Common use of Plan for Improvement Clause in Contracts

Plan for Improvement. On receipt of a Suspension Notice, the Contractor is required to submit to the Contracting Body a plan for improvement, which sets out the steps that the Contractor is committed to implement in any current or future Order, to ensure that improved and satisfactory performance will be delivered in respect of all current and future Orders. Failure by the Contractor to provide such plan for improved performance within ten business days (or such other period agreed with the Contracting Body) from issue of a Suspension Notice, may result in the suspension becoming permanent with immediate effect. The Contracting Body shall notify the Contractor in writing or by email that the suspension has become permanent. In the event of the suspension becoming permanent, the Contracting Body shall also notify the Framework Administrator, other i-Flair members and Contracting Bodies of the permanent suspension. The notification to the other i-Flair members or Contracting Bodies of the Contractor’s permanent suspension shall not give right to the other i-Flair members or Contracting Bodies to suspend the Contractor as the notification is simply intended to assist in managing any current or subsequent Call-Off Contracts of a similar nature that are placed with the Contractor. On receipt from the Contractor of any such plan for improvement the Contracting Body will give reasonable consideration to the Contractor’s planned improvements. The Contracting Body, having received a plan for improved performance from the suspended Contractor shall provide a formal response to the Contractor within ten business days of receipt of the Contractor’s plan for improvement. Failure, on the part of the Contracting Body to respond within this period, will result in the lifting of the Contractor’s suspension by default. Where the Contractor’s plan for improvement is accepted the Contracting Body shall provide notice, in writing or by email to the Contractor within ten business days of receiving the Contractors plan for improvement, confirming the acceptance of the plan for improvement and the removal of the suspension. Where the Contractor’s plan for improvement is considered by the Contracting Body to fall short of what is required to deliver an acceptable level of performance, then a further secondary Suspension Notice shall be issued to the Contractor in writing or by email, within ten business days of receiving the plan for improved performance, confirming that the plan is not accepted and that, as a consequence, the suspension remains in place.

Plan for Improvement. On receipt of a Suspension Noticenotice of unsatisfactory performance, the a Contractor is required to submit submit, to the notifying Contracting Body or other I-Flair Members who have issued similar secondary notice, as well as a copy provided to the Framework Administrator, a plan for improvement, which sets out the steps that the Contractor is committed to implement in any current or future OrderCall-Off Contracts, in order to ensure that improved and satisfactory performance will be delivered in respect of any / all current and future OrdersCall-Off Contracts. Failure by the Contractor to provide such plan for improved performance within ten business days (or such other period agreed with the Contracting Body) from issue of a Suspension Noticetwo calendar months, may will result in the suspension becoming permanent with immediate effect. The Contracting Body shall notify the Contractor in writing or by email that the suspension has become permanent. In the event of the suspension applying, becoming permanent, for the Contracting Body shall also notify Term of the Framework Administrator, other i-Flair members and Contracting Bodies of the permanent suspension. The notification to the other i-Flair members or Contracting Bodies of the Contractor’s permanent suspension shall not give right to the other i-Flair members or Contracting Bodies to suspend the Contractor as the notification is simply intended to assist in managing any current or subsequent Call-Off Contracts of a similar nature that are placed with the ContractorAgreement. On receipt from the Contractor of any such plan for improvement improvement, the notifying Contracting Body will Body, and other I-Flair Members who have issued secondary notice, must give reasonable consideration to the Contractor’s Contractor‟s planned improvements. The Such notifying Contracting BodyBody is entitled (but not required) to consult with any other I-Flair Members which have issued similar secondary notice based on the same evidenced unacceptable performance, in order to arrive at a collective view. Each notifying Contracting Body or I-Flair Member, having received a plan for improved performance from the a suspended Contractor shall Contractor, is required to provide a formal response to the Contractor within ten business days two calendar months of receipt of the Contractor’s Contractor‟s plan for improvement, such response to be copied to the Framework Administrator. Failure, on the part of the Contracting Body to respond within this period, will result in the lifting of the Contractor’s suspension Contractor‟s suspension, by default. Each notifying Contracting Body, acting independently or collaboratively, may, at its sole discretion, determine whether the Contractor‟s plan for improvement provides sufficient reassurance, so as to enable the suspension to be lifted. Where the Contractor’s a Contractor‟s plan for improvement is accepted the by a notifying Contracting Body shall provide or other I- Flair Members who have issued secondary notice, in writing or by email then that Contracting Body / I-Flair Member must issue a further notice (within 2 calendar months) to the Contractor within ten business days of receiving the Contractors plan for improvementContractor, confirming the acceptance of the plan for improvement and confirming the removal of the suspension. Such notice to be copied to all other I-Flair Members and to the Framework Administrator. Where the Contractor’s a Contractor‟s plan for improvement is considered by the a notifying Contracting Body or other I- Flair Members who have issued secondary notice, acting independently or in consultation with any other I-Flair Member which has issued similar notice, based on the same evidenced unacceptable performance and such plan is deemed to fall short of what is required to deliver an acceptable level of performance, then that Contracting Body / I-Flair Member must issue a further secondary Suspension Notice shall be issued notice to the Contractor in writing or by emailContractor, within ten business days of receiving the plan for improved performancetwo calendar months, confirming that the plan is not accepted and that, as a consequence, the suspension remains in place, until such time as a satisfactory plan for improvement is accepted. Such notice must identify to specific elements of the plan for improvement which are considered to be unacceptable and must also clearly describe why such aspects of the plan for improvement are considered unacceptable. This notice to be copied to all other I-Flair Members and to the Framework Administrator. Where a