Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2020-06-03
Buyer: Education Authority NI
Country: UK
Contract type: Works
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 45214000: Construction work for education buildings
Estimated value: 3000000 GBP

Technical requirements: The award of a contract by Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI) without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union, in respect of the continued provision of a term service contract for electrical maintenance and minor works (Belfast Region) lot 1 as further described in OJEU contract notice.
Provision of planned and responsive electrical maintenance and minor works to be carried out in schools and associated facilities located in the Education Authority (Belfast Region) area lot 1.
An extension to 31 December 2020, with the further option for EANI, in its absolute discretion, to extend for up to two further periods of 3 months until 30 June 2021 at the latest.
Total value of the procurement: GBP 3 000 000 (being GBP 2 500 000 until 31 December 2020; GBP 250 000 until 31 March 2021 and GBP 250 000 until 30 June 2021).
The Contract set out in the OJEU contract notice was entered into by EANI as per the contract award notice (Contract). The Contract was initially for 1 year with an option to extend up to a further 3 years, with the natural expiry of the Contract being 8 July 2020 (Expiry).
A procurement for a replacement Contract was expected before the Expiry. However, this has not been possible. Namely, organisational restructuring and analysis of performance requirements resulted in delays. The procurement exercise has however commenced, with the new Contract commencement anticipated to be 1 January 2021. However, due to Covid-19, contract commencement may be further delayed and so EANI requires an option to further extend, in its absolute discretion, for two further periods of 3 months up to 30 June 2021 to allow the procurement exercise to conclude.
Further additional services until the commencement of the new Contract, which were not included in the original procurement, have become necessary and are permitted by Regulation 72(1)(b) and/or 72(1)(c) of PCR2015. Namely: a change of contractor from 9 July 2020:
(i) cannot be made for economic and technical reasons such as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability of services procured under the original procurement given the need to ensure continued access to the EANI schools and associated facilities. Given the new Contract will commence on 1 January 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter as permitted by Covid-19, commencement of a new contractor twice in a short period of time, especially in the current climate, would create unnecessary risk to stability and integrity of services, be unsettling for users and a failure to have a contractor in place could result in partial or total closure of schools and associated facilities; and
(ii) would cause significant inconvenience and duplication of costs for EANI.Financially, any new contractor would have initiation/start-up costs in attempting to recreate the current service for a currently unknown period of time, in what is a volatile and uncertain economic and social climate, which would represent poor VFM, compared to extending the Contract.
(iii) the need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen i.e. Covid-19. Covid-19 has delayed the new procurement exercise, with such circumstances and the ensuing delay, entirely unforeseeable by EANI. It is also unknown and unforeseeable when the Covid-19 pandemic will conclude. Accordingly, an extension is required to complete the new procurement exercise and ensure continuity of service until new Contract commencement;
(iv) the modification does not alter the overall nature of the Contract. Only the term is being extended to allow the new procurement to be concluded; and
(v) any increase in price does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original Contract. The upper estimate of the original Contract lot 1 was GBP 20 000 000. As the extension is estimated to be up to a maximum of approximately GBP 3 000 000, it does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original Contract.


Winner: Irwin ME Ltd
Award value: 3000000