Information technology requirements review services

Tender description

The Supplier currently provides managed IT services to the Authority under a contract due to expire on 28.2.2020 (the Medical services IT Contract and alternatively, the Contract). The Contract supports the Authority’s separate contract for health and disability assessment services (the HDAS Contract) for a range of Social security benefits (including employment and support allowance, Universal Credit and other benefits). The Contract was awarded on 9.6.2014 without prior publication of a contract notice following the publication of a voluntary transparency notice on 24.4.2014 which was due to the then ongoing procurement of the HDAS Contract for which the Authority was seeking a new assessment services provider. The technical requirements of the IT services to support the HDAS Contract meant that another supplier would not have been able to build, test and deliver new IT services in time for the HDAS Contract without there being an unacceptable level of service transition and delivery risk failure that could have prevented the Authority complying with its statutory duties or cause market failure in the procurement of the new assessment services provider. The Authority is now planning to transition the IT services under the Contract to a successor IT system. Whilst the Authority is actively taking steps to transition to a successor IT system, it is required to modify the Contract to: a) to implement additional upgrade projects which are necessary to safeguard the stability of the underlying systems and infrastructure that enable the provision of the IT services during the contract term (the Additional projects) in order to safeguard the continued delivery of the IT services and support the planning for the transitioning of the current IT services to a successor IT system; and b) include a unilateral option to extend the Contract by up to 2 further 1 year extensions (the final extension, if exercised, to expire on 28.2.2022) (the Optional extension rights) in order to safeguard the continued delivery of the IT services and support the transitioning of the current IT services to a successor IT system. The Additional projects and Optional extension rights (together the Proposed amendments) are necessary to minimise the otherwise unacceptable level of risks of service transition and delivery failure of the Contract which are critical to the administration of the HDAS Contract and the Authority’s compliance with its statutory duties in relation to the administration of benefits under the HDAS Contract. For the reasons set out below in Annex D1, the Authority considers the Proposed amendments are permitted under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) (the PCR) and in accordance with Regulation 99(3) of the PCR, the Authority is publishing this voluntary transparency notice. The Proposed amendments will not be made before the end of a period of at least 10 days beginning with the day after the date of publication of this notice. The initial value of the Contract in year 1 was estimated to be approximately 10 000 000 GBP plus any additional costs of change (i.e. the actual year 1 costs). The value of the Contract in subsequent years was to be determined based on the actual year 1 costs. The overall value of the Contract consisting of the original Contract term, the Additional Projects and the Optional extension rights is estimated to be 89 250 000 GBP. The increase in price arising out of the Optional extension rights does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original Contract. All references to Regulations are references to Regulations of the PCR.