Official UK procurement notice
"Airlock" Output Checking System OCS Decision Engine Development Partner
Authority: UK Biobank Ltd (Public body)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionUKB is seeking to further improve its technical controls and intends to implement a functional mechanism to check data egress requests
to ensure that participant record-level data is not being removed and does not contain information that can identify individual
participants. This Output Checking System (OCS) functionality will allow UKB to enhance the security of the UKB-RAP, reduce the
risk of advertent and inadvertent data breaches and importantly increase the trust and transparency of the UKB resource. UKB intends
to commence a procurement exercise to procure a replacement for the current UKB-RAP in 2027, which will come into effect in 2028.
The OCS will need to be integrated with the new UKB-RAP.
To develop and deliver the OCS, UKB is separating the procurement into two elements which will need to be fully interoperable:
- OCS User Interface (UI) and Workflow (subject to a separate tender exercise completed via the CCS G-Cloud 14 framework): The
development of a seamless UI and Workflow for the OCS, including secure movement of data and integration with existing UKB
infrastructure.
- The OCS Decision Engine (this procurement): The development of the core algorithms to allow an automated assessment of the data
being egressed, giving an overall confidence assessment score and a Red/Amber/Green (RAG) rating for decision making
The OCS Decision Engine is made up of two components:
- Data Trust Engine: reviews the egressed file(s) from UKB-RAP to detect the presence of sensitive information. Through the
application of transparent, heuristic rules and configurable thresholds, the Data Trust Engine will create a score for how 'disclosive' the
egressed data is that, when coupled with the researcher confidence score below, provides a Red (fail), Amber (unclear) or Green (pass)
egress rating.
- Researcher Behaviour Engine: derives the overall credibility of a given researcher within AMS and UKB-RAP, and assigns a
confidence score, which will dictate how human-review decisions are made for 'Amber' outcomes from the Trust Engine.
This procurement relates to a development partner to design and deliver the OCS Decision Engine, which will include the Data Trust
Engine and Researcher Behaviour Engine.
- The evaluation was concluded and a decision to award was made on Friday 22 May 2026
- UK Biobank has provided an assessment summary to each supplier on Friday 19 June 2026
- The standstill period ran until midnight on 30 June 2026
- How the procedure runs: Bidders must submit a PSQ Response and submit an Initial Bid, in response to the ITN. The top three highest ranking Bidders based on the evaluation of the Initial Bids will be taken forward to the Negotiation Stage of the Procurement. UKB reserves the right to take forward the fourth highest ranking Bidder if its score is within 5% of the score of the Bidder in third place
CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£2,000,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (9)
- Technical Requirements: Output Checking System and Decision Engine: 5%
- Technical Requirements: Data Trust Engine: 25%
- Technical Requirements: Researcher Behaviour Engine: 10%
- Technical Requirements: Non-Functional Requirements: 5%
- Technical Requirements: DevOps Capability: 5%
- Implementation: Timescales, Milestones, and Ways of Working: 10%
- Price: Decision Engine Development and Implementation Charges: 20%
- Price: Rate Cards: 10%
- Social Value: Equal Opportunity: 10%
Published award criteria (9)
- Technical Requirements: Output Checking System and Decision Engine: Output Checking System and Decision Engine
- Technical Requirements: Data Trust Engine: Data Trust Engine
- Technical Requirements: Researcher Behaviour Engine: Researcher Behaviour Engine
- Technical Requirements: Non-Functional Requirements: Non-Functional Requirements
- Technical Requirements: DevOps Capability: DevOps Capability
- Implementation: Timescales, Milestones, and Ways of Working: Timescales, Milestones, and Ways of Working
- Social Value: Equal Opportunity: Equal Opportunity
- Price: Decision Engine Development and Implementation Charges: Decision Engine Development and Implementation Charges
- Price: Rate Cards: Rate Cards
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 12 Feb 2026, 12:49 GMT
- Last source update
- 28 Aug 2026, 14:59 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 10 Jul 2026
- Authority reference
UKB0025- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-012869- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-064efdFind a Tender
- How it runs
Bidders must submit a PSQ Response and submit an Initial Bid, in response to the ITN. The top three highest ranking Bidders based on the evaluation of the Initial Bids will be taken forward to the Negotiation Stage of the Procurement. UKB reserves the right to take forward the fourth highest ranking Bidder if its score is within 5% of the score of the Bidder in third place
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 17 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 12 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
12 Feb 2026 → 28 Aug 2026 · 7 dates- Tender notice published253 days ago12 Feb 2026, 12:49 GMT
- Clarification questions by225 days ago12 Mar 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission deadline189 days ago17 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent126 days ago19 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by104 days ago10 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts84 days ago31 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published56 days ago28 Aug 2026, 14:59 BST
Notice history
9 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 Feb 2026- Tender notice published12 Feb 2026, 12:49 GMTUK4
- Tender notice published16 Feb 2026, 15:18 GMTUK4
- Tender notice published17 Mar 2026, 10:05 GMTUK4
- Deadline moved to 17 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST17 Mar 2026, 10:05 GMT+15 days · was 2 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
- Contract award notice published20 Jun 2026, 08:55 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete20 Jun 2026, 08:55 BST
- Buyer details updated20 Jun 2026, 08:55 BST
- Contract signature expected3 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published28 Aug 2026, 14:59 BSTUK7
Published amendments (2)
The description included in the Scope for this tender wrongly referenced "liquid handlers" : "The estimated contract value for the purchase of the Liquid Handlers and the provision of services as set out in this Contract Notice and for the duration described is anticipated to be £2m GBP" This was an error and reference to Liquid Handlers has now been removed and the Scope now says: The estimated c…
The submission deadline for initial bids has been extended following requests from potential bidders
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2026-02: 2 releases · 12 Feb 2026, 16 Feb 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kainos Software Limited3 Jul 2026 – 2 Jul 2029 · up to 2 Jul 2032Extensions: The initial term for the Contract will be three (3) years, with the option for UKB to extend the contract by up to a further three (3) year period (1+1+1), i.e. up to a maximum total term of six (6) years (inclusive of the initial term) | £2,000,000 | 22 May 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · Kainos Software Limited
- Signed
- 20 Aug 2026
- Value
- £2,000,000
- Period
- 1 Sept 2026 – 31 Aug 2029 · up to 31 Aug 2032 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The initial term for the Contract will be three (3) years, with the option for UKB to extend the contract by up to a further three (3) year period (1+1+1), i.e. up to a maximum total term of six (6) years (inclusive of the initial term)
No agreed KPIs: Contract value is below £5m
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11final-stage tenders | 3 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- UK Biobank LtdContracting authorityPublic undertaking
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- KAINOS SOFTWARE LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (10)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Bidder Questionnaire (comprising PSQ and Award Questions)
- Bidding documents and specifications Process Overview and Guidance to Bidders
- Bidding documents and specifications Specification
- Bidding documents and specifications Pricing Response
- Bidding documents and specifications Agreement
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender