Consultancy and advisory services_Leadership and professional development programme_Bands 7 & 8a

This direct award is made under the provisions of the Procurement Act 2023, Schedule 5, which permits the Contracting Authority to award a contract without competition where extreme and unavoidable urgency renders compliance with standard procurement procedures impracticable.

The urgency arises because the previous procurement process conducted under a Public Contracts Regulations 2015 compliant national framework agreement was terminated following internal determination that the proposed award was not viable. These issues were identified during governance review and could not reasonably have been foreseen at the outset of the procurement.

As a result, the Contracting Authority is now faced with an immediate and critical need to secure consultancy and advisory services_Leadership and professional development programme to maintain continuity of essential services. Restarting a full competitive procedure would introduce delays incompatible with statutory obligations and operational requirements, creating significant risk of consequences, e.g., patient safety compromise, regulatory non-compliance, or operational disruption.

Alternative procurement routes, including framework call-offs and expedited competitions, were assessed but found to be infeasible within the required timeframe.

This direct award is therefore necessary to address the urgent requirement and is strictly limited to the scope and duration required to mitigate the risk. Future requirements will be subject to a compliant competitive process.

In accordance with Section 44 of the Procurement Act 2023, this Transparency Notice is published prior to contract award, and the Contracting Authority will observe the mandatory standstill period to allow representations from interested parties.

The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice.

Representations by capable, experienced and suitable providers must be made to the Contracting Authority's decision makers before midnight on 24th November 2025. Any representations must be made in writing to email address: [email protected], with the subject line titled 'C401193_PA2023_Representations_[insert your company name]'.

This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the Procurement Act 2023.

This direct award decision has been made a per the Contracting Authority's governance processes, with decision makers being the Contracting Authority's Chief Finance Officer and Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer.

No declared conflicts or potential conflicts of interest of the individuals making the decision were identified.