Probation services

Tender description

Following the contract notice ref 2013/S 183-315991, bidders acquired the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and contracts were concluded on 18.12.2014. Contracts were for a 7-year term with an option to extend for 3 further years. Contracts will end on 4.12.2020, following notice of termination in December 2018. Lot 21 (KSS CRC) was awarded to Seetec Business Technology Centre Ltd. In February 2019, the KSS Contract was modified (ref 2019/S 041-093651) to add Lot 11 (Wales CRC), Lot 13 (BGSW CRC) and Lot 14 (DDC CRC) as the original supplier had entered administration. The authority has now made a policy decision to bring offender management services (‘OM’) in Wales in-house, as set out in the ‘Strengthening Probation, building confidence’ consultation response published in May 2019. At the February 2019 modification a clause was inserted allowing for the transfer of OM provision to HMPPS within 9 months of the contingency date. The authority is now implementing this clause. This notice relates to the intended modification of the Lot 21/Kent Surrey and Sussex CRC (KSS) contract (as previously modified) (the ‘Contract’) to bring OM in Wales in-house. The authority considers the modification of the Contract without prior publication of a contract notice is permitted by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and Directive 2014/24/EU and intends to sign the modification on that basis. The Contract is being modified in accordance with Regulation 72(1)(e)/article 72(1)(e) and Regulation 72(1)(c)/Article 72(1)(c) and accordingly does not in the authority's view amount to the award of a new contract and/or an unlawful substantial change. The need for modification has been brought about by external circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen at the time the Contract was entered into, namely the change of policy reflected in the consultation response referred to in Section II.2.4) above. That in turn arose in part from the challenges identified in the authority’s consultation document ‘Strengthening probation, building confidence’ dated July 2018. The modification does not alter the overall nature of the Contract and there is no increase in price exceeding 50 % of the value of the original contract: rather, there is a price reduction. The modification of the Contract is not substantial. Offender management OM for Wales represents approximately 6 % of the aggregate value of the Contract (as modified in February 2019) over its lifetime. The modification does not render the Contract materially different. The contractor will still be providing a range of OM and non-OM services. The modification removes OM from just one of 4 contract package areas over which the Contract extends (Wales). Non-OM services will continue to be provided under the Contact for all 4 CPAs. For the same reason, the modification introduces no conditions that would have realistically allowed for the admission of other candidates, allowed for the acceptance of a tender other than that originally accepted, or attracted additional participants, had it been done as part of the original procurement procedure. The modification will not change the economic balance of the Contract in favour of the contractor in a manner that was not provided for in the original contract. The modification does not increase the scope of the Contract, but rather, reduces it. The authority has now taken the policy decision to bring OM services back in-house, as documented in the ‘Strengthening Probation, building confidence’ Consultation response published in May 2019. As part of the KSS Contract modification (ref. 2019/S 041-093651) a clause was inserted relating to the intention to transfer the provision of offender management services to HMPPS within 9 months of the contingency date. The authority are now implementing this clause.