Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service
Headquarters,12 Geoff Monk Way, Birstall
LEICESTER
LE43BU
Contact
Roger Smith
Telephone
+44 1162105555
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKF22 - Leicestershire CC and Rutland
Justification for not providing organisation identifier
Not on any register
Internet address(es)
Main address
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
Mobilising System Replacement Contract
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 35710000 - Command, control, communication and computer systems
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue ("the Authority") awarded a contract for the delivery of a mobilising solution and associated support and maintenance services ("Services") to Systel SA ("Systel") ("the Contract"). The initial term of the Contract expires on 31 October 2024 and there is an ability to extend beyond the initial term by up to 2 further years, up to 31 October 2026 which has not and will not be exercised by the Authority.
Systel has been placed into administration in France and has applied to the French courts for protection which could allow Systel to renegotiate unprofitable contracts or parts thereof.
The Services represent critical infrastructure to enable the Authority to discharge its statutory duties under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. Any disruption to the Services would pose significant issues for the Authority and could impact the safety of the public.
Whilst Systel has not exercised the right to terminate the whole of the Contract, it has sought to renegotiate its terms. The Authority considers there is significant risk on the reliability of the availability of the Contract and the ability for Systel to perform the Services.
The Authority does not consider it can continue with the existing arrangements with Systel beyond 31 October 2024. This is for the reasons set out in this notice and in light of the Authority being made aware of Scottish Fire and Northern Ireland Fire also sharing similar concerns to the Authority and taking action to terminate the high-value contracts they hold with Systel following being made aware of its administration status.
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: £4,500,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKF21 - Leicester
- UKF22 - Leicestershire CC and Rutland
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Authority intends to procure a complete mobilising solution from Motorola Solutions UK LTD. This will be provisioned via a tenancy on the Motorola platform.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Ability to meet urgent requirements / Weighting: 80%
Price - Weighting: 20%
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.14) Additional information
The Authority, relying on the extreme urgency ground within Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) ("PCR") intends to award a contract to Motorola Solutions UK LTD for the delivery of the Services for a term of five years with a maximum estimated value of £4,500,000.
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 Authority considers that there is a real risk of Systel imminently ceasing to operate because of its financial position and this has created a situation of extreme urgency to secure an alternative arrangement to mitigate operational and commercial risk. Systel's administration was not foreseeable by the Authority.
Systel currently provides maintenance of infrastructure and software which is critical to the Authority discharging its duties under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 and any disruption/reduction of the Services would impact on this and the safety of the public as it would compromise the Authority's connection to the Airwave network.
In order for mobilisation solutions to be compliant in the UK they need to be using the new, secure communication system (DCS) to connect to the Airwave network by December 2023. Systel have indicated that the Authority will need to meet the costs of such transition, requiring the further investment of public funds into a company that is in administration. The Authority considers it unlikely that Systel are able to meet this deadline and is also not prepared to risk investing further funds into Systel as a result of its current status.
The Authority's connection to the Airwave network is based on hardware provided by Systel that is end of life and will not be supported by Airwave beyond December 2023. As DCS is a component of the wider solution, there are also wider integrated software/hardware and infrastructure upgrades required as a result of the migration to DCS.
Failure to migrate to DCS will result in the control room losing its ground-based connection to the Airwave network; causing significant operational issues and legal ramifications (namely, inability to record calls and Airwave voice traffic). The Authority will be unable to rely on its consortium partners for back-up mobilising system arrangements because these utilise Systel's current solution will be non-compliant from December 2023.
For the reasons set out above, the Authority considers it necessary to award a contract to Motorola Solutions UK LTD as they are able to meet the DCS migration deadline, to maintain the crucial ground-based connection to Airwave and provide the necessary integrated infrastructure, hardware and software upgrades to ensure that the future solution remains fit for purpose.
The Authority does not consider it is able to comply with the time limits for the open, restricted or competitive procedure with negotiation (and accelerated limits within them) to conduct a compliant procurement process because of the need to migrate to DCS by December 2023 which can only be achieved by awarding a contract to Motorola Solutions UK LTD in April 2023. A procurement process would prevent the Authority meeting this deadline and compromise the crucial ground-based connection to Airwave.
The proposed duration of the award to Motorola Solutions UK LTD for five years is strictly necessary because it reflects the time required to implement a complete mobilising system solution (18-24 months) and will also allow the necessary time for the Authority to prepare and complete a public procurement exercise for its longer-term requirements.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2023/S 000-009499
Section five. Award of contract
Title
Mobilising System Replacement Contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
6 June 2023
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
Motorola Solutions UK Limited
Nova South, 160 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 5LB
radha.punn@motorolasolutions.com
Telephone
+44 7789987691
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKI - London
Companies House
00912182
Internet address
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: £4,500,000
Total value of the contract/lot: £4,500,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
The Authority, relying on the extreme urgency ground within Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) ("PCR") intends to award a contract to Motorola Solutions UK LTD for the delivery of the Services for a term of five years with a maximum estimated value of £4,500,000.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The High Court of Justice
The Royal Court of Justice, The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
In accordance with Regulation 86 (Notices of decisions to award a contract), Regulation 87 (Standstill Period) and Regulations 91 (Enforcement of duties through the Court) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended).