Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0EU
FreightContractNotices@dhsc.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKI32 - Westminster
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care
Buyer's address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Health
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
The provision of freight services for the supply of lateral flow test kits for testing of COVID-19
Reference number
XMNPROGDEC4
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 63521000 - Freight transport agency services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The provision of freight services for the supply of lateral flow test kits for testing of COVID-19
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: 4,603,500 USD
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - UNITED KINGDOM
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Direct Award under Reg 32 of the Public Contracts Regulation 2015 for COVID-19 response
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
two.2.14) Additional information
This notice has previously been published in "Find a Tender Service" (FTS), the UK e-Notification service. Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union was delayed by a technical issue on behalf of the EU publications Office, which has now been resolved
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority
Explanation:
The Government has set out the increase of COVID-19 testing capacity as a cornerstone of its strategy to combat rising rates of infection, suppressing community transmission, savings lives and ultimately supporting societal and economic recovery. Successful validation of an initial range of newly developed COVID-19 lateral flow test kits was completed by the DHSC in September, allowing for orders to be placed to secure a sustainable supply of significant volumes of these products, as a fundamental enabler of the expansion of the testing programme. The supply of these new test kits is currently limited in the face of very high global demand and consequently it was necessary to contract for supply on an ex-works basis for product manufactured in China in order to secure the required quantity of product and prevent gazumping. Where product has be sourced on an ex works basis it is imperative that this product is moved at the earliest opportunity to prevent it being sold to higher bidders. In addition the rising rates of infection in the UK and predicted growth in cases over the coming months, has created an urgent need for these new test kits to support the testing programme in the UK and therefore Air Freight presents the only viable mode for moving product to the UK in time to meet the operational requirements of the testing programme. In light of these factors the contract was awarded to Air Charter Service (ACS) to meet the specific urgent need to transport test kits to the UK, utilising flights from China to UK during December.The short lead time between validating new test kits and needing these kits in the UK to support the national response to a second wave of COVID-19 cases in the UK, justifies the use of direct award under Regulation 32 provision within the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The Department is content the tests permitting use of the Negotiated procedure without prior publication (Regulation 32(2)(c)) are met:1) Air freight charters was identified as strictly necessary to meet anticipated demand.2) It is responding to COVID-19 immediately because of public health risks presenting a genuine emergency.3) The events that led to the need for extreme urgency were unforeseeable: The Commission itself confirmed: “The current coronavirus crisis presents an extreme and unforeseeable urgency – precisely for such a situation our European rules enable public buyers to buy within a matter of days, even hours, if necessary."4) There was no time to run an accelerated procurement under the open, restricted or competitive procedures with negotiation that would secure services within the required timescales.5) The situation is not attributable to the contracting authority: It has not done anything to cause or contribute to the need for extreme urgency.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
1 December 2020
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Air Charter Service Ltd
Millbank House, 171-185 Ewell Road
Surbiton
KT6 6AP
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - UNITED KINGDOM
National registration number
Air Charter Services Ltd
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: 4,603,500 USD
Total value of the contract/lot: 3,804,545 USD
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract is likely to be subcontracted
Short description of the part of the contract to be subcontracted
ACS is a brokerage company-this contract is therefore subcontracted to another company-details withheld because to do so would breach specific confidentiality agreements and would aggravate relationships with their service partners
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
High Court
39 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0EU
Country
United Kingdom
Internet address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care