Award

01819 Provision of Video Visits (COVID-19)

SCOTTISH PRISON SERVICE

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

07 Dec 2020 at 00:00

Summary of the contracting process

The Scottish Prison Service, located in Edinburgh, has successfully completed the procurement process for the provision of a video visits system designed to enhance family contact for those in its care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This tender, titled "01819 Provision of Video Visits (COVID-19)", was conducted using a limited procurement method without prior publication of a call for competition, given the urgency stemming from the pandemic. The contract, awarded to Unilink Software, has a value of £300,000 and was signed on 18 May 2020. The delivery of the service is planned for all establishments across Scotland, and it will initially operate as a pilot for six months, with the potential for a further six-month extension depending on demand and effectiveness.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses involved in technology services and software solutions, particularly those focused on remote communication and virtual service delivery. Companies that specialise in secure video conferencing systems or have experience with public service contracts would be well-suited to compete for future similar tenders as the Scottish Prison Service evaluates the success of this pilot programme and considers further requirements for ongoing or additional services to enhance the prison visit experience in a socially distanced environment.

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Notice Title

01819 Provision of Video Visits (COVID-19)

Notice Description

In response to the Covid-19 situation SPS was required to implement a video visits system to improve arrangements for those in our care to maintain family contact.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a profound impact on all aspects of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) daily operations. The SPS COVID-19 response plan required a number of prompt decisions to be made to curtail aspects of the prison regime. This allowed SPS maintain effective prison operations on a basic regime whilst implementing necessary social distancing measures to keep prisoners, staff and members of the public safe. This included the temporary cessation of prison visits. This measure limited the ability of those in our care to have face to face contact with family and friends and triggered an urgent requirement for SPS to provide an alternative solution to prison visits. In response to this situation, SPS decided to provide access to secure video visits across all its Establishments. The service will be run as a pilot and operate for 6 months with the option to extend for a maximum further 6 months. SPS will evaluate the demand and effectiveness of video visits in use before advertising any further service requirement. The indicative cost of the solution was expected to be higher than the current EU Threshold but if SPS were to utilise any of the procedures which required competitive tendering, it would be unable to comply with the mandatory minimum time limits and deploy a viable and secure solution expediently. Therefore, due to extreme urgency, this procurement has been carried out under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 regulation 33(1)(c) and 33(3).

Procurement Information

The COVID-19 outbreak, has had a profound impact on all aspects of the SPS's daily operations. In particular, a key issue that resulted from the restrictions was the overriding need to continue to retain operational stability in what are unprecedented circumstances. Therefore, a number of decisions were necessarily made to curtail aspects of the prison regime to reflect social distancing measures. This included the temporary cessation of visits, which stopped the ability of those in our care to make face to face contact with family and friends. This decision gave rise to an urgent requirement for SPS to address this issue, as prison visits play a vital role for those in our care to maintain family contact.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000626502
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=DEC401725
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

64 - Postal and telecommunications services


CPV Codes

64224000 - Teleconferencing services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£300,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Dec 20205 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
18 May 20205 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
SCOTTISH PRISON SERVICE
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
gavin.weetman@sps.pnn.gov.uk
Contact Phone
+44 1313303770

Buyer Location

Locality
EDINBURGH
Postcode
EH12 9HW
Post Town
Edinburgh
Country
Scotland

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM1 East Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM13 City of Edinburgh
Delivery Location
TLM Scotland

Local Authority
City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward
Drum Brae/Gyle
Westminster Constituency
Edinburgh West

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

UNILINK SOFTWARE

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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