Official UK procurement notice
Drug Tariff RFI · UK public procurement notice
Authority: NHS Business Services Authority (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) invites you to participate in an RFI for a Drug Tariff Solution. The solution is required to create the Drug Tariff which the NHSBSA produces on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. The NHSBSA are looking to introduce a flexible solution, underpinning business activities, to enable more agility to react to an ever-changing landscape and future proof the creation and accessing of the Drug Tariff by end users (e.g. pharmacists).
The NHSBSA Medicines Data Team and specifically the Drug Tariff Team within, are responsible for the processing and assessing of Part IX applications for the listing or request to change a listing of medical devices as well as the creation of the Drug Tariff on a monthly basis on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Drug Tariff outlines:
- what will be paid to pharmacy contractors for NHS services provided either for reimbursement or for remuneration
- rules to follow when dispensing
- value of the fees and allowances to be paid
- drug and appliance prices you will be paid
The Drug Tariff is published on the NHSBSA website and can be viewed at Drug Tariff | NHSBSA.
The Drug Tariff is supplied by the NHSBSA in an electronic format primarily to pharmacists and GP practices.
The requirement is for a solution which produces the Drug Tariff from importing several data sources (from the NHSBSA CDR (Common Drug Reference) database in xml format, Microsoft Word and PDF documents (for NHS Directions) as well as Excel documents for new content).
The Drug Tariff will reflect all the information from the previous edition as well as all drug and appliance changes, price changes, additions and deletions applicable in the current month edition.
Further details on the Functional and Non-functional requirements and formats (The Drug Tariff Document and the Electronic Drug Tariff) are detailed in Appendix 1.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is publishing this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice under Section 17 of the Procurement Act 2023, which sets out the requirement to publish a notice where preliminary market engagement has taken place or is planned.
This engagement is being carried out in line with Section 16 of the Procurement Act 2023, which permits contracting authorities to engage with the market for purposes such as understanding supplier capability, shaping the requirement, and supporting the design of the procurement approach.
In conducting this engagement, we will meet our overarching duties under the Act. This includes acting in a way that supports the procurement objectives, ensuring non‑discrimination between suppliers, and managing any actual or potential conflicts of interest. These duties apply to all preliminary market engagement activities and underpin how information is shared with suppliers to avoid any unfair advantage.
Interested parties must access the RFI documents via health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗ (search opportunities using system reference C428345).
CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · IT software development services · IT software package · Medical software package · Software development services · Software package and information systems · Software-related services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NHS Business Services Authority buys Software-related services (CPV 7226), and who usually turns up
NHS Business Services Authority’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Software-related services (CPV 7226) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside the delivery region.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 51 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid33%
2–350%
4–617%
7+0%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7226Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 74 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid27%
2–331%
4–620%
7+22%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- 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
- 3 Mar 2026, 11:26 GMT
- Last source update
- 3 Mar 2026, 11:26 GMT
- Authority reference
W149021- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-018846- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0660aaFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
3 Mar 2026 → 8 Jul 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published233 days ago3 Mar 2026, 11:26 GMT
- Market engagement205 days ago31 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
With this invitation, the NHSBSA invites you to respond to this RFI in relation to the delivery of the solution to address business objectives and requirements outlined in Appendix 1 Drug Tariff Requirements.
Your organisation’s involvement with our RFI is an invaluable way of us ensuring that, with your input, we have the best support and guidance to inform any subsequent procurement.
At this stage we are seeking high-level input via completion of Appendix 2 (NHSBSA Supplier RFI Response Document) to enable us to assess the market and to inform any future procurement process.
Your response to this RFI will be used by the NHSBSA and its Stakeholders to:
- understand supplier/market capability, capacity and service offering
- understand lead times for the implementation and the delivery of the solution/services
- identify any innovative solutions proposed by suppliers
- inform the scope of the future requirements
- understand supplier side issues in delivering the solution/services
- understand commercial/pricing models
- inform a future procurement strategy
- whether a contract could be broken down into Lots
- determine the route to market
- understand what Social Value can be delivered through this contract
Dates of Engagement:
UK02: Preliminary Market Engagement Notice published and suppliers able to register on Health Family Portal. - 03/03/2026
RFI Documents made available to registered suppliers on Health Family Portal - 03/03/2026
Supplier presentation - 16/03/2026
Supplier 121 sessions - 17/03/2026 12.30pm-4.30pm
Supplier clarification question deadline - 20/03/2026 at 12 Noon
Supplier response deadline - 31/03/2026 at 6pm
NHSBSA to provide summary report of RFI findings in late April 2026.
It is anticipated that a UK04: Tender Notice will be published September 2026.
Interested parties must access the RFI documents via health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗ (search opportunities using system reference C428345).
- Tender notice expected21 days ago1 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 258 days8 Jul 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published3 Mar 2026, 11:26 GMTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender