The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations") which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the "Light touch regime" contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).
The tendering process will be conducted in accordance with the requirements and flexibilities provided by Articles 74 to 76 of the Directive, and Regulations 74 to 76 of the Regulations. The Authority will run a transparent tender process, treating all Bidders equally. For the avoidance of doubt, the Authority will not be bound by the Regulations or the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union or any other regulations or legislation except for the specific parts or circumstances that apply to the procurement of these services.
Neither the inclusion of a bidder selection stage, nor the use of any language or terms found in the directive or regulations, nor the description of the procedure voluntarily adopted by the Authority ("Open", "Restricted", "Competitive Procedure with Negotiation", "Competitive Dialogue" or any other description), nor any other indication, shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold itself bound by the directive or regulations, save by the provisions applicable to services coming within the scope of Annex XIV of the directive / Schedule 3of the regulations.
The Contracting Authority intends to voluntarily observe the award decision notices provisions and 10 day standstill period described in Regulation 86 of the regulations. Unsuccessful bidders will receive scores and reasons for the decision, including the characteristics and relative advantages of the winning bid and the reasons why the bidder/application was unsuccessful. Deadline for lodging of appeals should be in accordance with Regulation 87 and Regulation 91 of the regulations.