Ballistic Body Armour

At the moment there are no suppliers for body armour that has a valid certification. Raising this Direct Award Special Circumstances in the preparation for when Mehler has their certification, so we can be the first one to order from them. We do have a waiver in place with Mehler at present, but due to end 22/08/2026, so this one will continue from there. Due to the certification issue, there are no valid frameworks. This contract will allow for the continue purchase which is required for operational purposes and once a framework becomes available the Authority will look to utilise that route to market.