Official UK procurement notice
'ACCESS YOUR RECORDS' SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
Authority: The National Archives (Central government)
The objective of this procurement process is to source a delivery partner who will work with us in developing further the 'Access Your Records' service. We plan to award a contract for an initial 6 month period, with an extension option of up to 12 months (i.e. a maximum of 18 months in total). They can browse or search to find individual records and view them in the browser or download them if required. There are many reasons why a government department may need to view previously transferred records e.g. if an FOI request has been made against a closed record or if a public inquiry or subsequent investigation relates to records already transferred to the archive.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe objective of this procurement process is to source a delivery partner who will work with us in developing further the 'Access Your Records' service. We plan to award a contract for an initial 6 month period, with an extension option of up to 12 months (i.e. a maximum of 18 months in total).
The Access Your Records (AYR) Service offers secure online login for select government and all-access TNA users to browse and search the metadata and record content of digital records they have transferred to The National Archives with ease. They can browse or search to find individual records and view them in the browser or download them if required.
This service is distinct from public access services as it also provides access to records that are closed to the public if they are subject to an exemption under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
There are many reasons why a government department may need to view previously transferred records e.g. if an FOI request has been made against a closed record or if a public inquiry or subsequent investigation relates to records already transferred to the archive.
AYR is following an iterative Agile development approach. All service enhancements will be planned and implemented in response to evidenced user need. We anticipate making improvements to all aspects of the service including our search, browse and view journey. There will also be things we have not yet anticipated that will emerge from user research and stakeholder engagement.
The current technology stack comprises: Github, AWS, Open Search, Python, Flask, GDS design system, Universal Viewer.
- How the procedure runs: 'Stage 1' Tender submissions will be evaluated applying the criteria specified in paras 8.1 to 8.3 of the attached ITT document. Once all of those submissions have been evaluated, the top-five-ranked bidders will be issued with a 'Stage 2' ITT document and invited to submit a 'Stage 2' Tender response. A contract award decision will be made by scoring the 'Stage 2' Tender responses against the criteria specified in para 8.4 of the attached ITT document.
CPV: Information technology services
Open work like this
This notice no longer takes bids · live search, filters set
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£1,000,000
What it takes to wini
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality
- Social Value
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| supplier not published | — | 19 Mar 2026 | Cancelled |
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Cancelled
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 Sept 2025, 14:24 BST
- Last source update
- 27 Mar 2026, 10:58 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 8 Dec 2025
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-065813- Latest notice
- Procurement termination notice (UK12)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-059f2cFind a Tender
- How it runs
'Stage 1' Tender submissions will be evaluated applying the criteria specified in paras 8.1 to 8.3 of the attached ITT document.
Once all of those submissions have been evaluated, the top-five-ranked bidders will be issued with a 'Stage 2' ITT document and invited to submit a 'Stage 2' Tender response.
A contract award decision will be made by scoring the 'Stage 2' Tender responses against the criteria specified in para 8.4 of the attached ITT document.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 22 Oct 2025, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 10 Oct 2025, 17:00 BST
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Submissions must be sent to [email protected], as specified in the attached ITT document.
The National Archives website is www.nationalarchives.gov.uk ↗
Timeline
22 Sept 2025 → 27 Mar 2026 · 6 dates- Tender notice published22 Sept 2025, 14:24 BST
- Clarification questions by400 days ago10 Oct 2025, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline388 days ago22 Oct 2025, 17:00 BST
- Award decision expected by341 days ago8 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts318 days ago1 Jan 2026
- Latest notice published232 days ago27 Mar 2026, 10:58 GMT
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 Sept 2025- Tender notice published22 Sept 2025, 14:24 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published16 Oct 2025, 10:17 BSTUK4
- Procurement termination notice published27 Mar 2026, 10:58 GMTUK12
- Status changed to complete27 Mar 2026, 10:58 GMT
Published amendments (1)
Document uploaded, containing clarification questions and answers.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Invitation to Tender (ITT) document.
- Bidding documents and specifications Clarification questions and answers
Notices published for this procedure
- Procurement termination notice Procurement termination notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender