Modification notice

Modification of a contract/concession during its term

Section I: Contracting entity

I.1) Name and addresses

Section II: Object

II.1) Scope of the procurement

II.2) Description

Section IV: Procedure

IV.2) Administrative information

Section V: Award of contract/concession

Contract No: C198/2014/2015

Title: Business Wales - Entrepreneurship and SME Support

V.2 Award of contract/concession

V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession

20/10/2015

V.2.2) Information about tenders

The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: Yes

V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)

Total value of the contract/lot: /concession: 55 000 000.00  GBP

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.3) Additional information

Please note that the pricing for both Lots was submitted for a 5 year period but the values stated in sections II.2 and SECTION V of this notice is for the entire 6 years (including the 6th (final) year should it be invoked). The actual pricing submitted for Lot 1 over the 5 year period was GBP 6,360,000.00 and Lot 2 was GBP 36,300,000.00. Please also note, as stated within the specification, the Welsh Ministers may pilot and develop new services. Day rates were submitted for various roles as part of the tender submission for Lot 2 to deliver these potential services and they ranged in value from GBP 98.18 to GBP 245.45 - the overall contract value may therefore increase to a maximum overall value (for both Lots) of GBP 55,000,000.00 as was stated within the value range of the Contract Notice for this requirement.

(WA Ref:105201)

VI.4) Procedures for review

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice

28/10/2020

Section VII: Modifications to the contract/concession

VII.1) Description of the procurement after the modifications

VII.1.1) Main CPV code

79000000

VII.1.2) Additional CPV code(s)

79000000

79400000

79410000

79411100

79990000

80210000

80300000

80310000

80200000

VII.1.3) Place of performance

NUTS code:

UKL

VII.1.4) Description of the procurement

The Welsh Ministers wish to engage with quality providers to deliver its Business Wales service. The service will support young people, start-up businesses and established businesses (predominantly SMEs) through an aligned delivery model.

The support will be split into 2 lots, one covering Youth Entrepreneurship and the other supporting start up and established businesses. Please note, this is not a framework.

Lot 1: The successful contractors will work with young people under 25 through education, business and community groups to encourage youth entrepreneurship in Wales. Services will involve a combination of business led inspirational workshops, a promotional campaign, events and competitions. The service will be delivered across the whole of Wales by a single contractor or a consortium.

Lot 2: The successful contractor will be expected to work with a range of start ups and existing businesses within Wales with access to a broad range and innovative set of solutions. Support will involve a combination of workshops, events and direct face to face support across Wales operating from a network of business hubs. The service will be delivered across the whole of Wales by a single contractor or a consortium.

The ‘Business Wales – Entrepreneurship and SME Support service’ - bidders needed to demonstrate that they have the skill sets and resources required to support young people (lot 1), Start-ups and established businesses (lot 2) in all sectors with resource prioritised as required against impact, for example growth businesses. The service will be fully aligned to provision under the Business Wales Accelerated Growth programme (Contract No : C36/2014/2015). It is intended that the contract period will run from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2021. Break clauses will be included in the contract which may be exercised for non contractual compliance, reduction in Welsh Government budgetary allocation, change in service direction / policy or any other reason deemed appropriate by the Welsh Ministers to exercise the break clause.

Please note in recognition of the breadth of areas likely to be required aligned to the modern economy, that consortia bids were encouraged for this tender exercise.

This contract would like to maximise the opportunities for jobs and growth and therefore used the Community Benefits policy in the procurement process and within the contract to deliver targeted recruitment and training opportunities to those furthest from the labour market and engage with the relevant support agencies effectively. For more information on the Community Benefits policy, please see http://prp.wales.gov.uk/toolkit/

Please note that funding for this project has been secured from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The period of the contract awarded will be an initial term of 4 years with an option to extend at the Welsh Ministers’ sole discretion for an additional 2 one year extensions. Accordingly the minimum contract period will be 4 years (subject always to earlier termination), and the maximum permitted contract period will be 6 years. Subject always to the procurement exercise progressing in accordance with the Welsh Ministers' indicative timetable, it is anticipated that the Contract will commence in January 2016. This modification is an extension of the contract for an additional 9 months, extending the term of the contract to September 2022.

VII.1.5) Duration of the contract, framework agreement, dynamic purchasing system or concession

Duration in months: 84

VII.1.6) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)

Total value of the procurement: 22 000 000.00 GBP

The contract/concession has been awarded to a group of economic operators: Yes

VII.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

VII.1.7) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire

VII.2) Information about modifications

VII.2.1) Description of the modifications

The contract is being extended by nine (9) months and the contract value increased by 40% (GBP 22,000,000) of the original contract value in order to fund the service for the additional nine months. The contract will now terminate in September 2022.

VII.2.2) Reasons for modification

Need for modification brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority/entity could not foresee

Description of the circumstances which rendered the modification necessary and explanation of the unforeseen nature of these circumstances:

The original contract is due to expire in September 2021. In order to provide a replacement service, the Welsh Ministers would need to commence procurements proceedings imminently. Welsh Government staff in the Department of Economy, Skills and Natural Resources (where the oversight for this service sits) have been largely re-deployed to manage the Welsh Ministers' response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is in addition to any sickness in the department or employees being away from work due to any shielding obligations or family commitments. There is a lack of capacity to commence the procurement in a timely fashion to enable new providers of the replacement service to be procured in time to allow for orderly exit and implementation periods as the new service transitions. These circumstances were completely unforseen by the Welsh Ministers and the extension is being put in place to allow capacity levels within the relevant departments to return to normal and commence a procurement.

VII.2.3) Increase in price

Updated total contract value before the modifications (taking into account possible earlier contract modifications and price adaptions and, in the case of Directive 2014/23/EU, average inflation in the Member State concerned)

Value excluding VAT: 55 000 000.00 Currency: GBP

Total contract value after the modifications

Value excluding VAT: 77 000 000.00 Currency: GBP