Cleaning Contract - Direct Award following mutual contract termination

Location

Tunbridge Wells

Description

Southborough CE Primary school has awarded a direct award contract for cleaning services with a justification of extreme urgency.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

1 year plus 1 year

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 90919300 - School cleaning services

Indicators

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

Legal Justification

Cleaning Services - Direct Award under Regulation 32(2)(c) PCR 2015 Short Description - The School has awarded a contract for the provision of cleaning services through the negotiated procedure without prior publication, in accordance with Regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Description of the Procurement - This contract provides essential daily cleaning services required to maintain statutory health, safety, and hygiene standards across the School site. The previous cleaning contract ended unexpectedly by mutual termination, creating an urgent operational need for immediate continuity of cleaning services. Due to the essential nature of cleaning for the safe functioning of an educational environment, the School was required to secure replacement service provision without delay. Justification for Use of the Negotiated Procedure Without Prior Publication (Reg. 32) - The School relied on Regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which permits a contracting authority to award a contract without prior publication where: The need for services is extremely urgent, The urgency has been brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, The circumstances are not attributable to the contracting authority, and The time limits for a standard procurement procedure cannot be complied with. The previous cleaning contract was mutually terminated, which constitutes an unforeseeable event not caused by the School. This resulted in an immediate and critical requirement to maintain legally compliant hygiene standards to ensure the safety of pupils, staff, and visitors. Government guidance confirms that direct awards made under Regulation 32 require a contract award notice but may be lawfully awarded without prior publication of a contract notice. Given the operational urgency and statutory duties of the School, there was no time to run a competitive tendering process, even on accelerated timescales. Accordingly, the use of Regulation 32(2)(c) was lawful and necessary.