Awarded contract

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) Assessment Service — Contract Extension — Lot 1

  • Department for Work and Pensions

F20: Modification notice

Notice reference: 2021/S 000-019381

Published 10 August 2021, 10:45pm



Section one: Contracting authority/entity

one.1) Name and addresses

Department for Work and Pensions

Hartshead Square

Leeds

S1 2FD

Email

KATHRYN.TAYLOR@DWP.GOV.UK

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code

UK - United Kingdom

Internet address(es)

Main address

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) Assessment Service — Contract Extension — Lot 1

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 85000000 - Health and social work services

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.2) Description

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UK - United Kingdom

two.2.4) Description of the procurement at the time of conclusion of the contract:

— The objective and independent assessment of the impact of health conditions and disabilities on claimants is central to the process of determining entitlement to PIP. The provider will carry out this assessment and provide information and advice to support the Authority’s decision making processes.

— The key elements of the service will include:

— The consideration of a claimant’s health conditions or disabilities and the impact on their daily life and mobility,

— Assessing individuals against criteria prescribed by the Authority,

— The delivery of Consultations to support the above,

— The gathering and consideration of evidence to support the above including, where necessary, paying appropriate fees for evidence,

— The completion of reports, including advice, to the Authority,

— The referral of assessment reports and any associated evidence to the Authority,

— Interpretation and advice to the authority on technical evidence,

— Follow up liaison with the Authority in relation to assessments, including the provision of relevant health professional expertise as required,

— The administration and management of the service, including scheduling of Consultations, ensuring that they are completed within timescales set down by the Authority,

— The recruitment, training and ongoing support of Health Professionals, including liaison with relevant professional bodies,

— The development of guidance and training in conjunction with the Authority,

— The provision of an enquiry service for individuals being assessed,

— The provision of a quality control regime, including a complaints function,

— The provision of management information as defined by the Authority,

— Initiatives and liaison with relevant organisations to support the provision of evidence,

— Liaison and collaborative working with local and national partners, including disability organisations, health professional bodies and the devolved administrations,

— Liaison and collaborative working with the PIP Assessment Providers for other Lots as required.

two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession

Start date

31 July 2012

End date

31 July 2021

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 five. Award of contract/concession

Contract No

UI_DWP_100429

five.2) Award of contract/concession

five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:

31 July 2012

five.2.2) Information about tenders

The contract/concession has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No

five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

Atos IT Services UK Ltd

London

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code
  • UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME

No

five.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (at the time of conclusion of the contract;excluding VAT)

Total value of the procurement: £661,300,000


Section six. Complementary information

six.3) Additional information

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***************PLEASE NOTE – CORRECTION*******************

The following correction has been made to the Modification Notice originally published 29/07/2021.

Section VII.2.2

From - ‘Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire (Art. 43(1)(b) of Directive 2014/23/EU, Art. 72(1)(b) of Directive 2014/24/EU, Art. 89(1)(b) of Directive 2014/25/EU)’

To - ‘Need for modification brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority/entity could not foresee (Art. 43(1)(c) of Directive 2014/23/EU, Art. 72(1)(c) of Directive 2014/24/EU, Art. 89(1)(c) of Directive 2014/25/EU)’

There are no other amendments and the remainder of the notice remains identical to the original version. The notice has been reissued for administrative purposes.

**********************************************************************************************************

Suppliers Instructions:

How to Express Interest in this Tender:

1. Register on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once):

https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk & click the link to register - Accept the terms & conditions & click 'continue' - Enter your correct business & user details - Note your chosen username & click 'Save'. You will receive an email with your password (keep this secure)

2. Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant exercise to access the content. - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. - This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page. (A secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box

3. Responding to the tender - Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT - There may be a mixture of online & offline actions to complete (detailed online help available). To submit your reply use the 'Submit Response' button (top of the page).

For further assistance please consult the online help, or the eTendering help desk.

DWP expressly reserves the rights(i)to use a reverse auction; (ii)to cancel this procurement at any stage; (iii)to not award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; (iv)and in no circumstances will DWP be liable for any costs incurred by potential suppliers.

six.4) Procedures for review

six.4.1) Review body

Department for Work and Pensions

Hartshead Square

Sheffield

S1 2FD

Country

United Kingdom


Section seven: Modifications to the contract/concession

seven.1) Description of the procurement after the modifications

seven.1.1) Main CPV code

  • 85000000 - Health and social work services

seven.1.3) Place of performance

NUTS code
  • UK - United Kingdom

seven.1.4) Description of the procurement:

— The objective and independent assessment of the impact of health conditions and disabilities on claimants is central to the process of determining entitlement to PIP. The provider will carry out this assessment and provide information and advice to support the Authority’s decision making processes.

— The key elements of the service will include:

— The consideration of a claimant’s health conditions or disabilities and the impact on their daily life and mobility,

— Assessing individuals against criteria prescribed by the Authority,

— The delivery of Consultations to support the above,

— The gathering and consideration of evidence to support the above including, where necessary, paying appropriate fees for evidence,

— The completion of reports, including advice, to the Authority,

— The referral of assessment reports and any associated evidence to the Authority,

— Interpretation and advice to the authority on technical evidence,

— Follow up liaison with the Authority in relation to assessments, including the provision of relevant health professional expertise as required,

— The administration and management of the service, including scheduling of Consultations, ensuring that they are completed within timescales set down by the Authority,

— The recruitment, training and ongoing support of Health Professionals, including liaison with relevant professional bodies,

— The development of guidance and training in conjunction with the Authority,

— The provision of an enquiry service for individuals being assessed,

— The provision of a quality control regime, including a complaints function,

— The provision of management information as defined by the Authority,

— Initiatives and liaison with relevant organisations to support the provision of evidence,

— Liaison and collaborative working with local and national partners, including disability organisations, health professional bodies and the devolved administrations,

— Liaison and collaborative working with the PIP Assessment Providers for other Lots as required.

— Support for Test and Learn Activity.

seven.1.5) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession

Start date

31 July 2012

End date

31 July 2023

seven.1.6) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)

Total value of the contract/lot/concession:

£661,300,000

seven.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

Atos IT Services UK Ltd

London

Country

United Kingdom

NUTS code
  • UK - United Kingdom
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME

No

seven.2) Information about modifications

seven.2.1) Description of the modifications

Nature and extent of the modifications (with indication of possible earlier changes to the contract):

Secure assessment service continuity and stability beyond the current contracts end date on 31/07/21 extending the Lot 1 contract for the period 01/08/21 to 31/07/23.

Provide the contractual flexibility for any subsequent changes to ongoing service design necessitated by Covid-19 measures and any associated Policy changes made, during the extension period.

Allow the Department to implement pre-Covid flexibilities to remove volume and service from Providers into a Departmental Transformation Area/to deliver Devolution of PIP, if required.

Transition to a Cost Plus funding model for the extension period to strike the right level of risk ownership to drive optimal performance and to address the continuing impact of Covid-19.

seven.2.2) Reasons for modification

Need for modification brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority/entity could not foresee.

Description of the circumstances which rendered the modification necessary and explanation of the unforeseen nature of these circumstances:

Following pre-market engagement DWP concluded that the IT and estate infrastructure needed to support new contracts present substantial challenges to new market entrants and unacceptable risk in respect of a six month transition period. The modification (i) provides sufficient time to develop solutions within the existing contract to ensure the safe migration of the services and (ii) allow DWP to develop, build, test and implement an IT solution to support the new contract(s).

A change in contractor would not be possible as the changes are intrinsically linked to the current contracts. The absence of a viable DWP IT system would substantially increase the cost of new contracts, increase the risk of contract failure and result in the exclusion of market entrants for future service delivery.

The changes are also necessary to make the extension commercially viable and offer value for money. PIP is a critical statutory welfare benefit and a gap in service provision is unacceptable.

seven.2.3) Increase in price

Updated total contract value before the modifications (taking into account possible earlier contract modifications, price adaptions and average inflation)

Value excluding VAT: £661,300,000

Total contract value after the modifications

Value excluding VAT: £872,700,000