Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
DSTL Porton Down
SALISBURY
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKK - South West (England)
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-science-and-technology-laboratory
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
Defence
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Hire of Wind Tunnel for dermal aerosol protection assessments
Reference number
0000029019-VTN
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 73110000 - Research services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Hire of wind tunnel and adjacent laboratory with support staff to operate wind tunnel and perform chemical analysis
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: £160,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH2 - Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Hire of wind tunnel and adjacent laboratory with support staff to operate wind tunnel and perform chemical analysis
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
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 procedure without publication of a contract notice
- No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to restricted procedure
- The products involved are manufactured purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development
- 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:
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory on behalf of The Secretary of state for Defence intends to procure the services of Silsoe Spray Applications Unit (SSAU), to hire a wind tunnel and adjacent laboratory to perform chemical analysis on the dissemination of aerosols.
It is considered that the award of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice in the UK e-notification service (as required by the relevant legislation) is lawful in accordance with regulation 32(b)(ii) of the PCR 2015 because competition is absent for technical reasons as outlined below:
The tests Dstl conduct involve the dissemination of aerosols within a wind tunnel. The wind tunnel must be large enough to house the test mannequins (at the very least 2.5m wide and 2m high, ideally at least 3 m x 2.5 m) with a long enough working area to allow dissemination far enough from the mannequin to allow mixing (>10 m floor length). However, it must not be so large that we cannot generate the aerosols at high enough concentrations within an acceptable time frame (<300 m3). The concentration requirements also dictate that it must be a recirculating wind tunnel. It must have large enough level access to allow the mannequins to be placed in the wind tunnel (2 m high) and be capable of the air speeds of interest (wind tunnels designed for aerodynamic studies will typically operate at higher wind speeds than we conduct testing at).
Overseas facilities are not suitable as their use would involve substantial additional difficulty and expense due to the overseas transport of up to two mechanical mannequins plus approximately 30 crates of other required equipment (on top of additional staff costs and environmental impact). In addition to this many of the test items are classified Official-Sensitive (and on occasion also have ITAR restrictions) that would make export/import difficult if not impossible.
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
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
17 August 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
Silsoe Spray Applications Unit (SSAU)
Building 42, West Park
Bedford,
MK45 4HP
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKH24 - Bedford
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £160,000
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Porton Down
Porton Down
SALISBURY
Country
United Kingdom