Find a TenderAwarded without competition
Published 23 Apr 2021, 22:00 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Settlement Agreement · UK public procurement notice

Official notice

Authority: Department of Health & Social Care (Central government)

ServicesAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Sectors: Health & Social Care (85) Delivery: UK
Awarded value£38,477,491published contract · exc. VAT
Awarded 24 Mar 2021no call for competition
Awarded to Ecolog International UK Limited

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Ecolog was originally intended to be one of the partner brought online to meet the Test and Trace capacity targets.As part of HM Government emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic emergency, Test and Trace entered into a Letter of Intent with Ecolog in September 2020. This Letter enabled Ecolog to mobilise and equip laboratory units to provide diagnostic (RT-PCR) testing for COVID-19 to meet targets for numbers of tests performed. As the programme progressed, HMG decided not to proceed with the Services Agreement with Ecolog; this Deed of Settlement was signed to discharge all obligations under the Letter of Intent and reimburse Ecolog for costs incurred. The costs relate to the costs of equipment delivered, laboratory tests undertaken pending the execution of the contract and mobilisation costs.This notice relates to the Deed of Settlement concluded between the parties after some services and equipment had been provided by Ecolog.

CPV: Health services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Ecolog was originally intended to be one of the partners brought online to meet the…Awarded

Ecolog was originally intended to be one of the partners brought online to meet the Test and Trace capacity targets.As part of HM Government emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic emergency, Test and Trace entered into a Letter of Intent with Ecolog in September 2020. This Letter enabled Ecolog to mobilise and equip laboratory units to provide diagnostic (RT-PCR) testing for COVID-19 to meet targets for numbers of tests performed. As the programme progressed, HMG decided not to proceed with the Services Agreement with Ecolog; this Deed of Settlement was signed to discharge all obligations under the Letter of Intent and reimburse Ecolog for costs incurred. The costs relate to the costs of equipment delivered, laboratory tests undertaken pending the execution of the contract and mobilisation costs.This notice relates to the Deed of Settlement concluded between the parties after some services and equipment had been provided by Ecolog. The expected contract for laboratory testing equipment and services was never entered into.

Delivery: UK

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
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
23 Apr 2021, 22:00 BST
Last source update
23 Apr 2021, 22:00 BST
FTS notice number
2021/S 000-008798
Classification (CPV)
Health services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-02a9cf 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

There was undoubtedly a risk to public health and DHSC was reacting to a global emergency that was changing on a daily basis. An existing framework or other existing purchasing system was not available, with the National Microbiology Framework unlikely to have been available until early 2021. The need for the tests was immediate, with scientific forecasts at the time warning of daily cases of COVID-19 rising to as many as 50,000 per day in the coming weeks. That urgency was growing following increased levels of COVID-19 infections across the country. Whilst some increase in the number of cases was potentially foreseeable, the timing and scale of the increased demand was not so foreseeable.The situation was not attributable to the contracting authority, as the need for extreme urgency was a direct result of the consequences of the pandemic. There was no evidence or any suggestion that DHSC had done anything or had failed to do anything that has exacerbated the need for the increased level of tests.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £38,477,4911 contract exc. VAT
Bids received 1
Contracts signed 1latest 24 Mar 2021
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Ecolog International UK Limited£38,477,491 †—Awarded

Contracts

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
1bids———

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Department of Health and Social Care

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsHealth 39 Victoria Street, London, London, SW1H 0EUContact email

Dispute resolution & review bodies

  • The High CourtReview body LondonContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.