United Kingdom-Armagh: 70148 — Heavy Catering Equipment, Chest Freezers and Blast Chiller for the Education Authority

Type of document: Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Country: United Kingdom
OJEU Ref: (2020/S 082-194743/EN)
Nature of contract: Supply contract
Procedure: Award of a contract without prior publication
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Supplies

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Education Authority
Postal address: 3 Charlemont Place, The Mall
Town: Armagh
Postal code: BT61 9AX
Country: United Kingdom
Email: catering.procure@eani.org.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:
Address of the buyer profile:

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
I.5) Main activity
Education

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title: 70148 — Heavy Catering Equipment, Chest Freezers and Blast Chiller for the Education Authority
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 39711120
II.1.3) Type of contract Supplies
II.1.4) Short Description:
The award of a framework agreement by Education Authority (EA) without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union, in respect of the provision of heavy catering equipment, Chest Freezers and Blast Chiller for EA (70148) as further described in OJEU contract notice.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:70000.00
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code: UKN, UKN0
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Supply and delivery of heavy catering, refrigeration equipment to individual educational establishments within the Northern Ireland Education Authority Regions. Namely, the provision of heavy catering equipment, chest freezers and blast chiller.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:yes
Description of options:
An extension until 30 November 2020, with the further option for EA, in its absolute discretion, to extend for a further one month period until 31 December 2020 at the latest.

II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union in the cases listed below
(please complete point 2 of the Annex D)
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:2016/S 242-441168

Section V: Award of contract/concession
V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2016-11-15
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Stephens Catering Equipment Co. Ltd
Postal address: 205 Carnalbanagh Road, Broughshane
Town: Ballymena
Postal code: BT42 4NY
Country: United Kingdom
Nuts code: UK
The contractor is an SME: yes

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession(excluding VAT)
for framework agreements – total maximum value for this lot
for contracts based on framework agreements, if required – value of contract(s) for this lot not included in
previous contract award notices

Section VI: Complementary informationVI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: The UK does not currently have any such bodies with responsibilities for appeal/mediation procedures
Town: Armagh
Country: United Kingdom

VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
The UK does not currently have any such bodies with responsibilities for appeal/mediation procedures

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2020-04-23

Other justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for competition
in the Official Journal of the European Union
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

3.Explanation
Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union
is lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive:
The framework agreement set out in OJEU contract notice was entered into by EA as per the published contract award notice (Framework Agreement). The Framework Agreement was initially for a term ending 31 December 2017, with the option to extend for two further periods of 12 months. It was however agreed in July 2019 that the Framework Agreement be extended until 30 April 2020 and then further agreed in April 2020 that it be further extended until 31 May 2020 (Expiry) under Regulation 72(1)(f) of The Public Contacts Regulations 2015.
EA intended to commence a new procurement exercise in March/April 2020, anticipating there to be a short gap in service between the expiry and the commencement of the new Framework Agreement. However, the new procurement exercise has been delayed due to Covid-19. Particularly, EA has experienced a significant reduction in staffing resources at extremely short notice and has therefore been unable to finalise the tender. Given the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19, it is unclear when EA will be able to commence the new procurement. However, any gap in service cannot extend beyond 1 June 2020.
EA anticipates the new contract commencement will be 1 December 2020, with services extended under the current Framework Agreement until then. However, due to Covid-19, contract commencement may be further delayed, with EA having the option to further extend the Framework Agreement, in its absolute discretion, until 31 December 2020.
The extension value is up to a maximum of circa GBP 70 000. The previous extension for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 May 2020 will not exceed GBP 27 000 and it is anticipated that the current amount spent for that period is well under GBP 27 000.
Further additional services until the commencement of the new framework agreement, which were not included in the original procurement, have become necessary and are permitted by Regulation 72(1)(c) of The Public Contacts Regulations 2015. Namely, the following conditions have been fulfilled:
(i) The need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen. Namely, the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has delayed the new procurement exercise commencing, with such circumstances, and the ensuing delay, entirely unforeseeable by EA. It is also unknown and unforeseeable when the Covid-19 pandemic will conclude. Accordingly, an extension is required in order to allow a procurement exercise to be carried out and to ensure continuity of service until the new framework agreement commences;
(ii) The modification does not alter the overall nature of the contract. Other than the term of the Framework Agreement being extended to allow the new procurement to be concluded, the nature of the Framework Agreement is not being amended; and
(iii) Any increase in price does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original contract or Framework Agreement. The upper estimate of the original Framework Agreement was GBP 270 000, with only around circa GBP 210 000 budget spent to date. As the extension is estimated to be up to a maximum of approximately GBP 70 000, it does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original Framework Agreement.