Probation services

Tender description

Following publication of contract notice ref 2013/S 183-315991, bidders acquired the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). Contracts were entered into on 18.12.2014. Contracts are due to expire on 4.12.2020 following notice of termination in December 2018. The GBP (£) figures quoted within the original contract award notice were the maximum anticipated, total, real value of the contracts if the contracts had been extended to the fullest amount allowed under the contract (10 years) and payment by results had been paid at the maximum level in all periods, including all extensions. 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) after the original supplier entered administration. Offender Management Services (OM) in Wales were transferred from KSS CRC to HMPPS on 30.11.2019 following the publication of a VEAT notice on 31.10.2019. This notice relates to the 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 has signed the modification on that basis. The contract has been 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 was 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 response to the authority’s July 2018 ‘Strengthening Probation, building confidence’ consultation, which identified challenges facing OM. 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. 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 is still providing a range of OM and non-OM services. The modification removes OM from just one of four Contract Package Areas (CPAs) 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 has not changed 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 took 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 OM Services to HMPPS within 9 months of the Contingency Date. OM Services in Wales were Transferred to HMPPS on 30.11.2019 following the publication of a Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice on 31.10.2019. A modification notice has been published simultaneously with this contract award notice on OJEU.