Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2020-04-07
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 contract lot 1: term service contracts for mechanical and electrical maintenance and minor works in the old Southern Education and Library Board area, contract lot 1 as further described in OJEU contract notice.
Provision of planned and responsive maintenance works for EANI across its property portfolio in the old Southern Education and Library Board area, contract lot 1 which includes but is not limited to controlled and uncontrolled schools.
An extension until 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 OJEU contract notice was entered into by EANI’s predecessor as per the published contract award notice (Contract). Under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2014, existing contracts for all Library Boards (including Southern Education and Library Board) were novated to the EANI. The Contract was initially for a period of 1 year plus an option to extend up to a further 3 years with the natural expiry of the Contract being 17 April 2020 (Expiry).
A procurement for a replacement contract was expected before the expiry, however, this has not proved possible. Firstly, organisational restructuring and analysis of performance requirements, through the survey and engagement with customers, resulted in delays. The procurement exercise has however commenced, with anticipated contract commencement of 1 January 2021. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, contract commencement may be further delayed, with EANI having the option to further extend, in its absolute discretion, for two further periods of 3 months until 3 June 2021, if required.
An extension as outlined above is now required to allow a procurement exercise to be concluded, with any extension beyond 31 December 2020 at the absolute discretion of EANI.
The extension value is up to a maximum of circa GBP 3 000 000. The value of the previous extensions is not relevant.
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) of PCR2015.
(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 estate including but not limited to controlled and uncontrolled schools. Given the expectation that the new contract will commence on 01-01-2021, or as soon as possible thereafter as permitted by the Covid-19 pandemic, commencement of a new contractor twice in in a short period of time, especially in the current climate, would create unnecessary risk to stability and integrity of services and be unsettling for users, knowing that another transition was imminent whilst failure to have a contractor in place could result in partial or total closure of schools; 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.
The upper estimate of the original Contract was GBP 48 000 000. 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: LM Electric Services NI Ltd
Award value: 3000000