government/police contract

Summary

The requester questioned the delay in issuing a tender for Vehicle Recovery Services, alleging unfairness to potential contractors. The Department of Home Affairs responded that the tender is currently in its four-week Invitation to Tender stage and had already attracted interest from four organizations.

Key Facts

• The tender for Department of Home Affairs Vehicle Recovery Services (DHA/2025/001) is currently in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage.
• The tender was issued on the Isle of Man Government's Procurement Portal for Expressions of Interest (EOI) between 17th October 2025 and 4th November 2025.
• Four organizations expressed interest and progressed to the ITT stage.
• Tenders on the portal are only visible to the general public during the EOI period (5 or 10 working days depending on value).
• After the EOI period, the tender is only visible to organizations that have expressed interest.

Data Disclosed

• DHA/2025/001
• 17th October 2025
• 4th November 2025
• 21 November 2025
• 31 October 2025
• 4 weeks
• 5 working days
• 10 working days
• £100k
• four organisations
• 5052881

Original Request

Why has the Tender for the Department of Home Affairs Vehicle Recovery Services not been issued for interested parties to tender? The present holders were given the work temporarily in February ,which was to give time for the tender to be issued. That means that for 9 months the other interested parties have not had a chance to tender. This is unfair and means that any other contractor is not being given a chance to give a better or cheaper service to the insurance companies,the police and other customers.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Coordinator DHA Headquarters Tromode Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 5AP

Telephone: (01624) 687017 Web address: www.gov.im/dha
Email: DPO-DHA@dha.gov.im

Our ref: 5052881 21 November 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 31 October 2025, which states:

"Why has the Tender for the Department of Home Affairs Vehicle Recovery Services not been issued for interested parties to tender?
The present holders were given the work temporarily in February ,which was to give time for the tender to be issued.
That means that for 9 months the other interested parties have not had a chance to tender.
This is unfair and means that any other contractor is not being given a chance to give a better or cheaper service to the insurance companies, the police and other customers."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you .

The Department can confirm that the tender for Department of Home Affairs Vehicle Recovery Services - DHA/2025/001 is currently in the middle of its four- week Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage.

This tender was issued onto the Isle of Man Government’s Procurement Portal which can be found here for expressions of interest between 17th October 2025 and 4th November 2025. Any projects issued onto the portal are only visible to the general public for the period of Expressions of Interest (EOI) which is 5 working days for tenders under £100k, and 10 working days for those above £100k.

After this timeframe has elapsed, it is only visible to those organisations that have Expressed Interest and been attached to the project. As this tender was issued for Expressions of Interest between 17th October 2025 and 4th November 2025, anyone viewing the portal after this date who has not expressed interest will not be able to see it.

The department can confirm that this tender attracted EOI’s from four organisations which progressed to the ITT Stage.

Please quote the reference number 5052881 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.