Future opportunity

The Home Office - PNC Service Continuity Contingency

  • Home Office

F01: Prior information notice (prior information only)

Notice reference: 2023/S 000-016092

Published 7 June 2023, 10:41am



Section one: Contracting authority

one.1) Name and addresses

Home Office

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF

Contact

Graham Maloney

Email

NLEDPCommercial@homeoffice.gov.uk

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code

UKI62 - Croydon

Internet address(es)

Main address

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office

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

Public order and safety


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

The Home Office - PNC Service Continuity Contingency

Reference number

Project_C24649

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 72200000 - Software programming and consultancy services

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

The Home Office is the lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, fire, counter-terrorism and police.

On 24th March 2023, techUK hosted a market engagement event for the Home Office in conjunction with the National Police Chief’s Council. Acting through the Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS) programme, the department continues to assess the requirement for ensuring a contingency option is in place for PNC and therefore a potential future procurement to ensure the service continuity of the PNC if this is subsequently required.

The purpose of this PIN is two-fold:

1. To update the market on the progress we are making and

2. To facilitate the opportunity for you to start mobilising teams and to engage and engineer collaboration activity with other suppliers where you are not represented on RM6100 Lot 4 but would be interested in taking part in the Further Competition as part of a partnering approach.

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

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
Main site or place of performance

United Kingdom

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

You will be familiar with the LEDS programme that is being progressed by the Home Office and policing. This is a complex transformation programme and is designed to create a modern data service and to enable the eventual retirement of the PNC that has been running since 1974.

We continue to make solid progress in LEDS and remain confident, based on the current trajectory, that LEDS will deliver parity with the PNC within the timescales required to enable to the PNC to be decommissioned as scheduled.

It was confirmed to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the LEDS programme is confident that it will not have to use this ultimate fall-back mitigation (contingency) option. However, the progression of a contingency option is operationally and commercially prudent to ensure the continued provision of a key piece of critical national infrastructure. By not undertaking this engagement, we would fail in our due diligence, and it would be remiss of us not to have a contingency option for the continued service continuity of PNC if the LEDS trajectory were to change and we needed to execute the contingency option.

It is important to note, whilst the PNC remains supported until March 2026, and LEDS is designed and remains on track to enable the PNC to be switched off and to be replaced, we must continue to progress and explore the viability of a contingency option.

It was requested by the PAC that the Home Office should set out for their review, how it will guarantee that police and the law enforcement agencies will be able to access the PNC service until LEDS is ready.

We respect and acknowledge that this may not appear attractive as an opportunity. Through early market engagement, we identified there is an appetite for the opportunity as well as the availability of the relevant market capability and capacity to deliver the contingency option.

Following the Market Engagement event, we completed an RFI process employing a secure data room. We received some informative and helpful responses that we reviewed, both technically and commercially.

Based on our RFI responses analysis we have identified that the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Technology Services 3 (RM 6100) Lot 4 - Major Services Transformation Programmes will be our preferred Route to Market.

Subject to internal governance and approval we intend to issue an ITT (Invitation to Tender) on the 19th June.

two.2.14) Additional information

The Further Competition would be run via a Secure Data Room so we will be requesting email contact details in due course to ensure we set this up in advance any Further Competition. Furthermore, we will require that a specific NDA and Security Aspect Letter (SAL) are signed and returned to us ahead of any Further Competition.

two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice

22 December 2023


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