General Dental Council: Provision of Part 2 of the GDC Statutory Examination - Overseas Registration Examination (ORE)

UK-London: Education and training services.

Preliminary Questions
   This notice is published by:
   Directive 2014/25/EU

Section I: Contracting authority/entity

I.1) Name and addresses
       General Dental Council
       37 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 8DQ, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 2071676000, Email: ewilliams@GDC-uk.org
       Contact: Erica Williams
       Main Address: www.gdc-uk.org
       NUTS Code: UK


I.6) Main Activity (in the case of a notice published by a contracting entity)
      Other activity:

Section II: Object

II.1) Scope of the procurement
   
   II.1.1) Title: Provision of Part 2 of the GDC Statutory Examination - Overseas Registration Examination (ORE).
      Reference number: GDC-2017-001
      
   II.1.2) Main CPV code:
      80000000 - Education and training services.
   
   II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
   
   II.1.4) Short Description: The GDC intends to extend its existing contract for the Provision of Part 2 of the GDC Statutory Examination - Overseas Registration Examinations (ORE) for a period of 20 months and 3 days, from 28 July 2023 to continue to fulfil the intentions of the original contract by supporting the delivery of examination services. This services under the ORE contract relates to “social and other specific services” listed in Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) (PCR) and is therefore subject to the ‘light touch regime’ in accordance with Regulations 74 to 77 of the PCR.
   
   II.1.6) Information about lots
      This contract is divided into lots: No

   II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
      Value: 12,000,000      
      Currency: GBP


II.2) Description

   II.2.2) Additional CPV codes:
      Not provided

   II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UK UNITED KINGDOM
   
   
   II.2.4) Description of the procurement:
    The GDC is the UK-wide statutory regulator and has a statutory duty (under the Dentists Act 1984 (as amended) to provide a statutory examination for overseas dentists who wish to register as a dentist with the GDC. Part 2 is designed for candidates to demonstrate practical clinical skills. All questions are mapped to learning outcomes found in our 'Preparing for Practice' document which can be found at https://www.gdc-uk.org/docs/default-source/registration-for-dcps-qualified-overseas/preparing-for-practice-(revised-2015)-(3)9cfe2565e7814f6b89ff98149f436bc7.pdf?sfvrsn=ab3900f4_7 . The Part 2-examination is in effect a safety-related test of competence, when passed allows candidates eligibility to register with the GDC. It is a legal requirement to be registered with the GDC in order to practice in the UK.    
   
   II.2.5) Award criteria
   (Directive 2014/24/EU / Directive 2014/25/EU)
               
    Not provided       
      
      
   II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:    No       
   
   II.2.13) Information about European Union funds:
      The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:    No

   II.2.14) Additional information:
    Additional information in relation the Part 2 examination can be found here ORE Part 2 (gdc-uk.org).    
      
Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description
   
   IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union in the cases listed below         
   
   IV.1.3) Information about framework agreement
         The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement: No    
   
   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
         The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
         
IV.2)Administrative Information

   IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure:
      Notice number in OJ S: 2022/S 000 - 003460       
   
Section V: Award Of Contract/Concession
      
Award of Contract/Concession No: 1
Contract No: GDC-2017-001   Lot Number: Not Provided    Title: Provision of Part 2 of the GDC Statutory Examination - Overseas Registration Examination (ORE)

V.2) Award of contract/concession
      
      V.2.1) Date of contract award decision: 10/07/2023.
      
      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, No. 1:
          UCL Eastman Dental Hospital, N/A
       256 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8LD, United Kingdom
       NUTS Code: UK
   The contractor/concessionaire will be an SME: No    
   
      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire, No. 2:
          The Royal College of Surgeons of England, N/A
       35 - 43 Lincoln Inn Field, London, WC2A 3PE, United Kingdom
       NUTS Code: UK
   The contractor/concessionaire will be an SME: No    
   
      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire, No. 3:
          University College London, N/A
       123 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8WD, United Kingdom
       NUTS Code: UK
   The contractor/concessionaire will be an SME: No    
   
      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire, No. 4:
          Queen Mary, University of London Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, N/A
       Institute of Dentistry of Turner Street, LONDON, E1 2AD, United Kingdom
       NUTS Code: UK
   The contractor/concessionaire will be an SME: No    
   
         
      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession:
         Initial estimated total value of the contract: 8,002,376          
         Total value of the contract/lot/concession 12,000,000         
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting:
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No          


Section VI: Complementary Information

   VI.3) Additional Information:
      Provision of contracted services include: -Deliver the 4 components of the clinical examinations. -Suitable venues to hold examinations within the UK, suitable to accommodate up to c. 800 candidates per year -Provision of services, material, equipment, and personnel -Suitably qualified and experienced examiners -Project Management and administration -Candidate Management -Working with the GDC to ensure the examinations a delivered effectively and in accordance with the examination blueprint and Preparing for Practice and the ORE Advisory Group to ensure the relevant standard is maintained and the continuous improvement of the examination The GDC is currently planning a re-procurement exercise of the services to commence in 2024.
To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=776053086
GO-2023714-PRO-23406145 TKR-2023714-PRO-23406144   
   VI.4) Procedures for review
   
      VI.4.1) Review Body
          General Dental Council
       37 Wimpole Street, London, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 2071676000, Email: procurement@gdc-uk.org
       Internet address: www.gdc-uk.org
   
      V1.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures:
         Not Provided .

      VI.4.3) Review procedure
      Not Provided    
      
      VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
         Not Provided
   
   VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 14/07/2023


Annex D2 - Utilities
Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union
Directive 2014/25/EU


2. Other justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union

   The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive: Yes
3. Explanation

   Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union is
   lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive: (500 words maximum)
   The GDC and Government have been working to modernise the Dental Act 1984 to enable greater flexibility for exam delivery. This change was anticipated for summer 2022, but due to several compounding circumstances outside of the GDC’s control the timetable remained uncertain and was delayed. The Order 2023 (the Order) came into force on 8th March 2023. The reforms that flow from the Order removed the need for the ORE to be provided by a dental authority. The changes should allow us to improve efficiency and capacity of the exam. For more information, please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-general-dental-council-and-the-nursing-and-midwifery-councils-international-registration-legislation/changes-to-the-general-dental-council-and-the-nursing-and-midwifery-councils-international-registration-legislation The changes could significantly amend the scope of the services and open up the market to new suppliers who were previously prohibited from bidding. Before the GDC can take advantage of the new flexibility, the GDC needs to develop and consult on a new set of rules. The final rules should be published in Spring 2024. The rules will underpin the scope and nature of the services required under a new procurement. Additional services have now become necessary to support the protection of the public and patients. The GDC is relying on Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015: a)the additional services have become necessary to continue to allow overseas registrations to continue until the implementation of the rules pursuant to the new Order allow for a procurement for the services under the updated rules. b) a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons. There is significant preparatory work required to set up the services. This is one of only two types of this exam currently offered in the UK for Overseas dentists. It requires specific technical expertise to run the exam that has to date not presented itself in the market. c)a change of contractor would cause significant impact and substantial duplication of costs to the GDC. The GDC has a statutory obligation to run the ORE and was required to pause the exam due to Covid 19 restrictions, this has caused a significant backlog of candidates. Candidates only have one five-year period to complete the ORE, they cannot re-apply. Therefore, they would not be able to practice in the UK and overtime may reduce to number of dental professional available to practice in the UK. d)The extension includes an additional sum payable to the consortium to account for the management and delivery of up to 7 diets across 20 months and 3 days. The cost for the additional diets does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract. The GDC intends to execute the Contract extension following the expiry of a 10-day period from the date of publication of this notice.