NI inks £6m deal five months late despite getting just one bid

Northern Irish department takes seven months to decide sole bidder Fujitsu meets 'lowest price' award criterion and is suitable for services project

Fujitsu Services was won a £6m-plus deal to supply IT and services to the Northern Irish government.

A contract award notice published this week reveals that the Japanese giant has been handed the three-year contract with Northern Ireland's Department for Employment and Learning. The vendor was, it transpires, the sole bidder for the project, which also provides an option for two one-year extensions.

The worth of the deal is pegged at £6m, excluding VAT. The tender was issued in June 2013, with a deadline for bids of 1 August. Despite the department having to chew over only one bid, the project is commencing five months after the original anticipated start date of September 2013.

The tender and award notices stipulate only one award criterion: lowest price. In light of the absence of competitive bids, this would seem to be a moot point; nevertheless, it has taken the Department almost seven months – since the deadline for bids passed – to come to the conclusion that Fujitsu is up to the task.

Having won the day, Fujitsu has been charged with providing the government with a range of IT services.

"The Department for Employment and Learning wishes to establish a contract for the provision of development, maintenance and support services for the Department's line-of-business applications," explains the award notice.