CAT-20-013 Pre-Prepared Meals

Concepts

• prepared meals
• armagh
• northern ireland
• individual school meals kitchens
• meals
• 30th november
• further period
• november
• call-off
• cat-20-013

Location

ARMAGH

Description

As stated in the Contract Notice (2021/S000-026548) and Contract Award Notice (2021/S000-030529) this agreement is for "the Supply and Delivery of Pre-Prepared Meals to individual school Meals kitchens throughout Northern Ireland for the period ending 30th November 2022 (with an option to extend for up to a further period of 12 months) on a call-off as required basis"

Total Quantity or Scope

The supply and delivery of Pre-Prepared Meals to Individual School Meals Kitchens throughout Northern Ireland for the period ending 30 November 2022 (with an option to extend for up to a further period of 12 months) on a call-off as required basis.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

An option to extend for up to a further period of 12 months

CPV Codes

• 15894200 - Prepared meals

Indicators

• Options are available.
• Award on basis of price and quality.

Legal Justification

The purpose of this VEAT notice is to inform and provide prior notice to the market that the Authority intends to modify its Framework Agreement (CAT-20-013) for the Supply and Delivery of Pre-Prepared Meals. Following publication of this VEAT Notice, the Authority will observe a 10 day standstill which will conclude at midnight on 15 September 2022. This opportunity / Framework Agreement was originally advertised in a Contract Notice (2021/S 000-026548) dated 22 October 2021. A Contract Award Notice (2021/S 000-030529) was also subsequently published on 8 December 2021. The requirement has arisen to modify the value of this Framework Agreement due to an unforeseen increase in demand for pre-prepared meals during the prolonged Covid pandemic and its consequent impact on staff within the catering service. This modification will allow for the continuation of the contract whilst the Authority embarks on a new procurement exercise. The Authority intends to run a new tender process in order to replace this current Framework Agreement. It is anticipated that a replacement will commence in early 2023. The modification to the value of this Framework Agreement provides an interim solution to ensure contractual coverage for school meals kitchens until the new Framework Agreement commences. This is the first modification to this Framework Agreement. It is estimated that the total value of this modification shall be less than 50% of the original contract value. The original contract value was published as £100,000 and the proposed modification will increase the total contract value to £148,960. The modification is proposed in accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (c) and will comply with each of the following conditions pertaining to this regulation as outlined below: (i) the need for modification has been brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen i.e. the requirement from catering has been in excess of estimated requirements at the time of tendering and this has been due to the absence of staff due to the prolonged Covid pandemic as well as the change in the labour market causing an increased rate of staff turnover. Furthermore, the catering service is facing significant challenges in recruiting suitable staff for a number of school kitchens; it is therefore recognised that there will be a need for increased spend via this contract which could not be foreseen at the time of advertising the original contract. (ii) the modification does not alter the overall nature of the contract (the scope will remain the same); (iii) the value of the modification does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract (value of proposed modification is 50% of the original contact value). The modification to the Framework is therefore compliant with EU procurement legislation.