Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Sellafield Ltd
Hinton House, Birchwood Park Avenue
Warrington
WA36GR
Contact
Christopher Hart
christopher.z.hart@sellafieldsites.com
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKD1 - Cumbria
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/sellafield-ltd
Buyer's address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/sellafield-ltd
one.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Other activity
Nuclear Decommissioning
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Very Low Active (VLA) Analysis Services - PIN No1 - Market Engagement Event
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 71620000 - Analysis services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
This Prior Information Notice (PIN), without call for competition, is to alert the market that Sellafield Ltd is to commence Market Engagement activity for the forthcoming Very Low Active (VLA) Analysis Procurement.
Sellafield Ltd are undertaking a Market Engagement event on Tuesday 26th November 2024 for the Very Low Active (VLA) Analysis Procurement. The event will take place at Energus Conference Centre, Lillyhall, Workington, CA14 4JW and shall run from 9.30am until 2pm.
The VLA Analysis Tender follows on from the cancelled Low Active (LA) and Very Low Active Analytical Services Tender, as per the FTS Notice reference 2024/S 000-034622 and Contracts Finder reference CF-0083500D4L000000iAvzUAE. Sellafield will now look to run a competition for the VLA scope only, with the LA element remaining within Sellafield pending further strategy review.
The Market Engagement event for the VLA Analysis Procurement shall be split into two parts, with the first part of the event being a Sellafield presentation to the group of attendees to brief the market on the upcoming Tender, confirm any changes to the process compared to the cancelled LA/ VLA Procurement, provide a reaffirmation of the expected testing volumes, an overview of the planned amendments to the commercial principles and Procurement Documents such as the Terms and Conditions and the Pricing Strategy and to brief the market on the procurement process to be used including timings and do’s and don’ts.
The second part of the market engagement event will involve breakout sessions where suppliers can engage individually with Sellafield in order to ask any additional questions around the process, specification or procurement documents, as well as for Sellafield to gain market feedback regarding the proposed procurement documents such as the contract and pricing strategy.
It is the intention of Sellafield to provide the market early sight of the draft commercial and legal principles of the competition/slidepack, via the Atamis system ahead of the Market Engagement Event, please see section VI.3 below for further details on how to access this system. For the following two key reasons, suppliers are strongly encouraged to review the commercial and legal principles that will be issued ahead of the market engagement event so that they can provide feedback on the documents at this stage rather than once the tender is published in early 2025.
1. Under PCR15, the Open Procedure does not allow for negotiation, Sellafield will be unable to materially amend the procurement terms that are published once the tender is issued.
2. Sellafield is keen to ensure an effective and efficient procurement process and as such is looking to remove any ambiguity or bidding barriers prior to tender publication.
To ensure supplier feedback is taken into account, where deemed appropriate, into the final drafting of the Procurement Documents, suppliers are also strongly encouraged to bring to the event the appropriate staff who can engage with Sellafield legal, commercial and technical representatives regarding the procurement documents and provide feedback that will help inform the final drafting of these documents ahead of the issuing of the tender in early 2025.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £96,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 71900000 - Laboratory services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKD1 - Cumbria
Main site or place of performance
Sellafield Site
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Analytical Services provides an essential service in support of Sellafield Operations which in accordance with its Site Licence Conditions requires Sellafield to report to the regulatory bodies eg Environmental Agency (EA) and demonstrate the use of Best Available Technology (BAT) and As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) for the management of effluent and other waste activities which are key to delivery of the Sellafield Ltd mission. The site is envisaged to have a demand for analytical services until 2110.
Sellafield Ltd has therefore a requirement for suitably experienced and qualified service providers(s) to undertake Very Low Active (VLA) Analytical services in support of Sellafield site Operations. The service is to consist of sample receipt or collection, storage, analyses, reporting and waste disposal.
The estimated value range of the contract scope of work is £56m - £96m. The duration is to be confirmed but is assumed to be 8 - 10 years.
The current supply chain contractual arrangements for Very Low Active Analytical Services include:
- Environmental, Low Active Radiological, Dosimetry and Chemical analyses
Current contractual arrangements are due to expire and Sellafield Ltd will be undertaking a procurement exercise for the continued provision of these services.
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
4 February 2025
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
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
Parties who are interested in attending the Market Engagement event on 26th November at Energus are requested to register on the shared service Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) OneNDA eCommercial Systems powered by Atamis (Atamis), which can be accessed via the URL https://atamis-2464.my.site.com/s/Welcome. Parties who register on this system should then register against Atamis Project C22676, where they can confirm their attendance for the market engagement event on 26th November, review documentation once it is issued ahead of the event and also ask Sellafield any questions regarding the event or the Procurement.
The draft commercial and legal principles for comment shall be uploaded to the above Atamis project by 19th November 2024, Sellafield will confirm to all registered suppliers once these documents are uploaded.
Sellafield may conduct a further market engagement session, likely via teams, in late December or early January 2025, before the ITT is formally issued, to ensure that all parties are well aligned on the principles that Sellafield will be approaching the market under, further details will be communicated via an additional PIN in due course.