D3 Tenders | Defence Contract Analysis and Reporting System (DefCARS) contract modification

Notice Information

Notice Title

Defence Contract Analysis and Reporting System (DefCARS) contract modification

Notice Description

Description This VEAT notice explains the SSRO's intention to increase the maximum value of its contract dated 10 January 2022 with Risual Limited (the "Contract") for the design, build, migration, support, and development of the SSRO's Defence Contract Analysis and Reporting System (DefCARS) by 50% to PS1,275,000 (exc. VAT). The original value of the Contract was PS850,000 (exc. VAT). The SSRO intends to observe a voluntary standstill period of 10 days and will not conclude the Contract amendment before midnight on 27 August 2024 which is 10 clear calendar days following day of publication on 14 August 2024. No other amendments will be made to the Contract.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Legal justification The SSRO considers that the modification described in this VEAT notice is permitted under Regulations 72(1)(b) and 72(1)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which permit the modification of contracts without a new procurement procedure in the following circumstances: 72(1)(b): for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor that have become necessary and were not included in the initial procurement, where a change of contractor - (i) cannot be made for economic or technical reasons such as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability with existing equipment, services or installations procured under the initial procurement, and (ii) would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the contracting authority, provided that any increase in price does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract. 72(1)(c): where all of the following conditions are fulfilled - (i) the need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen; (ii) the modification does not alter the overall nature of the contract; and (iii) any increase in price does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract or framework agreement. DefCARS is the SSRO's online, web-enabled system into which contractors with Qualifying Defence Contracts are required to input prescribed information pursuant to obligations imposed on them by the Defence Reform Act 2014 and the Single Source Contract Regulations 2014. On 1 April 2024, the prescribed information required to be reported into DefCARS by Qualifying Defence Contractors was significantly augmented as a result of Schedule 10 of the Procurement Act 2023 and the Single Source Contract (Amendment) Regulations 2024 coming into force. While some changes to the legislation had been anticipated by the SSRO at the time of the initial procurement of the Contract in 2021, the extent of the changes was unknown and the magnitude of the changes (which were entirely outside of the SSRO's control) could not have been reasonably foreseen. The value of the Contract, which had been set based on anticipated system developments on a much smaller scale, is therefore insufficient to cover the developments which are now required to be made to DefCARS in order to ensure alignment with the new statutory reporting requirements. An increase in the Contract value by 50% is therefore necessary to accommodate these development services. The overall nature of the Contract remains unchanged. Additionally, the SSRO considers that the following factors prevent a change of, or an additional, contractor to undertake these development services (and, in any event, would cause the following significant inconvenience and substantial duplication of costs): * Engaging another supplier would result in a duplication and overlapping of costs associated with onboarding, which would involve significant training and familiarisation. * Having two suppliers for the DevOps of DefCARS would increase complexity and require significant management overhead in relation to coordination and communication for which there is no capacity. * A new supplier, when one is already delivering the services, raises significant concern regarding attributing responsibility for technical issues such as incident and bugs. It would then not be possible, for example, to determine which supplier is responsible for resolving future issues. This may also render professional indemnity insurance policies ineffective. * The incumbent supplier has significant knowledge of the SSRO's bespoke code that relates to the WebApp, which has been developed over the last 30 months. It would not be possible for a new supplier to get up to speed with the code base to start delivering the additional development services without causing delays to implementing the changes arising from the new legislation which are a priority. * Granting a new supplier access to the SSRO's Azure environment, including admin privileges, raises significant security challenges, such as the need to establish new access controls and rebuild security configurations. The SSRO is in the initial stages of preparing to conduct a new procurement exercise for a replacement contract beyond 9 January 2026, when the Contract to which this VEAT notice relates expires. It intends to undertake early market engagement later in 2024.

Procurement Information

Please refer to the Legal Justification in section II.2.4) Description of the procurement.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID: ocds-h6vhtk-048abe
Publication Source: Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025751-2024
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: SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions: 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
CPV Codes: 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value: Not specified
Lots Value: Not specified
Awards Value: Not specified
Contracts Value: £1,275,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date: 14 Aug 20241 years ago
Submission Deadline: Not specified
Future Notice Date: Not specified
Award Date: 10 Jan 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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer: SINGLE SOURCE REGULATIONS OFFICE
Contact Name: Single Source Regulations Office
Contact Email: procurement@ssro.gov.uk
Contact Phone: Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality: LONDON
Postcode: SW1A 2BQ
Post Town: South West London
Country: England
Major Region (ITL 1): TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2): TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3): TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location: TLI31 Camden and City of London
Local Authority: Westminster
Electoral Ward: St James's
Westminster Constituency: Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers: 1
Supplier Name: RISUAL

Further Information

Notice URLs

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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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