NP500025 Experian QAS Software Licence and Support Agreement

This Contract Award Recommendation seeks approval to award contract in respect of a Software Licence and Support Agreement with Experian Limited. This contract provides provision of Quick Address Software (QAS) licencing and support for software which are used within national clinical and business systems for address verification and ancillary purposes including TrakCare and some screening services.

The proposed contract will provide continuity of service based on existing use to provide services. The proposed contract is on a single source basis as only Experian can support the products within scope in respect of which they have exclusive rights.

These products are used for address validation purposes and improve data quality and by so doing supports efficiency and help minimise any clinical risk that may arise from poor data quality. The proposed contract is for a period of one year on the basis that the aim is to migrate to alternative, functionally equivalent products available - effectively free of charge - from the Scottish Government’s Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA).

This work is currently in progress, and it was hoped that it would have progressed further than it has. It has proven more complex than anticipated, some systems have now adopted PSGA, work on other systems is actively underway and further assessments on others being undertaken to confirm that the PSGA is a suitable alternative. The aim of this one-year contract extension is to allow time for the current work to conclude.