DAC 153/22 ID 4622630 - TEO Homes for Ukraine Scheme - Monthly thank you payments

Concepts

• ukraine
• belfast
• finance and insurance
• implementation of optional monthly payment
• id 4622630 - teo homes
• ukraine scheme - monthly
• payments
• monthly basis
• receipt of monthly payments
• second home visits

Location

Northern Ireland:

Geochart for 1 buyers and 1 suppliers

Department of Finance

Bryson Care

+−

Leaflet | Map tiles by Stamen Design, under CC BY 3.0. Data by OpenStreetMap, under ODbL.

Description

The contract is for the implementation of optional monthly payment to sponsors under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in Northern Ireland. On a weekly basis, the Department will provide Bryson Care with a data set of sponsors who have successfully completed all of the necessary safeguarding and accommodation checks and are now eligible for payment – subject to satisfactory completion of a standard declaration. Bryson Care will verify identity and collect relevant information required to calculate the payment amount ad make the payment. Payment runs will be made on a weekly basis.

Total Quantity or Scope

On 18th March 2022, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched the Homes for Ukraine (HFU) Scheme, allowing visa applications from Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have a named person willing to sponsor[1] them in the UK. Northern Ireland is participating in the HFU Scheme, with c.2,000 arrivals from Ukraine to end-December 2022. In recognition of sponsor’s generosity and knowing there will be costs associated, the UK Government offers an optional ‘thank you’ payment per month to sponsors under the HFU Scheme. The Executive Office (TEO) is the NICS Department with lead responsibility for implementation of the optional monthly payment to sponsors. The contract is for the implementation of the optional monthly payment to sponsors. It is expected there will be approximately 3,000 Ukrainian arrivals into Northern Ireland under the HFU Scheme. As noted above, there are c.2,000 here now with sponsors, with approximately 600 second home visits undertaken, 500 of whom are, or soon will be, in receipt of monthly payments. On receipt of a data set from the Department, Bryson Care will contact sponsors to: (i) verify identity; (ii) check whether they wish to apply for the optional monthly payment; (iii) confirm eligibility; and (iv) collect the information required to arrange payment: a. guest(s) arrival date in the home; b. any subsequent departure date; c. confirmation of contact details for both host and guest; and d. any other relevant information Bryson Care will subsequently contact those sponsors who have opted to receive payment, on a monthly basis, to check continuing eligibility and reaffirm bank account details.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 66000000 - Financial and insurance services
• 66100000 - Banking and investment services
• 66172000 - Financial transaction processing and clearing-house services

Legal Justification

The value of this Direct Award Contract (DAC) is above the UK threshold and therefore the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) apply. There are a number of derogations under the regulations to award a contract to a single supplier where the supplies or services can only be supplied by a particular supplier. In this case, where competition is absent for technical reasons (regulation 32(2)(b)(ii); and in cases of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseen or attributable to the contracting authority, where the time limits for the open, restricted or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be compiled with (regulation 32(2)(c)). On the basis of the information presented, it may be possible to rely on the above derogations for the reasons outlined in section 4. In applying the regulation 32 derogation, it is recommended that the Department publishes a voluntary transparency notice in Find a Tender Service (FTS). This notice (which should be managed through CPD) must be published 10 days before the contract award date. (a) Competition is absent for technical reasons - Bryson have a satisfactory track record in this area, with an established structure, processes and systems to deliver our requirements, as proven within the last 6 months of delivering the current DAC. Any new provider would likely need to develop similar structures and processes before being fully operational. This is both time consuming and open to risk - if payments to hosts are disrupted in any way there is a potential risk for hosts to end agreements, placing Ukrainian guests at the risk of homelessness and with increased costs to the public purse. (b) Urgent need – CPD advised urgent need should be demonstrated due to ‘unforeseen’ circumstances. In this case, an urgent need has arisen as the Department had been working on advice that the current contract could be extended beyond December 2022 to March 2023. It was anticipated that during this 3-month period a more robust procurement exercise would be undertaken to secure a long-term option. As this initial assumption was shown to be incorrect, there now stands an urgent need for an alternative to be in place beyond December 2022 as any period without £350 payments being made could cause irreparable damage to the Department and public confidence in the HFU Scheme. As above, this presents a considerable risk to Ukrainian guests becoming homeless and with implications for expenditure to the public purse.

Other Information

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