Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2023/S 000-007308/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Not applicable
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Prior information notice without call for competition
Services

This notice is for prior information only
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Justice
Postal address: 102 Petty France
Town: London
Postal code: SW1H 9AJ
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Stephen Greiff
Telephone: +44 02033343555
Email: Stephen.Greiff1@justice.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

Additional information can be obtained from:
the above mentioned address
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.5) Main activity
General public services

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement:
II.1.1) Title: Drug Testing Products and Services
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 71900000
II.1.3) Type of contract: Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
The Authority wishes to obtain information from the market in relation to an upcoming procurement for the provision of Drug Testing Products and Services.
The Authority intends to undertake a procurement for two (2) Lots, starting late April/early May 2023, as follows:
Lot 1 Drug Testing Laboratory Analysis, Products and Services
Lot 2 Drug Testing Point of Care Testing (POCT) Products and Associated Services.
Further detail is provided in this Prior Information Notice and supplementary information to this notice.
The Authority also intends to hold a market engagement event via MS Teams on Thursday 30th March 2023. Suppliers can register interest by completing a MS Forms survey following the link below.

II.1.6) Information about lots:
The contract is divided into lots: Yes
II.2) Description:
II.2.1) Title: Lot 1 Drug Testing Laboratory Analysis, Products and Services

Lot No:1
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 71900000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
Main site or place of performance:
England and Wales

II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The scope of Lot 1: Drug Testing: Laboratory Analysis Goods, Services and Prevalence Testing covers the laboratory analysis goods and services required to deliver the following HMPPS drug testing programmes:
a) Mandatory Drug Testing (MDT) in prisons (urine sampling)
b) Drug Testing in APs (urine sampling)
c) Drug Testing on Licence (ToL) in probation offices (oral fluid sampling)
d) Drug Testing on Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (DRR) or Problem-Solving Courts (PSC) pilot in probation offices (oral fluid sampling)
e) Studies into the prevalence of drugs within all prison and probation settings (utilising sampling from programmes (a-d))
Across all drug testing programmes, no personal identifiers can be shared with suppliers, and therefore the supplier must operate a system using anonymised identifiers to enable prison and probation staff to link results to individuals.
It is vital that the Authority can access reliable, high quality customer support and technical advice in relation to all drug testing programmes. This includes acting as an expert witness when required to do so.
The Authority requires access to monthly data returns covering laboratory testing volumes and results for all testing programmes.
II.2.5) Award criteria

II.2.1) Title: Lot 2 Drug Testing Point of Care Testing (POCT) Products and Associated Services

Lot No:2
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 38544000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
Main site or place of performance:
England and Wales

II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The scope of Lot 2: Point of Care Testing Products and Associated Services covers the products required to deliver Voluntary Drug Testing (VDT) in prisons.
The Authority uses oral fluid point of care testing for all VDT. The level of proof required by VDT is based on the “balance of probabilities”, and as such the results are not used for evidential purposes. VDT results are used to develop support opportunities, generate risk reviews of individuals and to support decision-making.
To be effective, it is vital that point of care VDT products provide rapid results in an operational environment (e.g. within 20 minutes) in a format that minimises the need for user interpretation. Products must place minimal demands on staff collecting samples and be as non-invasive as possible without compromising accuracy of analysis.
The Authority are keen to use VDT products to test for as broad a range of drugs as possible.
II.2.5) Award criteria

II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:2023-04-24
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes
IV.2) Administrative information

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
VI.3) Additional information:
Interested parties are invited to complete a survey by following the link below:

Interested parties can also register to attend a market engagement event on Thursday 30th March 2023 using the above link.

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:2023-03-13