Provision of Planned and Responsive Maintenance and Minor Works - Dundonald Building Lot 1 Reference number: Dundonald Building Lot 1

Concepts

• building construction
• belfast
• construction work
• dundonald building lot
• contract lot
• building maintenance
• minor works
• dundonald building lot 1
• planned and responsive maintenance works
• planned and responsive maintenance and minor works - dundonald building lot 1 reference number

Location

Belfast

Description

The award of a contract by Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI) without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union, in respect of the continued provision of Contract Lot 3: Term Service Contracts for Building Maintenance and Minor Works in the old South Eastern Education and Library Board area, Contract Lot 1 as further described in OJEU Contract Notice and as outlined in the previous VEATs issued on 28 May 2021, 15 April 2022, 13 December 2022, September 2023, 8 February 2024 and 28 March 2024.

Total Quantity or Scope

Provision of Planned and Responsive Maintenance Works for EANI across its property portfolio in the old Western Education and Library Board area (Area 1), Contract Lot 3 which includes but is not limited to controlled and uncontrolled schools.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

The VEAT 2024/S 000-004326 issued on 8 February 2024 extended this contract until 31 August 2025 with an option for the EANI to terminate, at its sole discretion, the contract by providing the contractor with written notice of its intention to terminate the contract. The previous VEAT Notice 2024/S 000-010451 issued on 28 March 2024 detailed EANI’s intention, upon receipt of compelling evidence, to consider the review of certain prices in the price lists for specific elements of which the impact of inflation is higher than what could have reasonably and diligently anticipated. EANI are now required to extend the contract until 31 March 2026 with the further option for EANI, in its absolute discretion, to terminate the contract by providing the contractor with two months’ written notice of its intention to terminate the contract. EANI are also required to increase the value of this contract. The overall nature of contract is not altered and the Modification value does not exceed 50 % of original contract value. The total value of the extension is 4,000,000.00GBP.

CPV Codes

• 45210000 - Building construction work

Indicators

• Options are available.

Legal Justification

EANI needs to extend the duration and value of this contract as additional expenditure has been incurred due to unforeseen additional budget release which the consequent additional funding facilitated additional works and unforeseen demand in respect of response works and for works to accommodate children with SEN.A rise in statutory compliance works and reactive maintenance works that EANI had to undertake has resulted in substantial expenditure. At the time of the previous VEAT Notice,EANI hoped that another tender would be awarded resulting in decreased demand on this contract,however,the award has been delayed.The current procurement is intended to be replaced by 6 procurements,representing a portion of the services previously delivered.Procurements 1 + 2 have been awarded.A challenge lodged in respect of Procurement 3,caused significant and unforeseen delay and subsequent procurements. This challenge,and the time required to address it,was not foreseeable. As a result,it has not yet been possible to finalise the awards the remaining Procurements.Therefore,it has become necessary to continue delivering the services under the current contract to ensure continuity of service delivery.This requires an extension of the current contract beyond its original transition period. An uplift is required to reflect the extended duration.The delays to the replacement procurements+ongoing operational reliance on this contract,means the contract must remain active for longer than could have been foreseen.It is necessary to increase the contract value to allow services to continue during this extended period. Delays in the implementation of key systems required,including those necessary to support digital integration,have impacted project timelines.The implementation of the contractor’s API with the EA’s systems has taken longer than anticipated. This has had an unexpected effect on Procurements 3, 4, 5 and 6,dependencies not foreseeable at the time of the original procurement and have led to additional delays with the award timeline. This,combined with the effect of inflation which not anticipated at the time of the original Contract Notice or subsequent VEAT Notices,has precipitated a more rapid consumption of the value of the contract stated in the previous VEAT Notice. The total value of the extension is 4,000,000GBP which does not exceed 50 % of the original contract value.This uplift is in addition to the 4,000,000GBP applied detailed in the previous VEAT Notice 2024/S 000-004326 published,8 Feb 2024. The uplift in value is also being sought as a precautionary measure to ensure continued service delivery of the SEN programme and potential of ongoing response maintenance works. Reg 72(1)(c) permits this extension+increase in value of the Contract,due to unforeseen circumstances;the demand caused by delayed tenders;reallocation of works due to contractor withdrawal;API implementation timeframe.The overall nature of the contract is not altered and Modification value is 4,000,000GBP which does not exceed 50% of the original contract value.This contingency includes sums to permit work in other Lots (as per contract + Reg 72 (1)(a)). To ensure continued access to schools and the scale,complexity and nature of the construction works and possible duplication of costs it is not possible to change the current provider.Regulation 72(1)(b) further permits this as a change of provider: (i) cannot be made for economic and technical reasons as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability of services procured under the original procurement and given the need to ensure continued access to EANI schools and facilities and could result in partial/total closure of schools; and (ii) will cause significant inconvenience and duplication of costs. EANI envisages new contract award by 31/03/26 and the contract extension permits the CA to terminate the contract before this date upon the provision of two months’ notice.