Official UK procurement notice
Decommissioning Nuclear Waste Partnership (DNWP)
Authority: Sellafield Limited (Public body)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought4 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionSellafield Ltd is responsible for safely operating and decommissioning Europe's largest, most complex nuclear site, which is home to legacy nuclear facilities that are some of the most hazardous buildings in Western Europe. Sellafield Ltd, through the Decommissioning and Nuclear Waste Partners (DNWP) Framework opportunity, has brought together four partners across four Lots to provide a full suite of expertise and support to deliver decommissioning activities and projects, including asset care. Delivery will be across nuclear facilities on the Sellafield licenced site that are in mix of states including operational, post operation clean out (POCO), decommissioning and demolition. Consequently, the scope of work for the DNWP Framework will include construction delivery, demolition related works, associated technical services (including safety case and design) and waste management with the scope aligned across the following four Lots:<br/><br/><br/>
- Lot 1 Remediation Partners<br/>
- Lot 2 Pond Retrievals Partner<br/>
- Lot 3 Silos Retrievals Partner<br/>
- Lot 4 Integrated Nuclear Waste Partner
CPV: Building construction work · Business and management consultancy and related services · Business and management consultancy services · Construction consultancy services · Construction equipment · Construction work · Decommissioning services · Demolition, site preparation and clearance work · Design consultancy services · Design support services · Designs · Electrical engineering installation works · +12 more
How this framework works
From the published notice- Bids received
- 5 bids on the busiest of 4 lots · 4 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
15 yrs from 6 Nov 2025, 15 years reflects the extended mobilisation and ramp up involved as well as the exceptional nature of the key programmes that will drive high hazard risk reduction that the DNWP Framework will deliver, in particular for bulk retrievals. A 15-year term is considered necessary to provide the Partners with the confidence to sustainably invest in technologies and critical skills to support delivery.
Lots and requirements (4)Procurement structure
4 lots · all with a published value · win at most 2 of them · same evaluation weights on every lotEvery one of these 2 lots carries the same published figure, £1,000,000,000: 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.
Lot #1RemediationAwardedPublished value£2,000,000,000
Lot 1 will consist of two Remediation Partners. The Remediation value stream will have a growing scope as more and more of the Sellafield site moves from operations into remediation and decommissioning. This will be reflected in a growing investment over the lifetime of the DNWP framework, subject to annual public sector funding constraints. Remediation is about cleaning up the Sellafield site over the next century as safely and cost-effectively as possible. As an asset reaches the end of its operational life, remediation addresses the nuclear, radiological and conventional risks through post-operation clean-out, decommissioning, demolition and land remediation. The focus of waste informed nuclear decommissioning up to 2040 includes clearing redundant buildings to make land available for beneficial re-use and preparing to decommission the UK’s oldest nuclear reactor complexes and nuclear fuel handling facilities.
Lot #2Retrievals PondsAwardedceiling above
Lot 2 will consist of a Ponds Partner, encompassing both the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (“FGMSP”) , associated buildings and the Pile Fuel Storage Pond (“PFSP”). and associated buildings.<br/><br/>Legacy Ponds is the Operating Unit (OU) organisation within the Retrievals value stream of Sellafield that is charged with managing the programmes of work for the FGMSP and the PFSP. These are two legacy nuclear storage ponds that retain significant radiological materials and hazards that require timely mitigation, principally by retrieving the materials to downstream treatment and storage/disposal facilities while maintaining a safe and secure environment.
Lot #3Retrievals SilosAwardedceiling above
Lot 3 will consist of a Silos Partner, encompassing both the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo (“MSSS”) and Pile Fuel Cladding Silo (“PFCS”). The Retrievals value stream is responsible for managing the site’s major hazard and risk reduction programme: retrieving the waste from Sellafield’s four highest risk legacy storage facilities. These buildings have traditionally presented some of the greatest challenges on the Sellafield site, but major progress is now being made on retrieving waste from the two ponds and the MSSS, with final preparations being made to retrieve waste from the PFCS.
Lot #4Integrated Nuclear WasteAwardedPublished value£600,000,000
Lot 4 will consist of a single enterprise-wide Integrated Nuclear Waste Partner. This Nuclear Waste Partner will work through the Waste Operating Unit (“Waste OU”). The Waste OU is part of the Remediation Portfolio, it includes a dedicated programme providing enabling activities across the Sellafield enterprise with major customers being the DNWP Remediation & Retrievals Partners.
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 (2)
- Technical: 70%
- price: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical: 70
- Price: 30
- Suitability
In accordance with Regulations 57, 58 and 60 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 Candidates will be assessed on the basis of the information provided in response to the Selection Questionnaire (SQ).
