CAT-21-008 Milk and Milk Products

CPV: Fresh cows' milk · Milk and cream

Places

up to 16 suppliers · 3 bids on the busiest of 16 lots (0.2 per place) · 3 appointed

Every one of these 16 lots carries the same published figure, £11,476,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.

Procedure method

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Goods

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Framework agreement

Who may use this agreement

Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Yes (GPA)

Recurring procurement

No (one-off requirement)

First published

28 Jan 2022, 11:25 GMT

Last source update

16 Jun 2026, 10:56 BST

Award evaluation window

27 May 2022 – …

Authority reference

CAT-21-008

FTS notice number

2026/S 000-056507

Classification (CPV)

Fresh cows' milkMilk and cream

Delivery area

UKNorthern Ireland (UKN)

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-031073 Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

Published justification

This is not an award without prior notice, the purpose of this VEAT notice is to make the market aware that EA intend to modify this contract as detailed below.

The purpose of this VEAT notice is to inform the market that the Education Authority (EA) intends to add the following lots to the existing award held by Dale Farm Ltd, in accordance with the pricing, terms, and conditions set out in the current framework agreement.

Lot 2 – Armagh Area 3

Lot 6 – Ballymena Area 4

Lot 7 – Ballymena Area 5

Lot 8 – Ballymena Area 6

Lot 12 – Omagh Area 1

The original award for the lots listed above was made to Lacpatrick Dairies under the existing framework agreement. However, Lacpatrick Dairies has formally notified the Education Authority of their intention to withdraw from all of the specified lots, effective 1 November 2025.

This decision follows confirmation that Grove Dairy, the third supplier awarded under the framework, is not currently delivering milk in the relevant areas and has advised that it would not be operationally viable for them to take on the additional schools. As such, Dale Farm Ltd is the only supplier capable of fulfilling the requirements within the necessary timeframe.

The additional lots are required to ensure uninterrupted milk provision to schools commencing 1 November 2025.

The modification is being made under the principles of urgency and operational necessity and is consistent with the scope and structure of the original framework.

The modification is necessary to maintain uninterrupted delivery of milk to schools from1 November 2025 onward and is justified under Regulation 72(1)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which allows for contract changes due to unforeseen circumstances without altering the overall nature of the contract. The awarded contractor’s withdrawal from the framework was an unexpected development that could not have been foreseen.

No aspect of the modification will alter the overall nature of the current contract as the scope of goods will remain unaltered, and any expenditure will not exceed the original awarded contract value.

Regulation 72(1)(b) permits an amendment to an existing contract: for additional works,

services or supplies by the original contractor that have become necessary and were not

included in the initial procurement, where a change of contractor

(i) cannot be made for economic or technical reasons such as requirements of

interchangeability or interoperability with existing equipment, services or installations

procured under the initial procurement, or

(ii) would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the

contracting authority, provided that any increase in price does not exceed 50% of the value

of the original contract.

The EA shall observe a period of no less than 30 days, beginning with the day after the date of publication, before modifying the contract as set out in this notice.

Publisher note: This framework was awarded as 16 Lots and the modification to this framework is applicable to 5 Lots:Lot 2 – Armagh Area 3, Lot 6 – Ballymena Area 4, Lot 7 – Ballymena Area 5, Lot 8 – Ballymena Area 6 and Lot 12 – Omagh Area 1

Appointment period ends

27 May 2022, 15:00 BST

Submission channel

{"electronicSubmission","written"}

Accepted languages

en

Bids opened

27 May 2022, 15:30 BST

18 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.

• DALE FARM LIMITEDFramework contractor Belfast, Northern IrelandContact emailShow contact details
• DALE FARM LIMITEDFramework contractor BELFAST, Northern IrelandContact emailShow contact details
• DALE FARM LIMITEDFramework contractor DALE FARM HOUSE, BELFAST, UK, BT3 9LSContact email, phoneShow contact details
• LACPATRICK DAIRIES NI LIMITEDFramework contractor Coleraine, Northern IrelandContact emailShow contact details
• LACPATRICK DAIRIES NI LIMITEDFramework contractor 18 Creamery Road Cloyfin, COLERAINE, UK, BT52 2NEContact email, phoneShow contact details
• The Grove DairyFramework contractor CASTLEDERG, Northern IrelandContact emailShow contact details
• The Grove DairyFramework contractor 39 Kilclean Road, CASTLEDERG, UK, BT81 7EFContact email, phoneShow contact details

No document links were published on the notice.