Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2019-11-11
Buyer: Kent County Council
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 85000000 | 85100000: Health services | 85323000
Estimated value: 187109535 EUR

Technical requirements: In September 2017, Kent County Council (KCC) and Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) established a collaborative partnership in accordance with Regulation 12(7) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) with the aim of delivering the parties common objectives in relation to public health (Partnership).
The Partnership is established in relation to the following services: health visiting and school health; health checks, one you kent and smoking cessation; postural stability, sexual health and oral health. The initial term of the Partnership is due to expire in March 2020 and following a review, the parties wish to extend the arrangement for a further 5-year term (until March 2025). Further detail is provided below in Section II.2.4).
September 2017, Kent County Council (KCC) and Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) entered into a collaborative partnership with the aim of delivering the parties common objectives in relation to public health (Partnership). The Partnership is established in relation to the following services: health visiting and school health; health checks, one you kent and smoking cessation; postural stability, sexual health and oral health. The following notices were issued by KCC in relation to the Partnership: [2019/S 041-093878 — Kent County Council provision of integrated sexual health services]. The initial term of the Partnership is due to expire in March 2020.
The Partnership was established in accordance with Regulation 12 (7) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 which provides that:
‘a contract concluded exclusively between 2 or more contracting authorities falls outside of the scope of this part where all of the following conditions are fulfilled:
(a) the contract establishes or implements a co-operation between the participating contracting authorities with the aim of ensuring that public services they have to perform are provided with a view to achieving objectives they have in common;
(b) the implementation of that co-operation is governed solely by considerations relating to the public interest; and
(c) the participating contracting authorities perform on the open market less than 20 % of the activities concerned by the co-operation’.
The Partnership’s objective is to support the parties in delivering public services which are statutory functions of both parties, with the common aim of improving health outcomes for the residents of Kent efficiently and effectively. The implementation of the Partnership is governed solely by considerations relating to the public interest within the meaning of Regulation 12(7)(b) and within the meaning of Directive 2014/24/EU. The participating authorities perform on the open market less than 20 % of the activities concerned by the co-operation. Accordingly, the parties believe that the Partnership continues to meet the conditions set out in regulation 12 (7) PCR.
Following a review of the Partnership, the parties consider that it is working effectively to deliver improved health outcomes for the people of Kent. The parties believe that the Partnership continues to meet the test set out in Regulation 12.7 and accordingly they wish to extend the Partnership arrangements for a further 5 years until March 2025 to sustain and build on the improvements which have already been made. The approximate value of the Partnership arrangement over the 5-year period is 187 109 535 GBP. Values will be subject to annual review and may fluctuate. The parties may extend the Partnership to encompass other public health services, subject to continued compliance with Regulation 12(7) PCR. Accordingly, no procurement process is required to award/extend the contracts, in accordance with Regulation 12(7) PCR.
The Partnership entered into between KCC and KCHFT meets the conditions set out in Regulation 12(7) PCR and accordingly falls outside of the scope of the directive. The award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union is therefore lawful. Regulation 12 (7) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which implements Article 12 (4) of Directive 2014/24/EU in English Law provides that:
‘a contract concluded exclusively between 2 or more contracting authorities falls outside of the scope of this part where all of the following conditions are fulfilled:
(a) the contract establishes or implements a co-operation between the participating contracting authorities with the aim of ensuring that public services they have to perform are provided with a view to achieving objectives they have in common;
(b) the implementation of that co-operation is governed solely by considerations relating to the public interest; and
(c) the participating contracting authorities perform on the open market less than 20 % of the activities concerned by the co-operation.’


Winner: KCHFT
Award value: 187109535