- Economic & financial standing
Against the criteria as stated in the procurement pack accessed on Atamis
- Technical & professional ability
Against the criteria as stated in the procurement pack accessed on Atamis
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Decommissioning Nuclear Waste Partnership (DNWP)” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Restricted procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Awarded
- 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
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 31 Jul 2023, 17:39 BST
- Last source update
- 3 Nov 2025, 09:20 GMT
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-070297- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-03ebddFind a Tender
- Review procedure
The review procedure is as provided for in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
Publisher note: The estimated value of the DNWP Framework is stated at II.1.5.1 which is the upper end of the anticipated range of £3.8bn-£4.6bn for the 15-year framework duration. This range recognises the challenge of estimating the total value of a framework arrangement with longevity and that has the potential to be impacted by the UK Nuclear strategy, the strategy of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and associated HMG funding, the strategy of Sellafield Ltd as well as the potential variability arising from factors including, but not limited to, the conditions of the nuclear facilities, costs, inflationary impacts, options for technical solutions and innovation etc. <br/><br/>The DNWP Framework will be the successor to the existing Decommissioning Delivery Partnership (DDP) framework which will expire in March 2026, albeit task and project delivery may run beyond the DDP framework expiry. The DNWP Framework will have an initial mobilisation period and it is anticipated that in line with the call-off contract arrangements that delivery of task and project activity may run beyond the expiry date of the DNWP Framework.<br/><br/>As stated in section II.1.4, and as further developed in the procurement pack (accessed via the Atamis portal), the capabilities of each of the DNWP Partners are identified in the scope. It is anticipated that the Partners will be required to put in place subcontracting arrangements to support delivery of the scope that forms part of this procurement and that the subcontracting arrangements will not be subject to competition via the Find a Tender service. Sellafield Ltd also has in place, and through the term of the DNWP Framework will procure, site-wide contractual arrangements which may be utilised to support the delivery by the Partners.<br/><br/>Please refer to Selection Stage and Award restrictions in the SQ and ITT instructions.<br/><br/>Sellafield Ltd supports the One NDA way of working and may share relevant information related to the DNWP Framework with members of the NDA group. Additionally, in the exceptional circumstances, (which are defined within the DNWP framework agreement) that a DNWP Partner is required to support at another site licenced company within the NDA group then with prior approval of the DNWP Programme Board a DNWP Partner may be provided with relief to a key performance indicator where such deployment impacts upon a DNWP programme.<br/><br/>Sellafield Ltd is committed to delivering social impact with the successful DNWP Partners required to contribute to our strategy.<br/><br/>The DNWP contract opportunity has been developed with input from market engagement activity which has been driven through prior information notices (“PIN”). Information related to this engagement can be found in the DNWP archive within Atamis (ATAMIS portal ref C13375):<br/>• DNWP PIN 1 published 2 August 2022<br/>• DNWP PIN 2 published 2 September 2022<br/>• DNWP PIN 3 published 16 December 2022<br/>• DNWP PIN 4 published 24 March 2023<br/>• DNWP PIN 4 Addendum published on 12th April 2023<br/>• DNWP PIN 5 published 9th June 2023<br/>• DNWP PIN 6 published 3th June 2023
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 9 Oct 2023, 16:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 720 days from the deadline
Timeline
9 Oct 2023 → 6 Nov 2025 · 4 dates- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown9 Oct 2023, 16:00 BST
- Invitations to tender expected9 Feb 2024
- Notice published352 days ago3 Nov 2025, 09:20 GMT
- Contract starts349 days ago6 Nov 2025
Notice history
2 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 3 Nov 2025- Status changed to complete3 Nov 2025, 09:20 GMT
- Buyer details updated3 Nov 2025, 09:20 GMT
Published amendments (1 · 0 deadline changes)
| When | What | Before | After | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | TextI.3.0.3 | - | Please find this opportunity in Atamis under Record Reference C11759. |
1 amendment published without a description.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast5 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
All 3 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £1,000,000,000, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.
Lot 1 - Remediation
- Signed
- 30 Oct 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- … – 5 Nov 2040
- Status
- active
Lot 1 - Remediation
- Signed
- 30 Oct 2025
- Value
- £1,600,000,000
- Period
- … – 5 Nov 2040
- Status
- active
Lot 2 - Retrievals Ponds
- Signed
- 30 Oct 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- … – 5 Nov 2040
- Status
- active
Lot 3 - Retrievals Silos
- Signed
- 30 Oct 2025
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- … – 5 Nov 2040
- Status
- active
Lot 4 - Integrated Nuclear Waste
- Signed
- 30 Oct 2025
- Value
- £1,600,000,000
- Period
- … – 5 Nov 2040
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Remediation | 5bids · 5 electronic | 0 | — | — |
| 2 · Retrievals Ponds | 1bids · 1 electronic | 0 | — | — |
| 3 · Retrievals Silos | 1bids · 1 electronic | 0 | — | — |
| 4 · Integrated Nuclear Waste | 3bids · 3 electronic | 0 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- Sellafield LtdContracting authorityBody governed by public lawNuclear Decommissioning
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Royal Courts Of JusticeReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
4 commercial parties on the notice- A2R (Altrad Support Services Limited and AtkinsRéalis UK Limited)Framework contractor
- Amentum Clean Energy LimitedFramework contractor
- NDS (Altrad Support Services Ltd, Cavendish Nuclear Ltd, Shepley Engineers Ltd)Framework contractor
- TDA (AtkinsRéalis UK, Amentum Clean Energy, Westinghouse Electric Company UK)Framework contractor
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.