services organisations, which we have approached and have agreements with them to provide direct placement opportunities for BEST customers.



PART 10: OFFSHORING PROPOSAL (including Landed Resources and Nearshoring) Are you and/or your subcontractors proposing to use Offshoring, Landed Resources or Nearshoring in delivery of this Contract

YES (indicate where applicable)

NO (indicate where applicable)

If you have answered YES to this question, you must complete a DWP Offshore Proposal Template and include with your tender. Please refer to paragraph 1.42 of the MWA Instructions to Bidders if you need the template.

Protect - Commercial

39 MWA ITT Questionnaire final V0.1

ANNEX 1

SUB-CONTRACTOR DECLARATION

A declaration should be signed and submitted on letter headed notepaper by each proposed sub-contractor (with the exception of ad-hoc suppliers) and attached to this Tender Form. Please note by attaching these declarations, tenderers will be deemed to agree to their contents.

To: Department for Work and Pensions Date: I confirm that we have agreed in principle with [name of bidding organisation], to deliver the following elements of the service described in their tender:- Please list below elements of service to be delivered. I have read and understood the specification for the elements of provision, which my organisation will deliver. I have agreed in principle terms of delivery for this provision and am content that reasonable and appropriate price and payment terms have been negotiated and agreed for delivery of these services. I confirm I have seen the full tender document (excluding any Commercial in Confidence information relating to other Providers) and am content with my role as described and with the terms I have agreed with the Prime Contractor. I confirm that the agreement in principle allows for my organisation to implement the appropriate level of planning and investment to deliver the service. In addition to the above I confirm that the agreement made is consistent with the general principles set out in the DWP Code of Conduct and the Merlin Standards. Signed: Name: Name of Sub-contractor: Note: the person signing the letter should be authorised to sign contractual agreements on behalf of their organisation.



Please submit the following as separate documents:

ANNEX 2

PART 5.2 MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE – ORGANISATION CHART ANNEX 3 PART 6.1a STAFF RESOURCES – RESOURCE PLAN Redacted ANNEX 4 PART 9.1 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

043. CPA8 BEST Tender Form Redacted FINAL

Documents

Transcript of 043. CPA8 BEST Tender Form Redacted FINAL