Following the publication of the required UK5 and UK6 Notices, This UK7 notice is placed on behalf of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and Torfaen County Borough Council, together referred to as the Contracting Authorities. The Contracting Authorities have entered into a joint contract with MHR International UK Limited for the provision, hosting, maintenance, support and ongoing development of the iTrent integrated human resources, payroll and workforce management platform. The contract includes: software licensing; hosted software services; payroll processing functionality; workforce management functionality; recruitment and onboarding modules; learning and development modules; employee and manager self-service functionality; document management functionality; maintenance and support services; implementation, migration and configuration services; and ongoing system development and enhancement services. The contract supports the delivery of critical human resources, payroll, recruitment, Organisational development, workforce management and associated services across Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and Torfaen County Borough Council. The joint arrangement establishes a common platform supporting the Federated Councils’ operating model and the delivery of collaborative services, while maintaining the political, financial and democratic sovereignty of each authority.

Procurement Act 2023

Direct award The direct award followed an options appraisal covering amendment of the existing arrangements, separate renewal of the existing contracts, a competitive procurement for an alternative solution and a new joint contractual arrangement with the incumbent supplier. The appraisal concluded that replacing the existing platform would require substantial migration, implementation, retraining and redevelopment activity and would create significant technical, operational and service-continuity risks. The joint contract was considered the most economically advantageous and operationally effective option.