Department of Health and Social Care

39 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0EU

UK

E-mail: procurement.operations@dhsc.gov.uk

NUTS: UKI32

Internet address(es)

Main address: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care

Address of the buyer profile: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care

II.1.1) Title

II.1.2) Main CPV code

33100000

II.1.3) Type of contract

Supplies

II.1.4) Short description

Provision of PCR equipment and consumables as part of the UK Covid-19 Testing strategy in support of Pillar1 – NHS laboratory testing.

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

II.1.7) Total value of the procurement

Value excluding VAT: 2 119 113.60  GBP

IV.1.1) Type of procedure

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

Justification for selected award procedure:

Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the Directive

Explanation

Negotiated procedure without prior publication

1) The Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a serious infectious respiratory disease and its consequences pose a risk to life. The Covid-19 outbreak is a public health emergency of international concerns as declared by the World Health Organisation on 30 January 2020. The WHO Director General characterised Covid-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020, by this stage Europe was the centre of the pandemic.

2) A key element of ensuring an effective response to the pandemic is ensuring that there is adequate testing. On 4th April, the Government announced its plans to scale up the testing programme. This contract supports this strategy, in particular pillar 1 (NHS swab testing).

3) DHSC is satisfied the tests permitting use of the Negotiated procedure without prior publication (Regulation 32(2)(c)) are met:

A. as far as is strictly necessary: The test kits were identified as strictly necessary to meet the demand to scale up the testing programme in the UK;

B. there are genuine reasons for extreme urgency: DHSC are responding to Covid-19 immediately because of public health risks presenting a genuine emergency;

C. the events that have led to the need for extreme urgency were unforeseeable: as the Commission itself confirmed: ‘The current coronavirus crisis presents an extreme and unforeseeable urgency – precisely for such a situation our European rules enable public buyers to buy within a matter of days, even hours, if necessary.‘ (Commissioner Breton, Internal Market, 1 April 2020);

D. it is impossible to comply with the usual timescales in the PCR: due to the urgency of the situation there was no time to run an accelerated procurement under the open, restricted or competitive procedures with negotiation that would allow DHSC to secure delivery of products, particularly in light of the corresponding delays to timelines associated with securing supply of the test kits. Additionally, there are many buyers competing for the same supplies. It is imperative that security of supply is maintained. Demand for test kits is high and there is little or no incentive for suppliers to participate in competitive procurement procedures;

E. the situation is not attributable to the contracting authority – DHSC has not done anything to cause or contribute to the need for extreme urgency.

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

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes

VWR International Ltd

01932827

Hunter Boulevard, Magna Park, Lutterworth

Leicestershire

LE17 4XN

UK

E-mail: rhian.corbin@avantorsciences.com

NUTS: UK

The contractor is an SME: Yes

VI.4.1) Review body