Public procurement notice: Modification Of A Contract/Concession During Its Term
Published: 2016-05-14
Buyer: Department for Work and Pensions
Country: UK
Region: UNITED KINGDOM
Contract type: Services
CPV classification: 72222300: Information technology services | 72225000: Systems quality assurance services | 72250000: System and support services

Technical requirements: The supplier provided a managed IT service for the Government Gateway (GG) service to fulfil a government identity requirement with the Authority. Key elements of the managed service were, but not limited to, hosting provision of a secure and resilient GG application platform, build, implementation and delivery services, customer service desk and incident management. The original contract term expired on 31.3.2011 and a contract option to extend for a further 3 years was utilised to extend to 31.3.2014. (The contract was further extended to from 1.4.2014 to 31.3.2016).
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals; The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Any such action must be brought within 30 days of the date of knowledge (the date on which the economic operator first knew or ought to have known that grounds for starting the proceeding had arisen) unless the court considers there is good reason for extending the period (up to a maximum of 3 months from the date of knowledge). If the framework agreement/contract has been entered into the court may award damages and in the case of specified breaches of the rules may also order the termination or shortening of the framework/contract and the levying of fines.
The scope of the managed service provision has not changed under this contract modification, the change is to modify the contract term only. The supplier will continue to provide hosting of a secure and resilient GG application platform, application maintenance, customer service desk and incident management while the legacy GG service is decommissioned over the next 24 months and customer migration activities undertaken.
The contract modification is to extend the contract term so that provision of the GG managed service continues to no later than 31.3.2018.
The modification has arisen to avoid unacceptable risk of disruption to critical Government services and limit the financial impact for replacing a service which is being decommissioned over the next 24 months. In line with Regulation 72(1)(b)(i) the Authority extended the contract with the current vendor for economic reasons namely the significant wasted expense changing supplier during an exit period. Within the 24 month period, customers will be migrating to alternative strategic solutions and the Government Gateway service will be run down.
Introducing a new vendor would require replicating the current highly resilient/secure legacy service for multiple high profile government services. This would represent significant duplication of cost having to support the parallel running of a service which is being decommissioned.
The Authority is working with stakeholders to collate future requirements for other services which could lead to opportunities not available within this contract.