SC23191 Coroner Removals and Transfer Service

Description

Coroners are independent judicial officers, appointed by the local authority within the coroner area. Local authorities have a legal obligation to support the work of Coroner's, to fund all the costs of the service and to provide the necessary resources to enable them to carry out their statutory obligations under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. This includes the provision of appropriate contractual arrangements for the removal of the deceased. For the four Kent coroner areas of Mid Kent & Medway, North-West Kent, North-East Kent and Central & South-East Kent, KCC is the lead authority for the administrative areas of Kent and Medway.

There are two requirements for this service: 
Lot 1 - Coroner Removals Service and Lot 2 - Coroner Transfers Service. 

The Coroners Removals Service (Lot 1) has been separated into 15 contract areas:
1 (A) - Sevenoaks A (above A25)
1 (B) - Sevenoaks B (below A25)
1 (C) - Dartford & Gravesham 
1 (D) - Tunbridge Wells 
1 (E) - Tonbridge and Malling 
1 (F) - Medway  
1 (G) - Maidstone 
1 (H) - West Swale 
1 (I) - East Swale 
1 (J) - Ashford  
1 (K) - Canterbury  
1 (L) - Shepway
1 (M) - Thanet 
1 (N) - Dover NEK 
1 (O) - Dover CSEK

The Coroners Removals Service includes the provision of appropriate contractual arrangements for the removal of the deceased to a designated mortuary. The movement of the deceased to the mortuary constitutes a "Coroners Removal".

Where an organisation is awarded a contract area, they are responsible for providing this service throughout the specified area. They must deliver this service 24/7, 365 days a year, and in accordance with the service requirements as detailed within the specification.

The Coroners Transfers Service (Lot 2) has been separated into 2 contract areas:
2 (A) West Kent Transfers
2 (B) East Kent Transfers

In certain circumstances, it is necessary to transfer the deceased from a designated mortuary to another designated mortuary. These transfers can occur locally as a transfer between mortuaries within Kent and Medway but can occur outside of Kent. 

Where an organisation is awarded a contract area, they are responsible for providing this service throughout the specified area. They must deliver this service 24/7, 365 days a year, and in accordance with the service requirements as detailed within the specification.

Contract Length (Initial Term): 3 years.
Extension Period: up to a maximum period of 2 years (1+1).

Additional information: 
The award value for each contract area has been calculated using indicative volumes for the Removals and Transfers service in 2023/2024. Each supplier submitted a fixed Fee per Removal Rate for the areas they were tendering for in the forthcoming contract. This fixed Fee per Removal Rate of the awarded supplier has been multiplied by the historic service volumes from April 2023 - April 2024 to calculate an indicative figure (a yearly cost) for each area. This figure has been multiplied by the total length of the contract, including all available extensions, to provide an indicative figure for the duration of the contract. This award value for each contract area is subject to service volumes within the contract period (from January 1st 2025 - December 31st 2029), meaning the figures will vary from those that have been published by the Council.