Assessment Service Information Systems (ASIS) Contract

CPV: Information technology requirements review services

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

3 Dec 2021, 22:45 GMT

Last source update

3 Dec 2021, 22:45 GMT

FTS notice number

2021/S 000-030153

Classification (CPV)

Information technology requirements review services

Delivery area

UK

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-02fd40 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

Published justification

Additional services by the original contractor have become necessary

The extension of the ASIS Contract has become necessary to maintain the service for the health and disability assessments it supports, and accommodate the changing requirements for future delivery of assessments following Covid-19. Not extending the contract would ultimately result in a virtual closure of the gateway to income replacement benefit of c.£15b of AME spend per annum.

The previous DWP strategy, reflected in the last extension of the ASIS contract in 2018, was transition from the ASIS contract into a new in-house digital solution by February 2022. However, substantial changes in the direction of the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) and in the IT strategy underpinning the HTP mean that completing the transition to HAS by February 2022 is no longer achievable. The HTP has also been significantly impacted by Covid-19 and the revised strategy imposes operational constraints on the timelines and transition for the ASIS services required to support delivery of Health Assessment Services.

This proposed 3-year contract extension will both maintain business as usual and enable DWP to progress its strategy of ultimately transitioning to HAS. Accordingly, ASIS services will be needed until that point. The Department is examining the options for ASIS services after the proposed extension period from February 2025 as it progresses to migration to HAS.

Technical reasons prevent a change of contractor

There is a complex and aged technology stack and legacy applications in the hosting environments are written in outdated software. The stack requires significant upgrading that would be extremely difficult without existing knowledge of the solution and key documentation is lacking. Due to these technical reasons, implementing a plan to guarantee transition from the legacy ASIS service to a replacement service within a shorter extension is not considered possible. The absence of a technically feasible plan for earlier transition could result in unavailability of the services under the HDAS 2021-3 Contract which underpins c.£15b of AME spend per annum. Due to the technical issues, attempting to replace the ASIS service for less than a 3-year extension period would therefore pose a very high risk of inability to provide these services effectively over that period with severe consequences and would not be viable.

Change of contractor would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs

Attempting a shorter delivery plan would mean DWP committing additional resources which might then impact resources to deliver DWP’s strategic integrated solution (i.e. HAS), therefore jeopardising the planned availability date for HAS. Not extending the current contract for 3 years could adversely impact the delivery of health and disability assessments as described and necessitate implementing a contingency arrangement resulting in significant inconvenience and substantial duplication of costs.

Any increase in price does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract

The value of the original contract for years 1-5 was £64,823,309 and the maximum extension value is therefore £32,411,655. The value of the contract as extended in 2018 was £91,732,642.

Publisher note: Suppliers Instructions: How to Express Interest in this Tender: 1. Register on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once): https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk & click the link to register - Accept the terms & conditions & click 'continue' - Enter your correct business & user details - Note your chosen username & click 'Save'. You will receive an email with your password (keep this secure) 2. Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant exercise to access the content. - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. - This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page. (A secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box 3. Responding to the tender - Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT - There may be a mixture of online & offline actions to complete (detailed online help available). To submit your reply use the 'Submit Response' button (top of the page). For further assistance please consult the online help, or the eTendering help desk. DWP expressly reserves the rights(i)to use a reverse auction; (ii)to cancel this procurement at any stage; (iii)to not award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; (iv)and in no circumstances will DWP be liable for any costs incurred by potential suppliers.

• Atos IT Services UK LimitedAwarded supplier01245534 Second Floor, Mid City Place, 71 High Holborn, London, UK, WC1V 6EA

No document links were published on the notice.