Defence Online

Type of document: Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Country: United Kingdom
OJEU Ref: (2018/S 192-434882/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Negotiated without a call for competition
Regulation of procurement: EU
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Services

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Environment Agency
Postal address: Horizon House, Deanery Road
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS1 5AH
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Wayne Phillips
Telephone: +44 20789555627
Email: wayne.phillips@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Other type: Non-Departmental Public Body
I.5) Main activity
Environment

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title: Future Flood Forecasting System (FFFS)
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 48462000
II.1.3) Type of contract Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
The future flood forecasting system is a consolidation of the existing eight regional systems into one standardised National system. The software fulfills the following High level requirements:
1) Uses a standard off-the-shelf product/application;
2) Uses a product/application proven in a real time business critical environment;
3) Is able to run the existing model estate (Flood Modeller Pro, KW, PDM, PACK, HyradK, TRITON and correlation/look-ups);
4) Is deployable now and does not need substantial development to provide an operational system for England;
5) The product/application is subject to regular ongoing development by the provider. The Environment Agency currently use the Delft-FEWS software for its eight regional systems and consolidation will be based on further configuration and cloud hosting of this software, which Deltares wholly own and licence to users.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:2718113
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code: UKC, UKD, UKE, UKF, UKG, UKH, UKI, UKJ, UKK
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The proposed contract is for the Deltares FEWS software in a cloud hosting environment. Deltares will licence, maintain, enhance and support the FEWS software.
The contract with Deltares will be for 5 years.
It is not technical possible for another supplier to perform the proposed contract on the grounds highlighted in this notice and therefore there is an absence of competition.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options: no
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without prior publication(in accordance with Article 32 of Directive 2014/24/EU)
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: no
IV.2) Administrative information

Section V: Award of contract/concession
V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2018-08-23
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Deltares
Postal address: PO Box 177, 2600 MH Delft, The Netherlands
Town: Delft
Country: Netherlands
Telephone: +31 883358273
Nuts code: NL
Internet address:
The contractor is an SME: no

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession(excluding VAT)
for framework agreements – total maximum value for this lot
for contracts based on framework agreements, if required – value of contract(s) for this lot not included in
previous contract award notices
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Value or proportion likely to be subcontracted to third parties

Section VI: Complementary informationVI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: The High Court (Technology and Construction Court)
Postal address: 7 Rolls Building, Fetter Lane
Town: London
Postal code: EC4A 1NL
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 2079477156
Internet address:

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2018-10-01

Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for
competition in the Official Journal of the European Union
1.Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a call for competition in accordance with Article
32 of Directive 2014/24/EU
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
absence of competition for technical reasons

3.Explanation
Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union
is lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive:
Deltares is the developer and owner of the Delft-FEWS software. It is justifiable under Regulations 32(2)(b)(ii) and 32(2)(b)(iii) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 to award the contract for the supply and support of the Flood Forecasting software because, as Deltares own, develop and support the software, no reasonable alternative or substitute exists nor is it technically possible for another organisation to supply the flood forecasting system.
This justification is supported by the results of an independent assessment which concluded that the only “off-the-shelf” forecasting system which meets all the Environment Agency’s high-level requirements is Delft-FEWS. All the other systems currently available have either fundamental limitations, or would require significant development to meet the Environment Agency’s current and future needs.