Canterbury District
Place Strategies – V2

Invitation to Tender (ITT)
Response Document
April 2025

Your response to SECTION 1 – SUITABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE wil  be used by the Council to understand the nature of the
bidding organisation and to undertake a financial assessment of bidders.
Please do not send any supporting documents with your response. However, the Council may ask to see these documents at
a later stage, so it is advisable you ensure they can be made available upon request. You may also be asked to clarify your
answers or provide more details about certain issues.
Sole Bidding Organisation
You are a sole bidding organisation if you are the only organisation bidding for this contract as part of your submission.  You
may intend to use subcontractors, consultants or other partner organisations to deliver against the requirements of the
contract, but you do not need to identify them in your response*. Your organisation wil  be entirely liable to the Council for
the delivery of the requirements of the contract.
*Exception: where sub contractors wil  play a significant role in the delivery of the services (e.g. more than 50%) please refer
to Section 1.1
Consortia, Partnerships and Joint Venture
If you are tendering for this contract on behalf of a consortium, partnership or joint venture the fol owing information must
be provided:
Full details of the consortium, partnership or joint venture and
Information sought in this SAQ in respect of each of the consortia, partnership or joint venture constituent members as part
of a single response.
If there is a subsequent change in the consortium, partnership or joint venture you must inform the Authority immediately.
Special Purpose Vehicles
You are a special purpose vehicle (“SPV”) if you have formed (or wil  form) a new legal entity for the purpose of bidding for
this contract, with the intention that this organization wil  be awarded the contract. In addition the member organization of
the special purpose vehicle wil  be required to be jointly and several y liable to the Council for the delivery of the requirements
of the contract, regardless of (i) the value of their contributions in respect of the contract sum, time, volume, quality or any
other considerations, or (i ) the future organizational or legal standing of the special purpose vehicle. You must inform the
Council of any withdrawal of members of the SPV during or subsequent to the ITT so that the implications of such a
withdrawal may be assessed.
2

SECTION 1 – SUITABILITY QUESTIONNAIRE
1.1
ORGANISATION DETAILS
1.1.1   This Section is for INFORMATION ONLY. It must however be completed in ful .
Ful  name of organisation bidding (or of
organisation acting as lead contact where a

consortium bid is being submitted)

What is your Central Digital Platform (CDP)
unique identifier reference
www.find-tender.service.gov.uk
Provide a PDF download of your information
[insert file name]
submitted on the CDP
Are you on the Debarment List?
Yes / No
If you have not yet registered on the Central Digital Platform please complete question 1.2
Registered office address:
Company or charity

registration number




VAT registration number



Name of immediate

parent company


Name of ultimate parent

company


☐

i) a public limited co.

i ) a limited company
☐

i i) a limited liability

Type of organisation (please tick):
partnership
☐

i i) other partnership
☐
iv) sole trader
☐

v) other (please specify)
☐

CONTACT DETAILS FOR THIS ITT
Name:

Address:

Post Code:

Phone:

3

Mobile:

Email:


a)  Your organisation is bidding to
deliver the contract itself
☐

Consortia and Sub-Contracting
b)  Your organisation is bidding in the
(Please tick):
role of prime contractor and
☐
intends to use third parties to

deliver some of the contract
c)  Bidding organisation is a
consortium, joint venture or
☐
partnership

d)  Bidding organisation is a special
purpose vehicle
☐
Please give further detail with regard to works to be undertaken by any sub contractor
when col ectively the delivery exceeds 50% of the contract

IF  YOUR  ANSWER  IS  (B)  (C)  OR  (D)  PLEASE  INDICATE  IN  A  SEPARATE  SCHEDULE  (BY  INSERTING  THE  RELEVANT
COMPANY/ORGANISATION NAME) THE COMPOSITION OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN, INDICATING WHICH MEMBER OF THE
SUPPLY  CHAIN  (WHICH  MAY  INCLUDE  THE  SUPPLIER  SOLELY  OR  TOGETHER  WITH  OTHER  PROVIDERS)  WILL  BE
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ELEMENTS OF THE REQUIREMENT.

