Award

DAC 153/22 ID 4622630 - TEO Homes for Ukraine Scheme - Monthly thank you payments

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

19 Dec 2022 at 15:25

Summary of the contracting process

The Department of Finance in the United Kingdom has awarded a contract (DAC 153/22) to Bryson Care for the implementation of optional monthly thank you payments to sponsors under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in Northern Ireland. The main procurement category is services, specifically financial and insurance services. The procurement method was a limited negotiation without publication of a contract notice due to technical reasons and extreme urgency. The contract value is £198,436.40 in GBP, signed on 19th December 2022.

This contract presents an opportunity for businesses providing financial and insurance services to engage in implementing monthly payments for sponsors under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. The procurement stage has concluded with Bryson Care as the selected supplier. Companies experienced in financial transaction processing, banking services, and clearing-house services would be well-suited to compete in this procurement process, catering to the needs of the Department of Finance in implementing the optional thank you payments.

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Notice Title

DAC 153/22 ID 4622630 - TEO Homes for Ukraine Scheme - Monthly thank you payments

Notice Description

The contract is for the implementation of optional monthly payment to sponsors under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in Northern Ireland. On a weekly basis, the Department will provide Bryson Care with a data set of sponsors who have successfully completed all of the necessary safeguarding and accommodation checks and are now eligible for payment - subject to satisfactory completion of a standard declaration. Bryson Care will verify identity and collect relevant information required to calculate the payment amount ad make the payment. Payment runs will be made on a weekly basis.

Lot Information

Lot 1

On 18th March 2022, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Scheme, allowing visa applications from Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have a named person willing to sponsor[1] them in the UK. Northern Ireland is participating in the HFU Scheme, with c.2,000 arrivals from Ukraine to end-December 2022. In recognition of sponsor's generosity and knowing there will be costs associated, the UK Government offers an optional 'thank you' payment per month to sponsors under the HFU Scheme. The Executive Office (TEO) is the NICS Department with lead responsibility for implementation of the optional monthly payment to sponsors. The contract is for the implementation of the optional monthly payment to sponsors. It is expected there will be approximately 3,000 Ukrainian arrivals into Northern Ireland under the HFU Scheme. As noted above, there are c.2,000 here now with sponsors, with approximately 600 second home visits undertaken, 500 of whom are, or soon will be, in receipt of monthly payments. On receipt of a data set from the Department, Bryson Care will contact sponsors to: (i) verify identity; (ii) check whether they wish to apply for the optional monthly payment; (iii) confirm eligibility; and (iv) collect the information required to arrange payment: a. guest(s) arrival date in the home; b. any subsequent departure date; c. confirmation of contact details for both host and guest; and d. any other relevant information Bryson Care will subsequently contact those sponsors who have opted to receive payment, on a monthly basis, to check continuing eligibility and reaffirm bank account details.

Procurement Information

The value of this Direct Award Contract (DAC) is above the UK threshold and therefore the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) apply. There are a number of derogations under the regulations to award a contract to a single supplier where the supplies or services can only be supplied by a particular supplier. In this case, where competition is absent for technical reasons (regulation 32(2)(b)(ii); and in cases of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseen or attributable to the contracting authority, where the time limits for the open, restricted or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be compiled with (regulation 32(2)(c)). On the basis of the information presented, it may be possible to rely on the above derogations for the reasons outlined in section 4. In applying the regulation 32 derogation, it is recommended that the Department publishes a voluntary transparency notice in Find a Tender Service (FTS). This notice (which should be managed through CPD) must be published 10 days before the contract award date. (a) Competition is absent for technical reasons - Bryson have a satisfactory track record in this area, with an established structure, processes and systems to deliver our requirements, as proven within the last 6 months of delivering the current DAC. Any new provider would likely need to develop similar structures and processes before being fully operational. This is both time consuming and open to risk - if payments to hosts are disrupted in any way there is a potential risk for hosts to end agreements, placing Ukrainian guests at the risk of homelessness and with increased costs to the public purse. (b) Urgent need - CPD advised urgent need should be demonstrated due to 'unforeseen' circumstances. In this case, an urgent need has arisen as the Department had been working on advice that the current contract could be extended beyond December 2022 to March 2023. It was anticipated that during this 3-month period a more robust procurement exercise would be undertaken to secure a long-term option. As this initial assumption was shown to be incorrect, there now stands an urgent need for an alternative to be in place beyond December 2022 as any period without PS350 payments being made could cause irreparable damage to the Department and public confidence in the HFU Scheme. As above, this presents a considerable risk to Ukrainian guests becoming homeless and with implications for expenditure to the public purse.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-03927c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035867-2022
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

66 - Financial and insurance services


CPV Codes

66000000 - Financial and insurance services

66100000 - Banking and investment services

66172000 - Financial transaction processing and clearing-house services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£198,436 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
19 Dec 20223 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
19 Dec 20223 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BELFAST
Postcode
BT3 9ED
Post Town
Northern Ireland
Country
Northern Ireland

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLN Northern Ireland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLN0 Northern Ireland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLN06 Belfast
Delivery Location
TLN Northern Ireland

Local Authority
Belfast
Electoral Ward
Sydenham
Westminster Constituency
Belfast East

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

BRYSON CARE

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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