Laboratory Testing Services Agreement

CPV: Services provided by medical laboratories

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

13 Jan 2021, 16:32 GMT

Last source update

13 Jan 2021, 16:32 GMT

FTS notice number

2021/S 000-000700

Classification (CPV)

Services provided by medical laboratories

Delivery area

UK

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-028a10 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

Without the additional capacity that partner laboratories such as Imperial College London can provide, the Authority will fall short of meeting its capacity targets which are a key component of the Authority's measures for dealing with the pandemic. Failure to procure any additional laboratory capacity could lead to the existing Covid-19 testing infrastructure being overwhelmed by demand.Additional partner laboratories across the UK and internationally were considered, however were deemed inappropriate for reasons including but not limited to; limited available capacity, testing protocol and inability to meet required sample turnaround times.The Authority is satisfied that the tests permitting the use of the negotiated procedure without negotiation are met:1. The COVID-19 outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern as declared by the World Health Organisation on 30 January 2020. The WHO Director General characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.2. A key element of ensuring an effective response to the pandemic is ensuring that there is adequate testing capacity in the UK. Subsequently securing sufficient laboratory capacity in order to process test results is crucial.3. Specifically in relation to Regulation 32(2)(c):A. Increased laboratory capacity to increase the volume and fast turnaround of tests processed was identified as strictly necessary to meet the demand to scale up the testing programme in the UK.B. There are genuine reasons for extreme urgency: the Authority requires immediate laboratory capacity because of the public health risks in not having sufficient capacity. The situation is a genuine emergency.C. The events that have led to the need for extreme urgency were unforeseeable: The Commission itself confirmed: “The current coronavirus crisis presents an extreme and unforeseeable urgency – precisely for such a situation our European rules enable public buyers to buy within a matter of days, even hours, if necessary.” (Commissioner Breton, Internal Market, 01.04.2020).D. It is not possible to comply with the timescales of another procedure due to the urgent requirement to ensure the volume of laboratory testing capacity reflects with the necessary demand. E. The situation is not attributable to the contracting authority – DHSC has not done anything to cause or contribute to the need for extreme urgency

• Imperial College Projects LimitedAwarded supplier09487272 The Faculty Building Level 1 Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London, UK, SW7 2AZ

No document links were published on the notice.