In Service Support for Health Physics Laboratory (HPL) & Dosimetry Data Management System (DDMS) - UK5

Description

The Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Technical Authority (CBRNTA), part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a contract to EntServ UK Limited for the provision of combined In-Service Support (ISS) services for the Health Physics Laboratory (HPL) and Dosimetry Data Management System (DDMS). The contract will have an initial term of two years, with options to extend for up to three further periods of one year each, and an estimated total value of £1.5 million inclusive of VAT. It is considered that this contract can be awarded under section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 because the direct award justification in paragraph 7 of Schedule 5 applies. The proposed contract will consolidate two existing contracts currently provided by EntServ UK Limited into a single contract. The services under the proposed contract represent a continuation of the existing In-Service Support services for HPL and DDMS. EntServ UK Limited currently supports both capabilities through the same engineering, software development and project management team and holds the specialist technical and system knowledge required to maintain the integrated HPL/DDMS capability. EntServ UK Limited also owns the HPL source code. A change in supplier would result in the Authority receiving services that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing services and systems. A replacement supplier would not have the intellectual property rights, source-code access, detailed system knowledge or established technical understanding necessary to maintain and support the existing capability. This would materially constrain its ability to diagnose faults, maintain and modify the existing software, preserve the integration between system components and sustain the required accredited configuration, resulting in disproportionate technical difficulties in the operation and maintenance of HPL and DDMS. EntServ UK Limited is not an excluded supplier.

Key facts

Procedure

Direct award

Lots

1

Contact

Sallie-Anne Douglas

Sallie-Anne.Douglas108@mod.gov.uk

Contract period

1 Apr 2027 → 31 Mar 2029

Value incl. VAT

£4.8m

Category

services

Awarded suppliers

• EntServ UK Limited · GB-COH-00053419 · UKJ37, GB

Ground given for limiting competition

The buyer’s own stated reason for awarding without open competition, as published. Their assertion, not a finding.

The CBRN Technical Authority (CBRNTA) intends to award a contract to EntServ UK Limited for the continued provision of combined In-Service Support (ISS) services for the Health Physics Laboratory (HPL) and Dosimetry Data Management System (DDMS). A Direct Award is considered justified under section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023, applying the justification in paragraph 7 of Schedule 5. The requirement consolidates two existing contracts into a single arrangement and represents a continuation of the existing HPL and DDMS support services. EntServ UK Limited currently supports both capabilities through the same engineering, software development and project management team and possesses the specialist technical and system knowledge necessary to maintain the integrated HPL/DDMS capability. EntServ UK Limited also owns the HPL source code. A change of supplier would result in the Authority receiving services that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing services and systems. An alternative supplier would not have the necessary intellectual property rights, source-code access, detailed system knowledge or established technical understanding required to maintain and support the existing capability. This would materially constrain an alternative supplier's ability to diagnose faults, maintain and modify the software, preserve integration between system components and sustain the required accredited configuration. Consequently, changing supplier would create disproportionate technical difficulties in the operation and maintenance of HPL and DDMS. Continuation with EntServ UK Limited is therefore considered necessary to maintain compatibility, continuity and effective support of the existing capability.