4

link to page 5 1.2
GROUNDS FOR MANDATORY REJECTION
If you have registered on the digital platform do not  respond to this question
1.2.1
This Section is PASS/FAIL. If you answer ‘yes’ to any question in this Section your Tender wil  be considered to ‘fail’
and be rejected. If you are unsure how to respond you should contact us for advice before completing this form.
1.2.2
Where your submission is part of a Consortia, Partnership, Joint Venture or Special Purpose Vehicle, your response
must apply to al  members.
Grounds for mandatory exclusion
Please answer the fol owing questions in ful . Note that every organisation  that forms part of your bidding
group/consortium, as wel  as every organisation that is being relied on (including subcontractors being relied on) to
meet the selection criteria must complete and submit responses to part 1 and the declarations in part 2.
Question number
Question
Declaration
1.2(a)
Within the past five years, anywhere in the
world, have you or any person who:
●  is a member of the supplier’s
administrative, management or
supervisory body or

●  has powers of representation, decision or
control in the supplier1,
●  been convicted of any of the offences
within the summary below :

Participation in a criminal organisation.
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Corruption.
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Terrorist offences or offences linked to
terrorist activities.
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Money laundering or terrorist financing.
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Child labour and other forms of trafficking in
human beings.
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐
1.2(b)
If you have answered yes to any part of
question  1.2(a), please provide further
details, including:
●  date of conviction and the jurisdiction,
●  which of the grounds listed the conviction
was for,
●  the reasons for conviction,
●  the identity of who has been convicted.

1
5

If the relevant documentation is available
electronical y, please provide:
●  the web address,
●  issuing authority,
●  precise reference of the documents.
(Please enter N/A if not applicable)
1.2(c)
If you have answered yes to any part of the  Yes  ☐ / No  ☐  /  N/A ☐
question above, please explain what measures
have been taken to demonstrate your
reliability despite the existence of relevant
grounds for exclusion. (Self-cleaning)
Mandatory and discretionary grounds relating to the payment of taxes and social security
contributions
Question number
Question
Declaration
1.2.2(a)
Please confirm that you have met al  your  Yes  ☐ / No  ☐  /  N/A ☐

obligations relating to the payment of taxes and
social security contributions, both in the country
in which you are established and in the UK.
1.2.2(b)
If you have answered no to 1.2.2(a) please provide  Yes  ☐ / No  ☐  /  N/A ☐
further details including the fol owing:
●  Country concerned,
●  what is the amount concerned
●  how the breach was established, i.e. through
a judicial or administrative decision or by
other means.
●  if the breach has been established through a
judicial or administrative decision please
provide the date of the decision,
●  if the breach has been established by other
means please specify the means.
1.2.2(c)
Please also confirm whether you have paid, or  Yes  ☐ / No  ☐  /  N/A ☐
have entered into a binding arrangement with a
view to paying,  the outstanding sum including,
where applicable, any accrued interest and/or
fines.
Please Note: We reserve our right to use our discretion to exclude your bid where we can demonstrate by any
appropriate means that you are in breach of your obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security
contributions
6

Grounds for Discretionary Exclusion
Question number
Question
Declaration
1.2.3(a)
Within the past three years, anywhere in the
world, have any of the situations summarised
below applied to you?

Breach of environmental obligations?
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐
To note that environmental law obligations
include Health and Safety obligations.

Breach of social law obligations?
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Breach of labour law obligations?
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Bankruptcy or subject of insolvency?
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Guilty of grave professional misconduct?
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Distortion of competition?
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Conflict of interest?
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐

Been involved in the preparation of the  Yes  ☐ / No  ☐
procurement procedure?

