Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Police Digital Service
33 Queen Street,
LONDON
EC4R 1AP
Contact
Kenny Stewart
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
National registration number
08113293
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/Company/CompanyInformation/Index/94392
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Public order and safety
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Homeland Security Group ACE Impact Lab Service - RASSO
Reference number
PDS-MOU-036-2021
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Procurement of a Homeland Security Group (Home Office) ACE Impact Lab service to
support Proof of Concept (POC) and Proof of Solution (POS) discovery for Rape and Serious
Sexual Offence (RASSO) investigations.
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: £600,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
PDS relies on the ground set out within Reg 32(2)(b)(ii) (Use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. For technical reasons, access to law enforcement personnel, technology, processes & operational information can be provided only to a particular tenderer, namely The Secretary of State for the Home Department acting through HSG. ACE is a government funded unit within HSG in the Home Office. It holds the requisite HMG authority, security clearance & engagement access to criminal justice system operational partners & industry/ academic communities to help address the policing technology gaps on highly sensitive Rape & Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) cases identified in the HMG End-to-End Rape Review Report (June 21).
Competition is absent for technical reasons because:
(a) addressing the current RASSO investigation process challenge requires a partner with end-2-end influence & capability to engage across a large, dynamic & complex public, private, not-for-profit & academic sector stakeholder landscape. As a government body, ACE is uniquely placed to collaborate with law enforcement agencies (including Police, CPS, NCA, HMCTS & the judiciary), alongside industry & academia, to identify solutions to frontline problems; and
(b) the Home Office, as the main RASSO investigation process grant provider, has determined that the proposed commissioning engagement should be delivered in-house by their own business unit i.e. ACE (and their retained supply chain partners), rather than an external service provider; and
(c) there is an urgent need for these services, and so whilst a fully compliant CPN procurement is being run by ACE (refer to FTS: 2022/S 000-005352) an interim solution for a six month period needs to be implemented by PDS as soon as possible. Because of challenges with police vetting timescales this means there are very limited options available, meaning competition is absent for technical reasons.
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
The absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of parameters of the procurement; no reasonable alternative exists for procuring the required service, as other options would cause significant time and/or cost overrun, thus impacting public funds negatively and slowing the deployment of crime fighting tools to law enforcement.
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated without a prior call for competition
- The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
- Additional deliveries by the original supplier
Explanation:
PDS relies on the ground set out within Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) (Use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. For technical reasons, access to law enforcement personnel, technology and processes and operational information can be provided only to a particular tenderer, namely The Secretary of State for the Home Department acting through the Homeland Security Group (HSG).
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/concession
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
18 May 2022
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
The Secretary of State for the Home Department acting through the Homeland Security Group
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £600,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
Important Notice:
The current release FTS VEAT Form does not provide a workflow to enable a 30 day review period before the date of contract award i.e. after publication of the VEAT notice but before the contract is signed. For the avoidance of doubt the proposed PDS contract with HSG will not be awarded before 20 June 2022. When reviewing this VEAT please read 20 June 2022 (not as stated i.e.18 May 2002) at section V2.1 of this FTS VEAT Form.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
High Court
Royal Courts of Justice, Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom