Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
The Minister for the Cabinet Office acting through the Cabinet Office
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
marketsandsuppliers@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Telephone
+44 3150103503
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - UNITED KINGDOM
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office
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
Supply of Plant and associated Services
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 33100000 - Medical equipments
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
The Cabinet Office will entrust a supplier to procure fully automated plant machinery which can be utilised for the production of UK-compliant non-medical face coverings (and Type IIR medical-grade masks in extremis), which are required urgently to support the national effort to combat 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: £3,797,324.60
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - UNITED KINGDOM
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Cabinet Office will entrust a supplier to procure fully automated plant machinery which can be utilised for the production of UK-compliant non-medical face coverings (and Type IIR medical-grade masks in extremis), which are required urgently to support the national effort to combat Covid-19.
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
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:
1. The COVID-19 outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern as declared by the World Health Organisation on 30/01/20. The WHO Director-General characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11/03/2020. As of 6/04/2020, scientific knowledge regarding the disease and its transmission was still emerging, however the WHO advised that COVID-19 transmission can occur via ‘infective respiratory droplets’ and wearing a mask represented one prevention measure that can limit the spread of COVID-19.
2. In April 2020 the UK did not possess any face covering manufacturing capability and was reliant on securing supplies from overseas producers. Problems were experienced in obtaining reliable supplies of medical PPE-grade masks in a global market due to increased global demand and the disruption to the supply chain caused by the pandemic. There was concern that insufficient volumes of non-medical masks would become available or, if available, they would be of inferior quality or charged at exorbitant prices. Analysis by Cabinet Office (CO) at the time highlighted that the average price of respirator masks was £3.14 (medical-grade) and Type IIR (medical-grade) was £0.67, whilst non-medical was £0.51 per unit. During a normal trading period the cost of a Type IIR mask would be approximately £0.05 per unit, sourced from China.
3. In May 2020 Cabinet Office (CO) considered it crucial in the public interest to source the supply of face covering production machinery as part of a wider Face Coverings Programme in order to secure the UK’s domestic manufacturing capacity to:
a. produce medical grade masks immediately (if necessary);
b. create an immediate and reliable supply of high-quality non-medical face coverings at affordable prices for the domestic market; and
c. create national resilience to supply chain shocks within a global market.
This was because in April 2020 there was a considerable shortage of medical and non-medical PPE globally, there was real fear that items available would be impounded at borders so domestic production was urgently required to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
4. In May 2020 CO purchased 10 non-automated production machinery lines (see CAN 141-348171). However, these lines were not considered sufficient to deal with anticipated demand and supply chain disruptions. CO worked with external consultants (WS Atkins) to identify a further supplier that could make non-medical or medical-grade masks. In the light of WS Atkins input, CO purchased ten lines of fully automated production machines from Expert Tooling & Automation Limited (‘Expert machines’).
5. An accelerated PCR procurement was impossible if the supplies of face coverings were to be available in sufficient quantities in time. Any delay caused by having to run an open competition or restricted procedure ran the risk of failing to secure production machinery. That would have caused knock-on delays to other aspects of the wider Face Coverings Programme, such as the appointment of manufacturers and their ability to produce sufficient face coverings in the required timeframe.
6. CO is satisfied the tests permitting use of the urgent direct award procedure (Regulation 32(2)(c)) are met: see section VI.3
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
Contract No
EXCO120620
Title
Supply of Plant and associated Services
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
23 July 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
Expert Tooling & Automation Ltd
Technology Centre, 30 Sayer Drive
Coventry
CV5 9PF
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - UNITED KINGDOM
National registration number
03489117
The contractor is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £3,797,324.60
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
As part of this contract award notice the following can be accessed at:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/415e2c45-0b38-42de-b34a-8ab9cd56b17f
The text below is a continuation of paragraph 7 of Annex D1
a. There are genuine reasons for extreme urgency: CO has responded to Covid-19 immediately due to
public health risks presenting a genuine emergency. The DCR Machines possess the capability to produce
Type IIR face masks, which could be utilised by the NHS in extremis, therefore providing domestic
resilience during the crisis.
b. The events that have led to the need for extreme urgency were unforeseeable: The European
Commission (Commissioner Breton – April 2020) has confirmed that the coronavirus crisis presents an
extreme and unforeseeable urgency.
c. It is impossible to comply with the usual timescales in the PCR: There was no time to run an accelerated
procurement under the open, restricted or competitive procedures with negotiation that would allow CO
to secure production machinery in the immediate term. That is particularly so in light of the likely delays
to any procurement timeline – for example, drafting the technical documents required for the ITT stage –
and the operational and commercial risks that would arise due to the delays.
d. The situation is not attributable to the Contracting Authority: It has not done anything to cause or
contribute to the need for extreme urgency.
e. As far as is strictly necessary: The UK only had limited suitable machinery available at the time the Expert Machines were purchased leaving the UK vulnerable should other countries have embargoed such machinery or medical and non-medical grade face coverings.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The Minister for the Cabinet Office acting through the Cabinet Office
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
marketsandsuppliers@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Telephone
+44 3450103503
Country
United Kingdom