Allowing for a "new co" to apply?

[Jean-Christophe Vignes <JCVignes@xxxxxxx>]

To whom it may concern,

Reading the document, it seems the draft RFP presupposes an existing
operator bidding for the contract. This could be unnecessarily restrictive
in that it could prevent an organisation with the required skills and
competence and sufficient financial backing from competing.

In particular, the RFP should allow for proposals from ³New Co² (whether a
consortium of or partnership between existing operators or as a new
enterprise) so long as the proposal can show how it meets essential
technical and financial criteria. This would mean modifying the requirements
to provide:

- The number of employees [currently employed by organisations backing
the proposal / to be employed by the applicant] (Part 1, number of
employees).

- References to current activities should make it clear that
³you²/²your² refers to evidence from any or all of those directly
involved in the bid, whether partners or consortium members (Part 2,
sections 3..b.i & ii).

- Historical financial information should be required for the partners or
consortium members or financial backers of a bid where a new legal entity
does not have historical financial information (Part 2, section 4a).

Regards,
JCV