Prior performance issues?
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐
1.2.3(b)
If you have answered YES to any of the
questions in 1.2.3(a)  please explain what
measures have been taken to demonstrate
your reliability despite the existence of a
relevant ground for exclusion. (Self-cleaning)
(Please enter N/A if not applicable)

7

1.3
ECONOMIC & FINANCIAL STANDING
1.3.1
This Section is risk based PASS/FAIL.
1.3.2
The Council reserves the right to request further financial information and or request a credit agency report to
confirm that the organisation satisfactorily meets the Council’s minimum financial requirements.
1.3.3
If you are bidding as a consortium, partnership, joint venture or special purpose vehicle, we wil  obtain this
information for each member of the bidding entity.  The threshold for turnover can be met in entirety by one or a
combination of members; it is not necessary for each member to individual y meet the turnover threshold.

Please confirm that your annual turnover (at the date of the last
audited accounts) was greater than £200,000
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐
If the response to the question above was based on audited
accounts which are dated more than 6 months ago from the date
of the Tender, please confirm that there has been no material
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐
change in the financial or trading conditions of the Company.
If the organisation has been trading for less than 12 months please
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐
confirm that your projected turnover is greater than £200,000
If you cannot provide one of the above, please indicate and explain

why.



1.4
INSURANCE
1.4.1 This Section is PASS/FAIL. A bidding organisation wil  fail if it cannot confirm, or is unwil ing to obtain the
   specified minimum levels of insurance.

1.4.2
If you are bidding as a consortium, partnership, joint venture or special purpose vehicle, you must be adequately
covered as a whole and may do so through any combination of policies of member organisations.
INSURANCE
DELETE AS APPROPRIATE
Public Liability – minimum level of indemnity not less than £5M
Yes     / No     / Can Obtain
GBP per incident (or equivalent in other currency)
Employers Liability  -  minimum level of indemnity not less than
Yes     / No     / Can Obtain
£5M GBP per incident (or equivalent in other currency) or such
increased amount as shal  be required by law.
Professional Indemnity - minimum level of indemnity not less than
Yes     / No     / Can Obtain
£2M GBP (or equivalent in other currency)
1.4.3   You wil  be required to provide evidence in the form of copies of policies, letters of confirmation from insurers (or
Brokers) should you be awarded the contract.
8

1.5
CAPABILITY
1.5.1   This section is PASS/FAIL. A bidding organisation wil  fail if it cannot provide details of 3 contracts that demonstrate
technical capability or provide alternative evidence.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE AND CONTRACT EXAMPLES
Please provide details of three contracts from either or both the public or private sector, that are relevant to the
Council’s requirement.
Contracts for the supply of goods or services should have been performed during the past three years. Works
contracts may be from the past five years. (The customer contact should be prepared to speak to the Council to
confirm the accuracy of the information provided below if we wish to contact them).

Contract 1
Contract 2
Contract 3
Name of Customer



Organisation
Contact name,



telephone number &
and email

Start date



Completion date



Contract Value



Brief description of



contract (max 150
words) including

evidence as to your
technical capability in

this market

If you cannot provide

three contract
examples please give

evidence of your
technical capability in

this market.

9

1.6
HEALTH & SAFETY
1.6.1
Where your submission is part of a Consortia, Partnership, Joint Venture or Special Purpose Vehicle, the lead
member must ensure that this information is effectively communicated to al  members. The lead member must
confirm that al  members understand and agree their undertakings in this section.
1.6.2
The bidding organisation must:
•
Ensure that its entire workforce and subcontractors wil  comply with al  relevant health and safety
legislation as wel  as any requirements or instructions from the Council.
•
Have appointed a competent person with overal  responsibility for health and safety that is duly authorised
in the organisation.
•
Have processes in place for the identification of training needs and delivery of training to its workforce
appropriate to the work for which it is bidding.
•
Have processes in place for the development of risk assessments and method statements relevant to the
nature of the work for which it is bidding that wil  identify, manage and mitigate associated risks and
hazards.
•
(If it is an organisation with five or more employees) have in place a written health and safety policy as
required by Section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and issue any codes of safe working
practices to your workforce.  This policy must provide details of the competent person or persons that have
been appointed on behalf of the organisation to undertake the measures needed to comply with the
requirements and prohibitions of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
1.6.3
The Council may verify your compliance with the above requirements at any stage of the procurement process or
during the life of the contract, by means of policy checking, validation of accreditations, site audits or any other
method it deems appropriate.
1.6.4
For further information on employers’ health and safety obligations, please visit the Health and Safety Executive
website at
http://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/index.htm.
Specific guidance on how to write a policy and risk assessment is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-
safety/write.htm.

