2.15 After appointing ICL as preferred bidder, the Department planned to sign the contract in October 1998 once it had been assured that ICL would not have any financial problems following the completion of the renegotiations on the Benefits Payment Card project. However, ICL
10 |
| Reconciliation between ICL's opening and final bids | ||
|
|
| Cost £m | Cost £m |
|
| Opening bid (preferred bidder stage) |
| 146 |
|
| Earlier delivery | 11 |
|
|
| Incentive payments | 15 |
|
|
| Higher caseload charges | 12 |
|
|
| Total extra costs |
| 38 |
|
| Final bid |
| 184 |
|
| Source: Lord Chancellor's Department |
|
|
informed the Department in October 1998 that its board was no longer able to support the charging basis on which ICL had submitted its bid. ICL had not included all the costs needed to meet the Libra requirements and had made some inappropriate cost and revenue assumptions. Following intensive post-tender negotiations, a price of £184 million was agreed. A reconciliation between ICL's opening and final bids is given in Figure 10.