Modification notice

Modification of a contract/concession during its term

Section I: Contracting entity

I.1) Name and addresses

Section II: Object

II.1) Scope of the procurement

II.2) Description

Section V: Award of contract/concession

Contract No: UI_DWP_100429

V.2 Award of contract/concession

V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession

31/07/2012

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/concessionaire

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)

Total value of the contract/lot: /concession: 400 523 903.00  GBP

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.3) Additional information

PLEASE NOTE – TWO SECTIONS HAVE BEEN CORRECTED

The following corrections have been made to the Modification Notice originally published 31.1.2019.

Section VII.1.6 – from 4005239.03 to 400523903.00

Section VII.2.3 – from 4005239.03 to 400523903.00 and from 5746929.11 to 574692911.00

There have been no other amendments to any other sections.

The remainder of the notice remains identical to the original version.

The original modification notice was issued 31.1.2019 and this has now been archived.

Suppliers Instructions:

How to Express Interest in this Tender:

1) Register on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once):

https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register - Accept the terms and conditions and click 'continue' - Enter your correct business and user details - Note your chosen username and click 'Save'. You will receive an email with your password (keep this secure)

2) Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant exercise to access the content. - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. - This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page. (A secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box

3) Responding to the tender - Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT - There may be a mixture of online and offline actions to complete (detailed online help available). To submit your reply use the 'Submit Response' button (top of the page).

For further assistance please consult the online help, or the eTendering help desk.

DWP expressly reserves the rights:

(i) to use a reverse auction;

(ii) to cancel this procurement at any stage;

(iii) to not award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice;

(iv) and in no circumstances will DWP be liable for any costs incurred by potential suppliers.

VI.4) Procedures for review

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice

06/09/2019

Section VII: Modifications to the contract/concession

VII.1) Description of the procurement after the modifications

VII.1.1) Main CPV code

85000000

VII.1.2) Additional CPV code(s)

VII.1.3) Place of performance

NUTS code:

UK

VII.1.4) Description of the procurement

— The objective and independent assessment of the impact of health conditions and disabilities on claimants is central to the process of determining entitlement to PIP. The provider will carry out this assessment and provide information and advice to support the Authority’s decision making processes.

The key elements of the service will include:

— the consideration of a Claimant’s health conditions or disabilities and the impact on their daily life and mobility,

— assessing individuals against criteria prescribed by the Authority (see Annex Four),

— the delivery of face-to-face Consultations to support the above,

— the gathering and consideration of evidence to support the above including, where necessary, paying appropriate fees for evidence,

— the completion of reports, including advice, to the Authority,

— the referral of assessment reports and any associated evidence to the Authority,

— interpretation and advice to the Authority on technical evidence,

— follow up liaison with the Authority in relation to assessments, including the provision of relevant health professional expertise as required,

— the administration and management of the service, including scheduling of face-to-face Consultations, ensuring that they are completed within timescales set down by the Authority,

— the recruitment, training and ongoing support of Health Professionals, including liaison with relevant professional bodies,

— the development of guidance and training in conjunction with the Authority,

— the provision of an enquiry service for individuals being assessed,

— the provision of a quality control regime, including a complaints function,

— the provision of management information as defined by the Authority,

— initiatives and liaison with relevant organisations to support the provision of evidence,

— liaison and collaborative working with local and national partners, including disability organisations, health professional bodies and the devolved administrations,

— liaison and collaborative working with the PIP Assessment Providers for other Lots as required,

— support for Test and Learn activity.

VII.1.5) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession

Start: 31/07/2012

End: 31/07/2021

VII.1.6) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)

Total value of the procurement: 400 523 903.00 GBP

The contract/concession has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No

VII.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

VII.2) Information about modifications

VII.2.1) Description of the modifications

— Increase to the amount of average preparation time available to Healthcare Professionals to consider the evidence provided with a claim before the assessment begins. This will be subject to a review in live running to understand the impact on the customer journey and on the IAS delivery model,

— Better information sharing with the IAS, especially in relation to Independent Audit findings that could support HCP training and better identification of cases for internal provider audit,

— Formalisation of agreed good practice including right to observe assessments and DWP providing clear direction and prioritisation for the continuous improvement plan in the contracts,

— Support from IAS for quality and service related continuous improvement and testing activity during the extension period, both for business as usual policy change and support to the Health Transformation Programme,

— Change in the ‘no pay’ regime introduced in 2016, so that providers face an increasing service credit the further performance is from the 3 % target with full no pay applying at 5 % and above.

— Introduction of video recording of assessments through pilots,

— Introduction of an Average Assessment Clearance Target (AACT) set at 35 days to replace the current 40 day clearance target,

— Increased service credit level for cases older than 55 days,

— Mechanisms to manage the impact of over-referrals sent to providers, including service credit relief in the case of referrals being above forecast,

— Mechanisms to manage the impact of under-referrals sent to providers, including higher unit prices if referrals are below forecast,

— Uprate of unit rates for 2018 to reflect the HCP capacity issues and the continued investment in quality and consistency improvements followed by reduction in unit rates during the extension period realising a return of investment beyond the total value of uprated unit rates for 2018 and additional IT support and investment at no cost,

— Flexibilities introduced to support safe migration of services to new contracts up to 2021 and testing and roll out of new IT ahead of 2021 including:

(i) Option to transition up to 20 % of volume from September 2020 with an additional 20 % from January 2021 impacted using the current Change Request and Variation processes to support a decision to progress; and

(ii) Provision of support for the Test and Learn of new service proposals and IT systems to be implemented in the new contracts including the option to require IAS to implement IT systems across their business in advance of the end of the contract.

VII.2.2) Reasons for modification

Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire

Description of the economic or technical reasons and the inconvenience or duplication of cost preventing a change of contractor:

Following pre-market engagement DWP concluded that the IT and estate infrastructure needed to support new contracts present substantial challenges to new market entrants and unacceptable risk in respect of a six month transition period. The modification (i) provides sufficient time to develop solutions within the existing contract to ensure the safe migration of the services and (ii) allow DWP to develop, build, test and implement an IT solution to support the new contract(s).

A change in contractor would not be possible as the changes are intrinsically linked to the current contracts. The absence of a viable DWP IT system would substantially increase the cost of new contracts, increase the risk of contract failure and result in the exclusion of market entrants for future service delivery.

The changes are also necessary to make the extension commercially viable and offer value for money. PIP is a critical statutory welfare benefit and a gap in service provision is unacceptable.

VII.2.3) Increase in price

Updated total contract value before the modifications (taking into account possible earlier contract modifications and price adaptions and, in the case of Directive 2014/23/EU, average inflation in the Member State concerned)

Value excluding VAT: 400 523 903.00 Currency: GBP

Total contract value after the modifications

Value excluding VAT: 574 692 911.00 Currency: GBP