Public procurement notice: Modification Of A Contract/Concession During Its Term
Published: 2019-02-27
Buyer: Ministry of Justice
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
CPV classification: 75100000 | 75230000 | 75231240 | 75240000 | 80400000

Technical requirements: Transforming Rehabilitation: Contracts for the Delivery of Rehabilitative Services and Offender Management
Following publication of Contract Notice ref 2013/S 183-315991, successful bidders acquired the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and contracts were awarded on 5.12.2014 for the delivery of probation services, with contracts entered on 18.12.2014. The contracts were for a 7-year initial term with an option to extend for a further 3 years. The contracts are due to expire on 04.12.2020, following service of termination notices in December 2018. The GBP (£) figures quoted within the original contract award notice were the maximum anticipated, total, real value of the contracts if the contracts had been extended to the fullest amount allowed under the contract and payment by results had been paid at the maximum level in all periods including all extensions.
Lot 21 - Surrey and Sussex (Kent, Surrey & Sussex CRC) was awarded to Seetec Business Technology Centre Limited. The following Lots were awarded to Working Links (Employment) Limited (“Working Links”): Lot 11 - North Wales, Dyfed-Powys, South Wales & Gwent (Wales CRC), Lot 13 - Gloucestershire, Avon, Somerset & Wiltshire (Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset & Wiltshire CRC) and Lot 14 - Dorset, Devon & Cornwall (Dorset, Devon & Cornwall CRC). All references to "Working Links CRCs" refers to these CRCs and their respective Contract Package Areas (CPA).
This notice relates to modifications to the Lot 21/Kent Surrey and Sussex CRC (KSS) contract (the Contract). The authority considers the modifications of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice is permitted by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and Directive 2014/24/EU. The contract was modified in accordance with regulation 72(1)(b)/article 72(1)(b) and regulation 72(1)(c)/article 72(1)(c) on 15.02.2019 and accordingly does not in the authority's view amount to the award of a new contract and/or an unlawful substantial change. The need for modification has been brought about by external circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen, namely Working Links and its’ CRCs going into administration on 14.02.2019 resulting in the need to place the services with a different contractor(s) for a period which is (a) too long to permit the use of the contingency mechanism in clause 6 of the original contracts but (b) too short to make it economically or technically feasible to re-let the remaining term of the Working Links CRCs' contracts to an economic operator other than an existing CRC(s). The modification does not alter the overall nature of the contract, and the increase in price does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original contract, namely 372 000 000 GBP as stated in the Contract Award Notice ref: 2015/S 027-045770. Further, it is necessary for the additional services to be taken on by KSS because a change of contractor to an economic operator who is not an existing CRC cannot be made for economic and technical reasons and would cause significant inconvenience and substantial duplication of costs for the contracting authority, by reason of the very high level of human, operational and technical infrastructure required to operate a CRC in combination with the relative shortness of the required duration of the additional services. The increase in price will not exceed 50 % of the value of the original contract, namely 372 000 000 GBP as stated in the Contract Award Notice ref: 2015/S 027-045770.
— to add the services that were previously provided by the Working Links CRCs in three separate contract package areas (Wales; Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire; Dorset, Devon and Cornwall) to the Contract (Services),
— incorporate a mobilisation and transition plan for KSS to take over the Services in a managed way and provide for payment for mobilisation activities and transition costs,
— incorporation of some necessary additional service specification obligations specific to the three geographical areas being taken over,
— technical drafting amendments to maintain the status quo and provide operationally for separation of activities and reporting within each separate contract package area,
— technical updates to reflect operational changes, e.g. subcontractors/premises to be operated from etc.
The contract value of 111 300 000 GBP stated in Section VII.1.6) above relates to the additional Services for the period 15.2.2019 to 4.12.2020 only. The authority has also submitted a Contract Award Notice for publication.
The authority considers the modifications of the contract without prior publication of a contract notice is permitted by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) and Directive 2014/24/EU. The Contract was modified on 15.02.2019 in accordance with regulation 72(1)(b)/article 72(1)(b) and regulation 72(1)(c)/article 72(1)(c) and accordingly does not in the authority's view amount to the award of a new contract and/or an unlawful substantial change. Please refer to section VII.1.4) above for further details.
The "updated total contract value before the modifications" stated in section VII.2.3) below reflects previous changes to the contract as set out in modification notice ref: 2019/S 028/063373. This sum is less than the original contract value of 372 000 000 GPB Contract Award Notice (2015/S 027-045770) and reflects various previous changes including the contract duration has been shortened and payments to date have been less than anticipated.


Winner: The Kent, Surrey & Sussex Community Rehabilitation Company Ltd