Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Directive 2009/81/EC
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Ministry of Defence
Abbey Wood
BS34 8JH
UK
Contact person: Andrea Cowan
E-mail: andrea.cowan588@mod.gov.uk
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
Main address: http://des.mod.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions
I.5) Main activity
Defence
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
LTPA Extension
II.1.2) Main CPV code
73410000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Amendment of CB/FT/001 (LTPA) to enact an agreed extension of 5 years
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
1 533 300 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UK
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
In March 2003, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) let the LTPA (Long-Term Partnering Agreement) contract with QinetiQ which is a 25-year commitment to 31st March 2028, including an option to extend. The LTPA provides for the operation and management of MOD assets and sites geographically dispersed across the UK, as well as the performance of T&E services to ensure the continued availability of T&E capabilities, enabling Defence to accept capabilities into service and to assure the through-life performance of capabilities.
The Authority intends to extend the contract by 5-years to 31st March 2033 by exercising the agreed option. The extension will not materially alter the scope and nature of the LTPA.
The extension is exempt from the Defence and Security Public Contract Regulations (DSPCR) under Regulation 6(3A)(a) due to the security classification of the projects and the storage and transfer of UK sensitive information. The extension is also excluded from DSPCR under Regulation 7(1)(a) as there is a need for QinetiQ to employ Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel with the appropriate Security clearances.
By invoking the agreed extension in the current contract, it will ensure continued availability of T&E capabilities to Defence and to allow for an organised transition to the follow-on arrangements to the LTPA by March 2033. In parallel, the Authority has commenced the Defence Test & Evaluation Services (Future) (DTES(F)) project for the Authority’s centralised T&E capabilities beyond the LTPA. In due course, the project will be launching Early Market Engagement with Industry to support the project in developing a range of artefacts.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
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
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice
Justification for selected award procedure:
No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to negotiated procedure with prior publication of a contract notice
Explanation:
Having consulted CLS and the DSPCR, it is considered that invoking the option to extend, without a change to the scope or overall nature of the contract, is permissible.
The DSPCR (Chapter 8 – Procurement Procedures, Para. 109) states the following:
The exercising of a priced option or an option which has mechanisms for determining price will not require a new procurement procedure, if the scope and nature of the option as well as the conditions under which it may be used were set out within the contract. In exercising the option the overall nature of the contract must not be altered.
Any values stated in this notice are provisional and a contract extension has yet to be awarded. The Authority reserves the right to amend any condition related to security of information to reflect any changes in national law or government policy. If any contract documents are accompanied by instructions on safeguarding classified information (e.g. a Security Aspects Letter), the Authority reserves the right to amend the terms of these instructions to reflect any changes in national law or government policy, whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, specific protective markings given, the aspects to which any protective marking applies, or otherwise. The link below to the Gov.uk website provides information on the Government Security Classification.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: CB/FT/001
Title: Long Term Partnering Arrangement
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
07/12/2023
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
QinetiQ Limited
Farnborough
UK
NUTS: UK
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot/concession: 1 533 300 000.00 GBP
Total value of the concession/lot:
1 533 300 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
22/05/2024