Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Directive 2014/24/EU
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Highways England
Woodlands, Manton Lane,
Bedford
MK41 7LW
UK
E-mail: Annabel.Dunn@highwaysengland.co.uk
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.highwaysengland.co.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
National or federal agency/office
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Lower Thames Crossing - Specialist Security Services
II.1.2) Main CPV code
79710000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Highways England has an urgent requirement to put in place some specialist security services for its Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) scheme. LTC is a proposed new All Purpose Trunk Road connecting the A2/M2 in Kent, crossing under the Thames through a twin-bored tunnel before joining the M25 south of Junction 29.
The contract will be for a period of 9 months to allow a full competitive procurement process to take place for longer term delivery of these services. The Scope of the services covers:
Specialist protestor mitigation and removal
Social Media Monitoring
Incident Response
Mobile Patrols
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
900 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79710000
79715000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKH3
UKH32
UKJ4
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed new All Purpose Trunk Road connecting the A2/M2 in Kent, crossing under the Thames through a twin-bored tunnel before joining the M25 south of Junction 29. It has an urgent requirement to put in place some specialist security services to cover the following services:
Mobile Patrol Services (MPS):
deployment of mobile patrol resources to be a proactive and reactive response to incidents involving land and property owned or leased by LTC
The MPS teams have the ability to attend either side of the Thames to offer mutual support.
This function would be able to ensure oversight of locations that have seen criminal and trespass activity taking place during earlier stages of the programme. And are considered high-risk due to their locations within the Programme red line boundary.
Mobile patrol teams would be deployed on 24-hour 7 days a week basis for continuous patrolling.
The mobile patrols would also be able to give mutual support as required during any event either side of the Thames
Incident Response Team:
In the event of an incident and depending on the scale, a dedicated incident response team (IRT) would provide on the ground support.
Specialist protestor mitigation and removal:
In the event of a protester or group breaching security at a location, or preventing works being carried out at any location within the programme red line boundary, a specialist security response service can be deployed. Examples where a specialist response is required could include:
• Regaining possession of land or property
• Executing High Court Writs
• Removing protesters from height, confined spaces, underground or from buildings or other structures
• Dealing with trespass and squatter incursion
Social Media Monitoring and Threat Assessments
• The Contractor will provide a process to carry out proactive monitoring of social media sites that have the potential to disrupt or delay the development of the project.
• The Contractor will develop accurate threat and risk assessments from that intelligence gained and transferring this into biweekly/quarterly reports on the activities of sites and advise, guide and support when required on the actions to take with LTC Project Manager.
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
Negotiated procedure without prior publication
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 notice is being published under a
Negotiated procedure without prior publication (in accordance with Article 32 of Directive 2014/24/EU).
The Authority considers that there are grounds to award a contract directly to Control Risks under Regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“PCR”) on the basis that
the immediate urgency is not of Highways England’s making – it is only now aware of an imminent threat of protestor action.
The immediate urgency therefore requires a contract in place more quickly than a regulated competitive procurement would allow for.
The publication of a VEAT notice notifies the market of its intention to place a Direct Award with Control Risks for a period of 9 months only while a full competitive process takes place to award a longer term contract for the provision of these services.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: 1
Title: Lower Thames Crossing - Specialist Security Services
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
29/06/2021
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Control Risks
Cottons Centre, Cottons Lane
London
SE1 2QG
UK
NUTS: UKI
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
Total value of the concession/lot:
900 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
This notice is being published under a
Negotiated procedure without prior publication (in accordance with Article 32 of Directive 2014/24/EU).
The Authority considers that there are grounds to award a contract directly to Control Risks under Regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“PCR”) on the basis that
the immediate urgency is not of Highways England’s making – it is only now aware of an imminent threat of protestor action which necessitates having a contractor in place to react immediately to any threats.
This contract is for a period of 9 months only while a full competitive procurement is conducted. Highways England intends to publish a Prior Information Notice no later than September 2021.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Highways England
Bedford
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
15/07/2021