Please confirm that you understand and agree to
Yes  ☐ / No  ☐
your undertakings as described above

10

1.7
EQUALITY & DIVERSITY
1.7.1
Where your submission is part of a Consortia, Partnership, Joint Venture or Special Purpose Vehicle, your response
must apply to al  members.
1.7.2
Does the bidding organisation comply with its legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010, relating to the
protected characteristics as fol ows?:
Confirm as appropriate
Age                                                                 Yes  ☐      No ☐
Disability                                                              Yes  ☐        No ☐
Gender reassignment                                                Yes  ☐        No ☐
Marriage and civil partnership                                         Yes  ☐        No ☐
Pregnancy and maternity                                             Yes  ☐         No ☐
Race                                                                  Yes  ☐        No ☐
Religion or belief                                                  Yes  ☐        No ☐
Sex                                                                  Yes  ☐        No ☐
Sexual orientation                                                   Yes  ☐        No ☐
NOTE TO ORGANISATION:
It is the responsibility of the bidding organisation to keep up to date with relevant legislation and ensure it has
a current understanding of al  legislative requirements
1.7.3
In the last three years has any finding of unlawful discrimination been made against the bidding organisation by any
court or industrial or employment tribunal (or in comparable proceedings in any jurisdiction other than the UK)?
Please confirm as appropriate Yes ☐     No ☐

11

1.7.4
In the last three years has any finding of unlawful discrimination been made against the bidding organisation as a
result of a formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) or any relevant statutory
European Body?

Please confirm as appropriate Yes ☐     No ☐

1.7.5   If the answer to either 3 or 4 was Yes, provide the fol owing information:
(i)
If the bidding organisation was required to take action, did the action taken satisfy the relevant
organisation?

Please confirm as appropriate Yes ☐     No ☐

(i )
Outline what action the bidding organisation was required to take:

(i i)
Please outline what action the bidding organisation took. If the bidding organisation did not take the
required action, explain why not.

You may be excluded if you are unable to demonstrate to the Authority’s satisfaction that appropriate remedial
action has been taken to prevent similar unlawful discrimination reoccurring.
1.7.6   If you use sub-contractors, do you have processes in place to check whether any of the above circumstances apply
to these other organisations?

Please confirm as appropriate Yes ☐     No ☐

1.8
WHISTLEBLOWING
1.8.1
Do you have a Whistleblowing policy in place; or do you agree to have in place or adopt the Council’s
Whistleblowing policy by contract award?

Whistle Blowing Policy

Please confirm as appropriate Yes       No

12

SECTION 2 – QUALITY/TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
2.1
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS
2.1.1  Please note that some of these questions are pass/fail (a YES will be a pass, a NO will be a fail)
YES   ☐
Please confirm you have submitted as part of your Tender a download of
your Central Digital Platform (CDP) Information
OR
Or
YES   ☐
You have completed Section 1.2
I confirm I have read the Appendix A document “the requirement to pay the
YES   ☐
Real Living Wage” and confirm I do not have any staff that fall within the scope
of this accreditation for the time spent on the scope of services to be delivered  (no further action required)
as part of this contract.
OR
I confirm I have read the Appendix A document “the requirement to pay the
YES   ☐
Real Living Wage” and I have identified staff that will fall within the scope of
this accreditation for the time spent on the scope of services to be delivered  (document completed and
as part of this contract and have completed and returned the table within
document Appendix B
returned)

I confirm that I have accepted the Terms and Conditions issued within the
YES   ☐   NO    ☐
suite of Invitation to Tender documents

OR

I confirm that I have proposed amendments to the Terms and Conditions that
YES   ☐   NO    ☐
issue within the suite of Invitation to Tender documents, during the

clarification period and understand that I am unable to propose amendments
to the Terms and Conditions outside of the clarification period

