Invest NI Trade Mission Travel Management Service
Invest NI wishes to establish a single supplier contract for the provision of a Global Travel Management Service for Trade Event Activities.
United Kingdom-Belfast: Travel agency, tour operator and tourist assistance services
2015/S 116-210127
Contract notice
Services
Directive 2004/18/EC
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)
CPD — Supplies and Services Division
303 Airport Road West
Contact point(s): kellie.batey@dfpni.gov.uk
BT3 9ED Belfast
UNITED KINGDOM
Internet address(es):
Address of the buyer profile: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Electronic access to information: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Electronic submission of tenders and requests to participate: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2)Type of the contracting authority
I.3)Main activity
I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities
Section II: Object of the contract
II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance
Service category No 3: Air transport services of passengers and freight, except transport of mail
NUTS code UKN
II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)
II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
63500000
II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
II.1.8)Lots
II.1.9)Information about variants
II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
— Accommodation and related booking services (e.g. reception venues, meeting rooms etc.);
— Travel and related booking services; (e.g. airport transfers, in-market bus/car hire);
— VIP travel for Northern Ireland Assembly Minister(s) and/or Senior Civil Servants; and;
— In-Market Visits.
The Contract will be for an initial period of 2 years, with options to extend the contract for 3 further periods of up to 12 months each, subject to satisfactory Contractor performance and subject to budget allocation becoming available.
Estimated value excluding VAT: 500 000 GBP
II.2.2)Information about options
II.2.3)Information about renewals
Number of possible renewals: 3
In the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated timeframe for subsequent contracts:
in months: 36 (from the award of the contract)
II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
III.1.4)Other particular conditions
Description of particular conditions: As per tender documents.
III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
III.2.2)Economic and financial ability
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As per tender documents.
III.2.3)Technical capacity
As per tender documents.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
As per tender documents.
III.3.1)Information about a particular profession
III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
IV.2.1)Award criteria
IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction
IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document
Payable documents: no
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up
IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
IV.3.8)Conditions for opening of tenders
Persons authorised to be present at the opening of tenders: yes
Additional information about authorised persons and opening procedure: Only CPD Procurement Staff with access to the project on eTendersNI.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrence
VI.2)Information about European Union funds
VI.3)Additional information
The successful contractor’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored.
Contractors not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in CPD for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a Certificate of Unsatisfactory Performance and the contract may be terminated. The issue of a Certificate of Unsatisfactory Performance will result in the contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being undertaken by Centres of Procurement Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of twelve months from the date of issue of the certificate’.
The Authority expressly reserves the rights:
(I). Not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice;
(II). To make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering Competition;
(III). To award (a) contract(s) in respect of any part(s) of the [services] covered by this notice; and;
(IV). To award contract(s) in stages.
And in no circumstances will the Authority be liable for any costs incurred by candidates.
The contract is being let by Central Procurement Directorate on behalf of Invest NI only and will be used by Invest NI only.
Electronic invoicing and payment will be used.
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures
See Section VI.4.2
Body responsible for mediation procedures
See Section VI.4.2
VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals
That notification will provide full information on the award decision. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of 10 calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No 102) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).
Any such action must generally be brought within 3 months. If a declaration of ineffectiveness is sought, any such action must be brought within 30 days where the Authority has communicated the award of the contract and a summary of reasons to tenderers, or otherwise within 6 months of the contract being entered into. Where a contract has not been entered into the court may order the setting aside of the award decision or order the Authority to amend any document and may award damages. If the contract has been entered into the Court may, depending on the circumstances, award damages, make a declaration of ineffectiveness, order the Authority to pay a fine, and/or order that the duration of the contract be shortened. The purpose of the standstill period referred to above is to allow the parties to apply to the Courts to set aside the award decision before the contract is entered into.
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice: