Guard services

Description

It is in the public interest and for public safety that this requirement must be met. This is further in line with a derogation under the EU DIRECTIVE 2014/24 whereby it is explicit under Provision 41 that: Nothing in this Directive should prevent the imposition or enforcement of measures necessary to protect public policy, public morality, public security, health, human and animal life, the preservation of plant life or other environmental measures, in particular with a view to sustainable development, provided that those measures are in conformity with the TFEU. For these checks to take place at GB Ports prior to goods moving to NI to ensure the free flow of freight traffic and avoid congestion. Staff need to be in place by mid-December and given these extremely tight timescales DAERA cannot now facilitate competitive procurement procedures and it is in the public interest that staff are urgently put in place to conduct these checks as they are critical to ensure uninterrupted supply of food and goods to NI post EU Exit on 1 January 2021. A Direct Award Contract (DAC) is therefore required to deliver these services at Cairnryan Port for one year from award. The value is below the EU threshold for Schedule Three Services and therefore the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply.