Highways England

The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street

Birmingham

B1 1RN

UK

Contact person: Procurement Delivery Team East, Bedford

E-mail: EastTPO@highwaysengland.co.uk

NUTS: UKH

Internet address(es)

Main address: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/highways-england

II.1.1) Title

II.1.2) Main CPV code

45233139

II.1.3) Type of contract

Works

II.1.4) Short description

Highways England(HE) intends to modify the Area 9 ASC contract to deliver the area 6 and 8 service on an interim basis. The following works and services will be required under the modified Area 9 contract:

The provision of integrated network management, maintenance, improvement activities, incident management, event management and contingency planning on the all-purpose trunk roads and motorways in HE Areas 6, 8 and 9 in accordance with HE's standards and objectives as detailed in the Area 9 contract. The routes comprising the all-purpose trunk road and motorway networks in areas 6, 8 and 9 which will be included under the modified Area 9 contract are described in: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/585330/s160588_Network_Man.pdf

* Please refer to -* II.2.4) Description of the procurement, for continuation of Short Description content.

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

II.1.7) Total value of the procurement

Value excluding VAT: 599 200 000.00  GBP

IV.1.1) Type of procedure

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition

Justification for selected award procedure:

The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive

Explanation:

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (‘PCR 2015’), which implemented into law the provisions of Directive 2014/24/EU provide, inter alia, for the modification of a contract without a new procurement procedure in the circumstances set out in Regulation 72. This notice relates to the modification of the existing Area 9 Asset Support Contract (‘ASC’) on an interim basis, rather than to the establishment of a new contract.

Highways England (HE) considers that the modification to the Area 9 ASC contract to encompass the same routine services in relation to the Area 6 and 8 ASC contracts falls within the provisions of Regulation 72 (1) (c) of the PCR 2015 for the following reasons:

(i) the need for the modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen; the current contracts in relation to the Areas 6 and 8 will come to an end on 1 April 2017 (two years before the anticipated expiry). The need to conclude the contracts early could not have been foreseen because:

HE past experience is that its routine maintenance contracts have all run at least to their base term; contrary to HE's previous experience the quality management mechanisms within the contracts did not deliver the required outcomes in this case; a number of circumstances unique to area 6/8 that could not have been foreseen that affected service levels and the ongoing performance of the contracts.

Elements of design and capital works from the Area 6 and Area 8 ASC contracts will be delivered through existing HE frameworks. There are no suitable existing framework agreements to which HE is a party or which it could join that would enable it to deliver the routine services for Area 6 and Area 8 (the ‘area 6/8 service’) from 1 April 2017. These services must continue after 1 April 2017 as such continuity is vital to the protection of road users and to maintaining the overall safety of the network. There can be no gap in service provision because HE must ensure that its statutory obligations continue to be discharged. As the time available does not enable Highways England to effectively implement the new business model for Asset Delivery immediately, HE intends to re-procure the area 6/8 service in line with its established renewal programme so that new arrangements can commence from Spring 2019. Arrangements for market engagement will be confirmed shortly.

Please note Continuation in — VI.4.3.

IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure

Notice number in the OJ S:

2012/S 248-410250

Kier Highways Services Ltd

05606089

Tempsford Hall, Sandy

Bedford

SG19 2BD

UK

NUTS: UK

The contractor is an SME: No

VI.4.1) Review body

VI.4.3) Review procedure

Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:

Please note Continuation From — IV.1.1. Explanation.

HE considers that the re-procurement process will take 12-18 months to allow the necessary planning in asset and resource management to take place and to enable new arrangements to be tendered and safely mobilised so as to avoid completing a procurement exercise resulting in mobilisation during the core winter period. In deciding to utilise the Area 9 contract for the area 6/8 service until April 2019, HE has also had regard to the following:

— the minimum period of time during which a new provider could provide an effective value for money service;

— greater certainty for the transferring workforce;

— the need to mobilise a new provider safely in the time available and for HE to comply with its obligations under the CDM Regulations could only be achieved through the use of the existing HE supply-chain using existing systems and resources;

— limited market capacity to tender effectively for a new contract outside the established renewal cycle;

— the need to deliver the necessary planning in asset and resource management to enable a new Asset Delivery approach to be successful from 2019; and

— the need to allow an orderly and safe demobilisation and handover between the outgoing and incoming providers.

(ii) the modification does not alter the overall nature of the contract; Highways England has assessed the proposed modification to the Area 9 contract to include the area 6/8 service and concluded that this does not alter the overall nature of the contract. The nature and scope of the routine maintenance services remains unchanged. As stated in contract notice 2012/S248-410250 the geographical areas and routes covered may change during the currency of the contract and, as provided for in the terms of the Area 9 contract, the Service Manager may instruct changes to the area network. The maintenance specification for the Area 9 ASC contract remains unchanged. The changes to the area 9 contract are limited to those modifications required to introduce the area 6/8 service and to facilitate the management of the modified contract.

An overview of the modifications to the Area 9 contract is as follows: the provision of integrated network management, maintenance, improvement activities, incident management, event management and contingency planning services consistent with those in the Area 9 ASC contract on the trunk road and motorway network in HE area 9 are being extended to include Areas 6 and 8. The core terms of the area 9 contract will continue to apply save for the modifications described above.

(iii) any increase in price does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original contract: The Area 9 contract was awarded on 31.12.2013, following a Restricted Procedure competition for a duration of 5 years with options to extend by up to 3 years. The modification to the Area 9 contract is intended to be an interim arrangement until a full re-procurement can be undertaken and is intended to last until 31.3.2019. The original value of the contract was stated in the award notice to be 599 200 000 GBP. The modification to the Area 9 contract to include the area 6/8 service will amount to up to approximately 120 000 000 until Spring 2019, which does not exceed 50 % of the value of the original contract.

In the interests of transparency, Highways England has opted to publicise its intention to modify the Area 9 contract to deliver the area 6/8 service through this voluntary notice.