Provision of Core Cities & National Surveillance Wastewater Sampling Support

CPV: Sewer survey 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

26 Jan 2022, 13:29 GMT

Last source update

26 Jan 2022, 13:29 GMT

Authority reference

845

FTS notice number

2022/S 000-002300

Classification (CPV)

Sewer survey services

Delivery area

UK

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-030f95 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights

Published justification

1. On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organisation declared a COVID-19 pandemic with the associated serious risk posed to life. The UK Government’s response to the national emergency posed by COVID-19 includes the putting in place by it of arrangements for large-scale wastewater testing in respect of COVID-19.<br/><br/>2. A key element of ensuring an effective response to the pandemic is ensuring that there is a disease monitoring framework. Subsequently ensuring presence in key areas of interest (locally, regionally and nationally) and to have the ability to quickly respond to hotpots and new variants is crucial. The programme has engaged with 9 Water Companies in England to undertake the sampling across many of these locations. These contracts will cover the services associated with the sampling across England at both Treatment Centre locations and Network Locations across the geographic region of each water company.<br/><br/>3. DHSC is satisfied the tests permitting use of the Negotiated procedure without prior publication (Regulation 32(2)(b)(iii)) are met:<br/><br/>A. The works, supplies or services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator for the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights: Thames Water has exclusive proprietary rights over and in respect of its own water network infrastructure, plants etc. Thames Water must in all circumstances provide consent before access is permitted to their plant or network infrastructure to undertake this sampling. In relation to the sampling being undertaken by the UK Government, Thames Water has advised that only they (or their own authorised subcontractors under direct water company control) will undertake this sampling as it is their property and their risk.<br/><br/>B. No reasonable alternative or substitute exists – The samples can only be sourced from Thames Water infrastructure; therefore, no reasonable alternative exists.<br/><br/>C. the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement – this procurement is part of a procurement strategy by the UK government to implement disease monitoring framework due to the Covid-19 pandemic

• THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITEDAwarded supplier02366623 Clearwater Court, Vastern Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8DB, Reading, UK, RG1 8DB

No document links were published on the notice.