Defence Online

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2024/S 000-041105/EN)
Nature of contract: Service contract
Procedure: Not applicable
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Prior information notice without call for competition
Services

This notice is for prior information only
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: Defence Business Service
Town: Blackpool
Country: United Kingdom
Email: DBSPD-Next-SDC-Project-Team@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

another address:Official name: DBS PD MPAS Team
Town: Blackpool
Country: United Kingdom
Email: DBS-PD-MPAS-Team@mod.gov.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address:

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions
I.5) Main activity
Defence

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement:
II.1.1) Title: Military Pensions and Associated Services (MPAS)
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 75320000
II.1.3) Type of contract: Services
II.1.4) Short Description:
Background
Defence Business Services (DBS) is one of the largest shared services providers in Europe delivering corporate HR, payroll, Armed Forces Pensions and Compensation, Finance, and Information Services for both civilian and military personnel in the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The services detailed for military personnel are currently provided by a 3rd party provider in an aggregated model, the contract for which, expires in May 2027.
DBS is undertaking a significant programme of change which will alter our future delivery model and result in a disaggregation of current services.
At this time, DBS is keen to engage with the market to identify potential future solutions which specifically focus on Pensions and Compensation elements, collectively referred to as Military Pensions and Associated Services (MPAS). Further engagements may take place for the non-pension and compensation elements of the current contract as the overall design develops, and these will be advertised as future requirements emerge. On this occasion, however, only Pensions and Compensation services will be the focus of this market engagement.
Military Pensions is one of the largest UK public sector schemes with over 1.2m members. Administration of Military Pensions is currently provided by the 3rd party provider and the administration of Compensation services (but not the IT system) is delivered through an in-house capability. There is no current ambition to change this arrangement, and for this reason, only Pensions is in scope for the future administration element of the MPAS requirement. Payment arrangements for both Pensions and Compensation are provided by the 3rd party provider and are both within scope of the MPAS requirement.
Military Pensions involves multiple pensions schemes, further information on these is detailed in the accompanying information pack.
DBS aligns with government’s Digital by Default ambition, which means that where possible, the services provided must be so intuitive and convenient that all those who can use them will choose to do so, and those who are unable to use them are not excluded. Services therefore need to provided that are accessible for all our customers without exception.
Reliability and security are of paramount importance to DBS, any potential solution must align to the principles detailed in the government’s Secure by Design policy.
The purpose of this notice is to:
a)Inform the market that DBS is considering undertaking a competitive tendering exercise to award a new contract for the provision of in-scope Military Pensions and Compensation services.
b)Invite potential providers to register for a market engagement exercise which will focus on several key themes to help DBS plan the approach to a future tendering exercise.
Timescales
The market engagement process is as follows:
•Parties who are interested in participating in a closed engagement event in accordance with this notice should firstly register their interest by requesting an information pack from DBS-PD-MPAS-Team@mod.gov.uk. Responses to the questions should be returned by no later than 24/01/2025.
•Bilateral discussions will take place between 27/01/2025 – 07/02/2025.
•If DBS progresses this requirement, a notice seeking expressions of interest is likely to be published in Summer 2025.
•It is currently anticipated that service commencement will align to the contract expiry of the current service provider on 31/05/ 2027, although this may be subject to change.
Confidentiality
Any registered supplier who proceeds to participate in a bilateral discussion will be required to enter into a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the MOD. Refusal will preclude participation in the engagement event(s).
Disclaimer
In issuing this notice and engaging with the market, the MOD is not committing to any procurement in relation to the requirements stated in this PIN. Any procurement shall be subject to contract.
II.1.6) Information about lots:
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.2) Description:
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
Main CPV code: 75320000

II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Market Engagement Exercise
The MOD is interested in seeking views from organisations that may have capability and capacity to deliver the provision of the Military Pensions and Associated Services (MPAS) and is particularly interested in seeking views from organisations with prior expertise and experience where they have delivered similar services, in whole or in part.
The MOD is keen to understand and explore innovative solutions which could deliver efficient, safe, and robust outcomes which may include (this list is not exhaustive):
•Administration of multiple Military Pension schemes (or schemes of similar complexity) and the payment functionality to support both Military Pension and Compensation Schemes (including payment and financial accounting with interfaces to other MOD and Other Government Department (OGDD) financial systems).
•Information Systems (IS) to support Pensions and Compensation Schemes.
•A single access portal for customers.
•A Personnel Administration Centre including User Access Control, with an incident and issue management matrix and capability potentially including an Enquiry Service, with multiple support channels for self-service, professional and corporate users of Pensions, Compensation Schemes, Information Technology (IT)
•Case Management functionality
The MOD invites engagement with suppliers, including Small or Medium Enterprises who may be able to provide some (if not all) of the services required.
Process and Participation
DBS intends to hold bilateral engagement events with selected participants virtually via Microsoft Teams, during the period 27/01/2025 to 07/02/2025.
Interested Parties can register and request an information pack by emailing DBS-PD-MPAS-Team@mod.gov.uk.
Any Parties who would like to participate in a bilateral engagement event will be required to provide the following information and return by no later than 24/01/2025.
•Size of enterprise
•Industry sector
•Responses to the questions detailed on slide 8 of the information pack.
The MOD would like to engage as many Parties as possible however, if the level of interest is so high that it is deemed to be unmanageable, the selection criteria outlined below will be used to determine invitation to bilateral event.
Following a review of registrations, the MOD will send an invitation to those selected to participate in a bilateral discussion.
During the market engagement process, all registered Parties who have expressed an interest in participating, whether they are selected to participate in bilateral events or not, may send to the point of contact any thoughts or observations they have, which the MOD will review and consider. Furthermore, if any Party has specific questions, these can be directed to the point of contact and the MOD will strive to respond to them, although this will be on the basis that the question(s) and answer(s) will be anonymised and shared with all interested parties and therefore anything commercially sensitive in nature should be avoided. Any commercially sensitive information received and marked as such will not be shared.
Following the completion of the market engagement process, the MOD will issue a collated report to all registered suppliers, providing a summary of the discussions held (excluding any information which is commercially sensitive in nature).
Selection Criteria
•Size of enterprise, so as not to exclude SMEs solely in favour of larger companies.
•Industry sector, to balance the range of Parties potentially interested in the MPAS requirement.
•Previous experience of delivering similar services, based on size and scope;
For the avoidance of doubt, failure to be invited to participate in a bilateral discussion (if such circumstances arise), or in the market engagement process in any capacity, will not preclude any organisation from submitting a tender in any future competition and no prospective bidder will be disadvantaged by non-participation in this market engagement process.
II.2.5) Award criteria

II.2.14) Additional information: Disclaimer Cont.
Non-participation in this market engagement exercise will not preclude companies from expressing an interest in in any future procurement.
The MOD does not envisage purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities but nevertheless reserves the right to do so.
The MOD will not be liable for any costs incurred by any parties who respond to this PIN.

II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:2025-08-01
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes
IV.2) Administrative information

Section VI: Complementary information
VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:2024-12-20