Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS
CAXTON HOUSE
LONDON
SW1H9DA
Contact
Lydia Chung
Telephone
+44 7919547211
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Social protection
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
DWP Contingency Payment Services
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 66000000 - Financial and insurance services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is considering options for the future delivery of its Payment Contingency Services required in the event of a short or long term disruption to the payment of benefits, pensions and allowances to the Department's customers.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 66000000 - Financial and insurance services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The purpose of this Prior Information Notice is to invite representatives from potential supplier organisations to attend a closed virtual supplier engagement event which DWP intends to host week commencing 26 April 2021. This is an opportunity for interested suppliers to present to DWP, solutions which may meet our future payment contingency needs and inform potential procurement activity.
DWP makes on average 2.5m customer payments per day, to a value of over £3bn per week. We are obliged to ensure that payments are credited to customer accounts on the due date, early or late payments cannot be tolerated.
All solutions will be considered however; they must address one or both of the following scenarios:
A situation. where issuance of a BACS payment file(s) has been delayed, preventing the Department's ability to credit customer accounts on the due date.
A catastrophic event which prevents DWP from preparing and issuing payments files. This situation assumes DWP is either unable to access the information or infrastructure needed to create the payment file or unwilling to, for example, due to a cyberattack leaving the estate vulnerable.
All potential solutions must be:
able to meet Industry Standards for Security Best practice, as a baseline ISO 27001 and FSA Security
secure and resilient to potential fraudulent activity;
able to provide reporting for Management Information, reconciliation and audit purposes;
compliant with UK payment scheme(s) rules and payment formats;
capable of operating nationally and be available for other Government Departments including Department for Communities.
The duration of the contract is expected to be 2-3 years
The event is being held in advance of a potential future procurement however suppliers should be aware that DWP is not committed to, nor guarantees a procurement at this stage. A further Prior Information Notice will be issued should DWP proceed to a procurement. DWP reserves the right to withdraw or amend any intention to proceed to procurement stage at any time.
two.2.14) Additional information
To register your interest in attending the engagement event, please contact Lydia Chung by e-mail, Lydia.chung@dwp.gov.uk by midnight 18 April 2021
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
30 September 2021
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes