Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ
Contact
Erica Williams
Telephone
+44 2071676000
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Other activity
Health Regulator
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Part 1 Overseas Registrations Examination Service
Reference number
GDC-2019-005
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 80000000 - Education and training services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The GDC intends to extend its existing contract for the Provision of Part 1 of the GDC Statutory Examination - Overseas Registration Examinations for a period of 5 months , from 31 January to 30 June 2025 to continue to fulfil the intentions of the original contract by supporting the delivery of examination services. During the extension period an additional 1 diet with a capacity of 600 places will be delivered. This service under the ORE contract relates to “social and other specific services” listed in Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) (PCR) and is therefore subject to the ‘light touch regime’ in accordance with Regulations 74 to 77 of the PCR. A procurement for a new contract to deliver examination services for the ORE Part 1 and Part 2 is already underway : Notice reference: 2024/S 000-014888.
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: £1,316,564
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKI - London
Main site or place of performance
LONDON
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The scope of services required may include but is not limited to: - Project management and administration of the exam - Design of an exam that delivers to the learning outcomes in preparing for practice (or relevant standard), detailed above. - Delivery of a computer-based exam - Quality assurance and continuous improvement - Candidate management - Relationship management.
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
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations
Explanation:
The Order 2023 (the Order) came into force on 8th March 2023. The reform that flows from the Order removed the need for the ORE to be provided by a dental authority. The changes could significantly amend the scope of the services and open up the market to new suppliers who were previously prohibited from bidding. Before the GDC can take advantage of the new flexibility, the GDC needed to develop and consult on a new set of rules. The final rules were published in Spring 2024. The extension includes an additional sum payable to the consortium to account for the management and delivery of up to 7 diets across 20 months and 3 days. The additional services had become necessary to continue to allow overseas registrations to continue until the implementation of the rules pursuant to the new Order to allow for a procurement for the services under the updated rules. A change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons. There is significant preparatory work required to set up the services. This is one of only two types of this exam currently offered in the UK for Overseas dentists. It requires specific technical expertise to run the exam that has to date not presented itself in the market. A change of contractor would cause significant impact and substantial duplication of costs to the GDC. The GDC has a statutory obligation to run the ORE and was required to pause the exam due to Covid 19 restrictions, this has caused a significant backlog of candidates. Candidates only have one five-year period to complete the ORE, they cannot re-apply. Therefore, they would not be able to practice in the UK and overtime may reduce to number of dental professional available to practice in the UK.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Contract No
GDC-2019-005
Title
Part 1 - Overseas Registrations Examination Service
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
22 July 2024
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
King’s College London
The Strand
UK-London: Education and training services.
WC2R 2LS
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
National registration number
N/A
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: £1,316,564
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=873729087
GO Reference: GO-2024724-PRO-26981373
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ
Telephone
+44 207676000
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ
Telephone
+44 2071676282
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
General Dental Council
37 Wimpole Street
London
W1G 8DQ
Telephone
+44 2071676282
Country
United Kingdom