Provision of an Official Veterinary Service for the Imported Food Office (LHR)

Official notice

Authority: London Borough of Hillingdon (Local council)

ServicesAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Sectors: Health & Social Care (85) Delivery: London (UKI74)

Awarded value£1,095,014published contract · exc. VAT

Awarded 20 Oct 2023no call for competition

Awarded to Senlac Associates

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Checks on imports from the EU were originally due to commence from 1 July 2022. However, prior to that, in April 2022, the Brexit Opportunities Minister released a statement advising that all plans for EU-Transition-related imported food clearances had been put on hold until 2023 to allow time for the development of a target operating model which would set out a revised approach to these controls.

The subsequent Border Target Operating Model (TOM) was released by the Cabinet Office on 29 August 2023. This Target Operating Model changes the approach that the Council’s Imported Food Office (IFO) follows, not only for imports from the EU, but also for those from the rest of the world.

The new checks are currently scheduled to be introduced from April 2024.

For the Council to maintain its statutory obligations for the inspection and clearance of imported products of animal origin (POAO), it is necessary to have in place a contract for the provision of veterinary services. What remains unknown at this stage is the number of consignments that the IFO is likely to receive from the EU. Therefore, until this information is received, it is difficult to determine what the full impact will be on checks at London Heathrow Airport. It is also not known at this stage what changes there will be to trade patterns once checks on EU imports are introduced. For this reason, a single tender action was recommended to make a direct award to Senlac Associates, the Council’s current provider of veterinary services for a two-year proposal provided by Senlac Associates.

CPV: Veterinary services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1Awarded

Delivery: London

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Legal basis: CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category: Services
Notice status: Awarded without competition
Procurement threshold: Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Direct award (no call for competition)
GPA / WTO covered: Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement: Unspecified in notice
First published: 11 Dec 2023, 15:15 GMT
Last source update: 11 Dec 2023, 15:15 GMT
FTS notice number: 2023/S 000-036390
Classification (CPV): Veterinary services
Delivery area: London (UKI74)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04233a Find a Tender

Why no open competition: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
Published justification: The current contract with Senlac Associates expires on 31 March 2024. Given the recently confirmed change in the checks required on products of animal origin, there is an increased level of uncertainty and therefore, it would not be prudent to go out to tender as potentially interested bidders would be basing their tenders on the existing volume of consignments, which does not reflect a true indication of the future service requirements.
It is anticipated that the potential impact of the EU Exit will become clearer during the two-year contract term recommended in this report and, accordingly, it is proposed that the Council goes out to tender for a new contract starting in April 2026.
Once the volume of consignments and required inspections is stabilised, extensive pre-tender market engagement in Q1 of 2025/26 so that the market has a full understanding of requirements when the tender is advertised
It is anticipated that the potential impact of the EU Exit will become clearer during the two-year contract term recommended in this report and, accordingly, it is proposed that the Council goes out to tender for a new contract starting in April 2026.
Once the volume of consignments and required inspections is stabilised, Procurement will work with officers from the IFO to develop the new service requirements. These will be supported by clear and concise volume data, alongside extensive pre-tender market engagements in Q1 of 2025/26 so that the market has a full understanding of requirements when the tender is advertised.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £1,095,0141 contract exc. VAT

Bids received 1

Contracts signed 1latest 20 Oct 2023

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Senlac AssociatesSME	£1,095,014 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 036390-2023-1 · Senlac AssociatesSME
Signed
20 Oct 2023
Value
£1,095,014
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
1bids	—	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

London Borough of Hillingdon

Contracting authorityLocal CouncilRegional or local authorityGeneral public services Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, London, UB8 1UWContact email

Dispute resolution & review bodies

High Court of England and Wales ( Royal Courts of Justice)Review body London

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Senlac AssociatesAwarded supplier 15 Sandringham House, 44 Windsor Way, London, London, W14 0UD

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.