Contracting Body, or I-Flair Member who has issued secondary notice of unsatisfactory performance, having received a plan for improvement from a suspended Contractor then confirms that the plan is not accepted, then the suspended Contractor shall have two further calendar months from receipt of said notice that the initial plan for improvement is not accepted, in which to submit a revised plan for improvement. In such circumstances, such Contractors are encouraged to enter into discussions with the Contracting Body or I-Flair Member, in order to determine what actions could be taken by the Contractor that would constitute and acceptable plan for improvement. On receipt from the Contractor of any such revised plan for improvement, the notifying Contracting Body, and other I-Flair Members who have notified that the original plan for improvement is not accepted, must give reasonable consideration to the Contractor‟s revised planned improvements. Such notifying Contracting Body is entitled (but not required) to consult with any other I-Flair Members which have issued similar secondary notice based on the same evidenced unacceptable performance, in order to arrive at a collective view. Each notifying Contracting Body or I-Flair Member, having received a revised plan for improved performance from a suspended Contractor, is required to provide a formal response to the Contractor within two calendar months of receipt of the Contractor‟s revised plan for improvement, such response to be copied to the Framework Administrator. Failure, on the part of the Contracting Body to respond within this period, will result in the lifting of the Contractor‟s suspension, by default. Each notifying Contracting Body, acting independently or collaboratively, may, at its sole discretion, determine whether the Contractor‟s revised plan for improvement provides sufficient reassurance, so as to enable the suspension to be lifted. Where a Contractor‟s revised plan for improvement is accepted by a notifying Contracting Body or other I-Flair Members who have issued secondary notice, then that Contracting Body / I-Flair member must issue a further notice (within 2 calendar months) to the Contractor, confirming the acceptance of the revised plan for improvement and confirming the removal of the suspension, such notice to be copied to all other I-Flair Members and to the Framework Administrator. Where a Contractor fails to submit a revised plan for improvement within the specified period, or where the revised plan for improvement which is submitted, is considered by a notifying Contracting Body acting in consultation with any other I-Flair Member which has issued similar notice, based on the same evidenced unacceptable performance and such revised plan to continues to fall short of what is required to deliver an acceptable level of performance, then those Contracting Bodies / I-Flair Members who have issued a notice of suspension, acting collectively, must issue a further notice to the Contractor, within two calendar months, confirming that the plan is not accepted and that, as a consequence, the suspension(s) applying, immediately becomes permanent, and remains in place, for the Term of the Framework Agreement, such notice to be copied to all other I-Flair Members and to the Framework Administrator. While it should be noted that based on evidenced unacceptable performance, assessed as part of the KPI process, a Contractor may be suspended from being awarded work under the Framework Agreement, in respect of individual Contracting Bodies, the KPI process itself, will not result in the termination of the Framework Agreement. Community benefits clauses are contractual requirements which deliver social, economic and environmental benefits, in addition to the primary objectives of the contract. The Framework Agreement will be utilised to deliver the social, economic and environmental aspirations and objectives of the Contracting Bodies through promoting apprenticeships, graduates and new entrants employment, training opportunities and community capacity building activities. The I-Flair Members take their social responsibility very seriously and are committed to delivering Community Benefits through this Framework Agreement. The Contractor and their supply chain will be required to support the I-Flair Member‟s aspirations and requirements relating to skills development, training and employment initiatives and other opportunities which connect to social economic and environmental considerations. The Contracting Bodies require the Contractor to deliver a proportional number of “community benefits points” relative to the contract values of individual Call-Off Contracts awarded through the Framework Agreement, subject to the thresholds outlined in the table below; Contract Value Community Benefit Requirements Not exceeding £99,999 Contractors will not be required to deliver Community Benefits on individual Call-Off Contracts awarded through the Framework Agreement where the value of a Call-Off Contract does not exceed £99,999 £100,000 - £499,999 Contractors will be required to deliver Community Benefits and indicate, at the point of call-off, how such benefits will achieve the required points listed within the Community Benefits Points Matrix (contained later in this Schedule Part), based on the Weighting Table (also contained later in this Schedule Part), such requirement being relative to the value of the Call-Off Contract, accrued from categories within the Weighting Table. The Contractor may accrue the required points from Categories A-H*, up to the maximum number of points available within each Category. Exceeding £500,000 The Contractor will be required to deliver Community Benefits and indicate, at the point of call-off, how such benefits will achieve the required points listed within the Community Benefits Points Matrix contained later in this Schedule Part), based on the Weighting Table (also contained later in this Schedule Part), such requirement being relative to the value of the Call-Off Contract, accrued from categories within the Weighting Table. Successful Tenderers may accrue the required points from Categories A-H*, up to the maximum number of points available within each Category. However, the Contractor must provide a minimum of twenty community benefit points from Category A. Delivery of the Community Benefits and achieving the requisite community benefits points will be a mandatory requirement placed on the Contractors that are awarded individual Call-Off Contracts through this Framework Agreement. Monitoring the delivery of Community Benefits will form a core part of a Call-Off Contract and the Contractor will be required to complete the „Community Benefit‟s Call-off Contract Pro-forma‟ (contained later in this Schedule Part):  when accepting the Order Form (contained in Schedule Part 4 of the Framework Agreement);  updating every twelve weeks during the construction phase;  updating upon practical completion of the construction phase;  upon issue of the final certificate; and  on the annual date of commencement for a measured term contract. Delivery of Community Benefits by the Contractor will be monitored by the Contracting Body entering into a Call-off Contract with the Contractor.