Health and Disability Assessment Services (HDAS)

Concepts

• health and social work
• sheffield
• dwp
• hdas
• health and disability assessment services
• disability assessment services
• contract variation of the health
• continuous service
• delivery of health assessments
• assessment service

Location

United Kingdom:

Description

Further to the VEAT notice issued on 10 July 2020 REF. NO 2020/S 135-333758, DWP shall enter into a Contract Variation of the Health and Disability Assessment Services (HDAS) with the incumbent supplier following a period of 10 days from the date of publication of this notice. The Contract Variation provides for an extension of two (2) years from 01.08.2021 - 31.07.2023.

Total Quantity or Scope

On 5 March 2020 DWP published a prior information notice (PIN) signalling its intent to re-procure this contract in accordance with Section 7 of the PCR. Within days of this, the Covid-19 Pandemic hit the UK and significantly impacted DWP including delivery of health assessments and the planned procurement. The impact of COVID-19 meant the Department were unable to launch the procurement as planned. Extensions to the existing contracts are needed to fully understand and evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 ahead of future procurements as well as to stabilise the assessment service and resource. The impact of Covid-19 has been, and continues to be, very significant. The assessment service has had to be very quickly adapted, in particular to suspend face to face assessments, and mobilise alternative methods of delivery to support claimants. Alongside this departmental and supplier staff and resources have had to be restructured and redeployed to help deliver DWP and the wider government's operational response to COVID-19. DWP has also consulted with the market on the impacts of COVID-19. Given that Work Capability Assessments (WCA) undertaken as part of the Contract Services support critical statutory welfare benefits that cater for vulnerable people, a gap in service provision is not an option. DWP therefore consider it necessary to extend the Contract for up to 2 years in order to (i) stabilise the assessment service (ii) ensure a continuous service for these complex and vitally important services, which support delivery of statutory welfare benefits to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable claimants each year; and (iii) allow DWP to fully understand and evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 on the assessment services we require of the market ahead of future procurements. DWP will continue engaging with the market to discuss the future transition of HDAS and the future of health assessments more broadly. DWP will build in periodic reviews to understand the developing Covid impact and we will continue to review suitability of the 2 year extension.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 85000000 - Health and social work services

Legal Justification

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union in the cases listed below Regulation 72(1)(c) PCR: For the reasons set out in II.2.4 above, the provision of additional services over a period of two (2) years has become necessary (i) The need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a 'diligent contracting authority' could not have foreseen. COVID 19 is a unique event whose impact could not have been foreseen; and (ii) The modification does not alter the overall nature of the contract; The services to be provided by the incumbent will remain consistent and there will be no alteration to the overall nature of the Contract, and (iii) The modification does not exceed 50% of the original contract value. The price to be paid for the extended period of the Contract does not exceed 50 % of the original value of the Contract (iv) DWP will publish a Modification Notice pursuant to Regulation 72(3) of PCR.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** Suppliers Instructions: How to Express Interest in this Tender: 1. Register on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once): https://dwp.bravosolution.co.uk & click the link to register - Accept the terms & conditions & click 'continue' - Enter your correct business & user details - Note your chosen username & click 'Save'. You will receive an email with your password (keep this secure) 2. Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant exercise to access the content. - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. - This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page. (A secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box 3. Responding to the tender - Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT - There may be a mixture of online & offline actions to complete (detailed online help available). To submit your reply use the 'Submit Response' button (top of the page). For further assistance please consult the online help, or the eTendering help desk. DWP expressly reserves the rights(i)to use a reverse auction; (ii)to cancel this procurement at any stage; (iii)to not award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; (iv)and in no circumstances will DWP be liable for any costs incurred by potential suppliers.