CAT-20-013 Pre-Prepared Meals · UK public procurement notice

CPV: Prepared meals

Places

up to 1 suppliers · 1 bids received (1.0 per place) · 2 appointed (full)

Procedure method

Negotiated without publication of a contract notice

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Goods

Notice status

Awarded

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Framework agreement

Who may use this agreement

Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority

Competition type

Competitive procedure

GPA / WTO covered

Yes (GPA)

Recurring procurement

No (one-off requirement)

First published

7 Sept 2021, 17:24 BST

Last source update

12 Oct 2022, 09:36 BST

Award evaluation window

9 Nov 2021 – …

FTS notice number

2022/S 000-028634

Classification (CPV)

Prepared meals

Delivery area

UKNorthern Ireland (UKN)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-02de1f Find a Tender

Why no open competition

Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority/entity and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive

Published justification

The purpose of this VEAT notice is to inform and provide prior notice to the market that the Authority intends to modify its Framework Agreement (CAT-20-013) for the Supply and Delivery of Pre-Prepared Meals. Following publication of this VEAT Notice, the Authority will observe a 10 day standstill which will conclude at midnight on 15 September 2022. This opportunity / Framework Agreement was originally advertised in a Contract Notice (2021/S 000-026548) dated 22 October 2021. A Contract Award Notice (2021/S 000-030529) was also subsequently published on 8 December 2021. The requirement has arisen to modify the value of this Framework Agreement due to an unforeseen increase in demand for pre-prepared meals during the prolonged Covid pandemic and its consequent impact on staff within the catering service. This modification will allow for the continuation of the contract whilst the Authority embarks on a new procurement exercise. The Authority intends to run a new tender process in order to replace this current Framework Agreement. It is anticipated that a replacement will commence in early 2023. The modification to the value of this Framework Agreement provides an interim solution to ensure contractual coverage for school meals kitchens until the new Framework Agreement commences. This is the first modification to this Framework Agreement. It is estimated that the total value of this modification shall be less than 50% of the original contract value. The original contract value was published as £100,000 and the proposed modification will increase the total contract value to £148,960. The modification is proposed in accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (c) and will comply with each of the following conditions pertaining to this regulation as outlined below: (i) the need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen i.e. the requirement from catering has been in excess of estimated requirements at the time of tendering and this has been due to the absence of staff due to the prolonged Covid pandemic as well as the change in the labour market causing an increased rate of staff turnover. Furthermore, the catering service is facing significant challenges in recruiting suitable staff for a number of school kitchens; it is therefore recognised that there will be a need for increased spend via this contract which could not be foreseen at the time of advertising the original contract. (ii) the modification does not alter the overall nature of the contract (the scope will remain the same); (iii) the value of the modification does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract (value of proposed modification is 50% of the original contact value). The modification to the Framework is therefore compliant with EU procurement legislation.

Publisher note: The Education Authority in Northern Ireland has a very urgent requirement for the supply of pre-prepared meals into individual school meals kitchens across Northern Ireland. This requirement is necessary due to the significant impact that COVID-19 is having on staffing resources within school meals kitchens, resulting in there being insufficient staff on occasions within locations to prepare and serve the school meal. This has the potential to affect the Authority's statutory obligation to provide a free school meal for those children who are entitled to it. In most circumstances the Authority gets little or no notice that a kitchen will be without staff due to the virus, and it is expected that over the coming months this will become a more regular issue. When awarded this framework will provide an emergency back-up provision of pre-prepared meals to fulfil the Authority's statutory obligation on a short-term basis. It is intended that the evaluation criteria will be a combination of price and quality (taste and appearance). It is intended that the Contract Notice will be published on or around 28 September 2021. Full details of the specification of requirements will be included in the tender documents.

Appointment period ends

9 Nov 2021, 15:00 GMT

Submission channel

{"written"}

Accepted languages

en

Bids opened

9 Nov 2021, 15:30 GMT

3 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.

• EARLY DAYS FOODS LIMITEDFramework contractor Unit 17 Milltown Industrial Estate Greenan Road, NEWRY, UK, BT34 3FNContact emailShow contact details
• Early Days Food LtdFramework contractor Warrenpoint, Northern IrelandContact emailShow contact details
• Early Days Foods LtdFramework contractor Warrenpoint, Northern IrelandContact emailShow contact details