9.13 The NHS body should decide which of the above procurement routes it intends to follow as early on in the development of a project as possible. In practice, this means deciding whilst the scope of the project is being developed during preparation of the OBC.
9.14 If IM&T and equipment is likely to be a significant cost element in the project then it should be mentioned in the contract notice which is placed in OJEU. The OJEU notice should be worded so that it gives the NHS body the greatest possible flexibility during the course of procurement. It should not unnecessarily rule out IM&T and equipment provision as part of the services to be provided by the private sector. An NHS body could indicate in OJEU and in the ITPD that IM&T and equipment was be considered as a variant to the main project, allowing the NHS body to defer any decision to exclude or include until the dialogue period where the value for money, affordability and risk transfer of the Participants' proposals, can be fully discussed. The Invitation to Submit Final Bids should however indicate the approach to be adopted on IM&T in the standard and variant bids. The notice should give flexibility to eliminate IM&T and/or equipment from the main procurement in the event that bids received are unsatisfactory or do not achieve value for money.
9.15 NHS bodies which have already advertised a project in OJEU which does not mention either IM&T or equipment and who are considering bringing either into the project, will need to obtain legal advice on whether this is feasible within the scope of their original OJEU advertisement and EU procurement regulations. Ongoing consideration of changes in procurement directives is necessary.
9.16 If the NHS body has stated in the OJEU notice that it wishes to include IM&T and equipment within a project, there is no requirement for a Participant to include IM&T and equipment suppliers in the consortium at prequalification stage. However, it is expected that major IM&T and equipment suppliers will have been designated during the dialogue period and their proposals included in the Final Tenders. The risk that they have not been designated is one of the key risks in incorporating IM&T into larger PPP contracts.
9.17 If the Participants' proposals on IM&T and equipment do not meet the NHS body's requirements or assessment of value for money or affordability upon evaluation then the NHS body can elect to proceed with the procurement but with IM&T and equipment being provided through a different route. The IM&T and/or equipment contract would then need to be re-advertised as a separate contract under the relevant EU procurement rules.
9.18 Bid evaluation criteria within the OJEU, ITPD and IFT for the bids should cover IM&T and equipment proposals comprehensively. It should be flexible enough to address the possibility that IM&T may include separate schemes or be combined with the main procurement. The criteria should deal with the interfaces between the operation of any IM&T and equipment to be provided as part of the project and any which will continue to be run by the NHS body. NHS bodies may also need to consider which facility components form the main project and which form the IM&T and equipment, if there is a possibility that the two will be procured separately. For example, it is important to be explicit about whether ducting, power points, etc are part of the main project or of the IM&T procurement.