Care Home Services · UK public procurement notice

Cornwall Council (the “Authority”) wishes to award a contract to the Supplier for the delivery of on-site care and support services. The Authority considers it can directly award a contract to the Supplier under section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 in reliance on direct award justification in paragraph 5 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023. This allows direct award where: (a) due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required; and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.

The Supplier is party to a 40 year Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) with the Authority, commencing in 2022. The SPA holds that the Authority provide for the agreement of a new Care Contract on a reasonably balanced basis for similar forms of contract and to be on no worse terms than the Care Homes Contract. The Authority's position is that the SPA creates an exclusive right for the Supplier to be awarded a new care contract. On the basis “a particular supplier has exclusive rights which means only that supplier can supply the services and there are no reasonable alternatives to those services"