Provision specialist diving equipment

Commercial X, part of the UK Ministry of Defence (“the Authority”), intends to award a new contract for the purchase of specialist diving equipment from Reel Diving AB at a total value of £276,130 exclusive of VAT.

This award falls to be governed by the Procurement Act 2023 (the “PA 2023”) Chapter 3, Section 41: Direct Award in Special Cases. It is considered that the direct award to Reel Diving AB is lawful in accordance with PA 2023 Schedule 5, paragraph 13. This is because (i) the goods to be supplied are strictly necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency which was not attributable to or could have been foreseen by the Authority; and (ii) as a result the contract cannot be awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure.

Delivery of the goods is required as soon as possible to meet an urgent operational requirement. The lead times associated with the manufacture and delivery of the required goods mean that a competitive tendering process, including minimum timescales for competition and contract award, could not be completed in time to meet this deadline.

Failure to procure and deploy the equipment within the required timeframe would result in an unacceptable capability gap, adversely impacting MOD training and operational readiness. This loss of capability cannot be mitigated through alternative arrangements, making direct award the only viable option to meet the Authority’s immediate requirements.