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| Search and rescue helicopter bid process is halted | Search and rescue helicopter bid process is halted |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Plans to privatise the search and rescue helicopter service have been suspended amid concerns about the bidding process to find a supplier. | |
| It comes after the preferred supplier, Soteria, admitted it had access to commercially sensitive information. | It comes after the preferred supplier, Soteria, admitted it had access to commercially sensitive information. |
| The Department for Transport and Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the preferred supplier would not be used. | The Department for Transport and Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the preferred supplier would not be used. |
| MoD Police are investigating how commercially sensitive information came to be in the possession of the bidder. | MoD Police are investigating how commercially sensitive information came to be in the possession of the bidder. |
| Under the plans, the successful bidder would have run the search and rescue service and provided helicopters in the UK's 12 bases. | |
| In a statement to Parliament regarding the £6bn procurement programme, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: "In mid December, the Preferred Bidder in the SAR-H competition, Soteria, had come forward to inform the government of irregularities regarding the conduct of their bid team which had only then recently come to light. | In a statement to Parliament regarding the £6bn procurement programme, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: "In mid December, the Preferred Bidder in the SAR-H competition, Soteria, had come forward to inform the government of irregularities regarding the conduct of their bid team which had only then recently come to light. |
| "The irregularities included access by one of the consortium members, CHC Helicopter, to commercially sensitive information regarding the joint MOD/DfT project team's evaluations of industry bids and evidence that a former member of that project team had assisted the consortium in its bid preparation, contrary to explicit assurances given to the project team." | "The irregularities included access by one of the consortium members, CHC Helicopter, to commercially sensitive information regarding the joint MOD/DfT project team's evaluations of industry bids and evidence that a former member of that project team had assisted the consortium in its bid preparation, contrary to explicit assurances given to the project team." |
| Mr Hammond said that, since December, his department and the MoD had been "working with Soteria to better understand the situation and its implications for the procurement process". | Mr Hammond said that, since December, his department and the MoD had been "working with Soteria to better understand the situation and its implications for the procurement process". |
| "In addition, the Ministry of Defence Police are investigating how the commercially sensitive information came to be in the possession of the bidder," he said. | "In addition, the Ministry of Defence Police are investigating how the commercially sensitive information came to be in the possession of the bidder," he said. |
| He said the two departments would now "consider the potential procurement options to meet future requirements for search and rescue helicopters in the United Kingdom, including options to maintain continuity of search and rescue helicopter cover until new longer term arrangements can be put in place". | He said the two departments would now "consider the potential procurement options to meet future requirements for search and rescue helicopters in the United Kingdom, including options to maintain continuity of search and rescue helicopter cover until new longer term arrangements can be put in place". |
| The Soteria Consortium, comprising the Canadian Helicopter Corporation (CHC), Thales, Sikorsky and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was chosen as the Preferred Bidder for the Search and Rescue Helicopter (SAR-H) project in February 2010. | |
| It proposed to run the service with Sikorsky S92 helicopters. | |
| In a statement, Soteria said it was "disappointed" to learn of the government's decision. | |
| "Soteria is evaluating the government's decision and if given the opportunity is confident that it is capable of delivering the SAR-H programme and stands ready to work with the UK government," said a spokesman. |