OR
I confirm I have submitted my own terms and conditions for review as part of
YES   ☐
my submission
13

2.2
WEIGHTED  QUESTIONS
2.2.1  Please submit your answers to the questions below using an attachment document. You must CLEARLY
show the question number you are answering. We wil  not search for answers and should your response not be
clearly marked as to which question you are answering this will be a FAIL and will not be scored.
Q1 – 15% Q2 – 10%    Q3 – 10%   Q4 – 10%   Q5 – 15%
INTERVIEW – 20% TOTAL WEIGHTING
Question 1:
How do you plan to fulﬁl the communication and engagement element of the speciﬁcation to ensure maximum
engagement from key stakeholders and the community?

(500-word limit – 15% weighting)

Question 2:
How will you ensure the visions of our places and associated action plans will be well-placed in the context of
Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and devolution?

(500-word limit – 10% weighting)

Question 3:
Explain how wil  you ensure that the strategies reﬂect the work to date on the emerging Local Plan?

(500-word limit – 10% weighting)

Question 4:
Give an example of how you have worked with other organisations to help them develop visions aligned with
working in a Mayoral Strategic Authority (or equivalent). If you have no experience of this, tell us how you plan
to do this.

(500-word limit – 10% weighting)

Question 5:
How will you manage part two (scoping and feasibility of high priority quick wins) of the brief given that details
wil  not emerge until the commission is underway?

(500-word limit – 15% weighting)

Interview –
You will be asked a range of questions on the day within these categories and the following weighting will apply:
Previous Experience – 5%
Communication & Engagement – 5%
Strategies, actions plans & interventions – 5%
Added value – 5%

14

SECTION 3 – PRICING SCHEDULE
Pricing
Please Provide a breakdown Pricing Schedule for Part 1 - based on the requirements within the specification.
This should be a fixed fee sum for the Part 1 only (inclusive of mileage and disbursements but exclusive of VAT)
£

It is not envisaged additional work is required as part of this commission, but should this be required please detail
hourly rates that would apply:
£

15

SECTION 4 – FORM OF TENDER
TO:  Canterbury City Council
PROVISION OF: Canterbury District – Place Strategies
We [INSERT NAME[S]] the undersigned, having examined the Invitation to Tender (ITT) and al  other relevant schedules (“the
ITT Documents”), do hereby offer to provide the supplies, services and/or works to the Council  as specified in the ITT
Documents and in accordance with the attached additional documentation, commencing and continuing for the period
specified in the ITT Documents (including any option to extend).
If this offer is accepted, we wil  execute such documents as maybe appropriate in order to create a binding contract between
the Council and ourselves.
We agree that before executing the Contract (and associated schedules) substantial y in the form set out in the ITT
Documents, the formal acceptance of this Tender in writing by the Council or such parts as may be specified, together with
the contract documents shal  be required as a condition precedent to the entering into of the Contract.
We further agree with the Council in legal y binding terms to comply with the provisions of confidentiality set out in paragraph
1.3.8 of the INVITATION TO TENDER INSTRUCTION DOCUMENT.
We understand the Council is not bound to accept the lowest of any Tender received, nor assign a reason for the rejection of
any Tender. We accept that any costs incurred in Tender preparation are for our own account.
We further undertake and it shal  be a condition of any Contract, that:
The amount of our Tender has not been calculated by agreement or arrangement with any person other than the Council
and that the amount of our Tender has not been communicated to any person until after the closing date for the submission
of Tender and in any event not without the written consent of the Council.
We have not canvassed and wil  not before the evaluation process canvass or solicit any member or officer, employee or
agent of the Council or other contracting authority in connection with the award of the Contract and undertake that no
person employed by us has done or wil  do any such act.
I warrant that I have al  requisite authority to sign this Tender and confirm that I have complied with al  the requirements of
the ITT.
Signature:

Name & status:

Dated:

For and on behalf of:


16

Document Outline