Steam Locomotive Restoration Tenders

Summary

The requester asked for clarification on whether the restoration of steam locomotive 'Maitland' followed public tender rules under Isle of Man Financial Regulations. The Department of Infrastructure confirmed that both chassis refurbishment and assembly works were tendered via official government channels with multiple bidders, and the contract was awarded based on best value.

Key Facts

• All government projects fall under the Isle of Man Government Financial Regulations.
• Chassis refurbishment was tendered in January 2017 via the Attorney General's Chambers Procurement Office.
• Three valid quotations were received for the chassis refurbishment work.
• Locomotive assembly was tendered in April 2020 via the Isle of Man Government Procurement portal.
• Five valid quotations were received for the assembly work, and the contract was awarded based on best price and quality.

Data Disclosed

• 2164017
• 2065353
• 2021-12-28
• 2022-01-07
• 24th November
• loco 11 Maitland
• DINF.942
• January 2017
• FPN C.08
• Three bidders
• IoMR-MSz-QQ-011
• April 2020
• FPN C.06
• Five bidders

Original Request

To Whom It May Concern, This is a follow-up Freedom of I formation, or FOI request to the Department of Infrastructure, or the DOI in regards to the FOI dated on the the 24th November, reference number 2065353. I noticed that on question number three of the above FOI that the "loco 11 Maitland" was having restoration works completed with costs incurred to date that fall under the remit of the Financial Regulations of the Isle of Man Government. I have some questions in regards to the public tender or lack of, as no evidence of such can be found in the public domain in this respect. 1) Could the DOI clarify if this restoration project falls under the Financial Regulations of the Isle of Man Government? 2) On what basis, rule or regulation could or has this work be awarded and not go out to public tender? 3) What justifcation, if any and on what basis of merit was the work awarded to the contractor? I look forward to hearing your response(s) in regards to the above FOI.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team/AC/RH Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 2164017 7 January 2022

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 28 December 2021 and which states (sic):

"To Whom It May Concern, This is a follow-up Freedom of I formation, or FOI request to the Department of Infrastructure, or the DOI in regards to the FOI dated on the the 24th November, reference number 2065353. I noticed that on question number three of the above FOI that the "loco 11 Maitland" was having restoration works completed with costs incurred to date that fall under the remit of the Financial Regulations of the Isle of Man Government. I have some questions in regards to the public tender or lack of, as no evidence of such can be found in the public domain in this respect. 1) Could the DOI clarify if this restoration project falls under the Financial Regulations of the Isle of Man Government? 2) On what basis, rule or regulation could or has this work be awarded and not go out to public tender? 3) What justifcation, if any and on what basis of merit was the work awarded to the contractor? I look forward to hearing your response(s) in regards to the above FOI." Our response to your request is as follows: 1) All Government Projects fall under the auspices of the Isle of Man Government Financial Regulations. 2) The work for the refurbishment of the chassis of the loco was tendered via the Procurement Offices of the IoM Government Attorney General’s Chambers (Ref DINF.942) in January 2017, in line with financial regulation FPN C.08 Tendering. Three bidders submitted valid quotations. The work for the assembly of the loco was tendered via the Isle of Man Government

Procurement portal (Ref IoMR-MSz-QQ-011), in line with financial regulation FPN C.06 General Procurement in April 2020. Five bidders submitted valid quotations. 3) The project was awarded to the contractor offering the best value solution. This is a combination of the best price submitted and achieving the best quality assessment in response to the tender documents.

Please quote the reference number 2164017 in any future communications.

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