Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Department for Communities
Causeway Exchange, 1-7 Bedford Street
BELFAST
BT2 7EG
ssdadmin.cpd@finance-ni.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Buyer's address
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
ID 4866411 - DAC 55/23 - DfC - Mitigation Measures
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Department of Communities Mitigation Measures IT system requires final development and testing work to be completed of an essential IT upgrade with continued support and maintenance to their Supplementary Payment IT System (SPS). This Direct Award Contract (DAC) will be for 6 months and expire on 31 December 2023.
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: £500,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKN - Northern Ireland
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Department of Communities Mitigation Measures IT system requires final development and testing work to be completed of an essential IT upgrade with continued support and maintenance to their Supplementary Payment IT System (SPS). This Direct Award Contract (DAC) will be for 6 months and expire on 31 December 2023.
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
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
Explanation:
The Department for Communities requires Microsoft support for their Mitigation Measures IT system, for 6 months to 31 December 2023. This is permitted under Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) – technical reasons; whereby it is considered that given the amount of custom code currently in the system that only Microsoft could perform this upgrade thus reducing the dependency on custom code and ensuring a ‘level playing field’ for any future procurement exercise; and Regulation 32(2)(b)(iii) – the protection of exclusive rights, whereby it is considered that given the amount of custom code in the system that Microsoft would be the only viable tenderer if a fresh procurement were to be run now.
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
15 June 2023
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
Microsoft Limited
Microsoft Campus, Thames Valley Park
Reading
RG6 1WG
SSDAdmin.cpd@finance-ni.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Internet address
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
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: £500,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amended.
Belfast
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
CPD will comply with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) and, where appropriate, will incorporate a standstill period (i.e. a minimum of 10 calendar days) at the point information on the award of contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. This provides time for the unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.