Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Forensic Science Northern Ireland
c/o Construction & Procurement Delivery, Clare House, 303 Airport Road West
BELFAST
BT3 9ED
UK
E-mail: Justice.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk
NUTS: UKN
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/topics/forensic-science/forensic-science-northern-ireland
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/topics/procurement
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
DoJ FSNI Y-Str Profiling Kits for Use Within the Biology/DNA Workstreams
Reference number: DAC 35/22
II.1.2) Main CPV code
33950000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
II.1.4) Short description
Y-STR analysis has become well established in Forensic casework in the UK and Ireland, including all laboratories within the Association of Forensic Science Providers, of which FSNI is a member. To this end, FSNI have decided to launch a local Y-STR service.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
200 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Y-STR analysis has become well established in Forensic casework in the UK and Ireland, including all laboratories within the Association of Forensic Science Providers, of which FSNI is a member. To this end, FSNI have decided to launch a local Y-STR service.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
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
Justification for selected award procedure:
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation
This application fulfils the general grounds 2b (ii): 'competition is absent for technical reasons', as not awarding the contract directly to [WITHHELD] will result in:
1. FSNI losing the wealth of experience already built by the other main FSPs who use this technique routinely in case-work. If FSNI were to employ the alternative [WITHHELD] kit, FSNI would need to build this experience locally over time, therefore reducing the immediate and ongoing effectiveness to the Northern Ireland CJS.
2. FSNI having a reduced input to, and benefit from, joint research projects involving the other main FSPs on Y-STR analysis and interpretation will be extremely limited. Projects of this kind are very useful for providing supporting data to the evidence presented in Court.
3. Discriminatory power of FSNI database searches being reduced on the forthcoming FINDS (Home Office) database as the alternative [WITHHELD] system will not be fully compatible with this database.
4. Using [WITHHELD] there would be no reduction in the statistical power when calculations to estimate the occurrence of a profile in the general population are carried out using the forthcoming 10,000 sample survey from FINDS. For the [WITHHELD] system which will not be fully compatible with this database there will be a reduction.
5. Modifications will be required to the forthcoming FINDS (Home Office) database to allow Y-STR profiles obtained from the [WITHHELD] system to be loaded. This will have additional costs and time constraints associated with it.
This application also fulfils the general grounds (iii): 'the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights', as [WITHHELD] is the sole supplier of the [WITHHELD] kit.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract
Contract No: DAC 35/22
Title: DoJ FSNI Y-Str Profiling Kits for Use Within the Biology/DNA Workstreams
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
06/04/2022
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
As per Regulation 50(6)(a) - information withheld for security reasons
As per Regulation 50(6)(a) - information withheld for security reasons
UK
NUTS: UK
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 200 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
Please note that information relating to contractors engaged by the Northern Ireland Department of Justice,and associated bodies, is not published in any publicly accessible forum or publication. This is to protect such contractors, whose security and safety could be threatened by dissident terrorist organisations still active in Northern Ireland if their details became known. This is consistent with Regulation 50(6)(a).
The estimated contract value is a broad estimate only and includes additional quantum for unforeseen demand and to future proof. There is no guarantee of any level of business under
this contract. The estimate is not deemed to be a condition of contract nor a guarantee of minimum demand or uptake. No compensation will be payable to a contractor should the
actual demand be less than that stated.
The successful contractor's performance on this contract will be managed as per specification and regularly monitored (see Procurement Guidance Note 01/12 Contract Management: https://www.financeni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/dfp/PGN-01012-Contract-Management-Principles-Procedures-25-Sept-2017.PDF). Contractors not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public Purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in Construction and
Procurement Delivery for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a notice of written warning and notice of unsatisfactory performance and this contract may be terminated. The issue of a notice of written warning and notice of unsatisfactory performance will result in the
Contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being undertaken by Centres of Procurement Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement
Policy for a period of up to 3 years from the date of issue of the notice.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
The UK does not have any special review body with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures
The UK does not have any special review body with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures
UK
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
The UK does not have any special review body with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures in public procurement competitions. Instead, any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
27/04/2022