Official UK procurement notice
Employment effects of the National Living Wage
Authority: Low Pay Commission (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Low Pay Commission (LPC) sought tenders for research using novel methods or data to analyse the impact of recent increases in the minimum wage. We are specifically interested in the impacts on employment (and hours), but research may cover a range of other outcomes.
This procurement is for research delivering its final findings in September 2027 with interim findings in September 2026. If your proposed project could be completed to a shorter timeframe, we strongly encourage you to submit a bid under LPC 2025/05 (Open call for research on the minimum wage).
The estimated maximum cost of the contract was £80,000 (exclusive of VAT; £96,000 including VAT).
CPV: Research and development services and related consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£80,000
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).
Lot awarding rule: Tenders shall be evaluated using the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) methodology. This is where the Authority assesses a Tender based on a combination of commercial, quality, and price elements. The Authority chooses to award the Contract, the Authority shall award the Contract to the Tenderer which submits the highest scoring Tender. The MAT ratio for this Tender is as follows: Commercial: Pass/Fail Quality: 80% Value for Money: 20% Any non-weighted elements shall be evaluated as pass/fail and any Tenders which receive a 'Fail' will be excluded from further participation in the Procurement. Quality will be assessed on three dimensions: Understanding the requirements and context (A01): 25% Methodology and approach (A02): 30% Ability to deliver (A03): 25% Value for money will be scored based on total contract price, the scale and quality of the proposed deliverables and the staffing resource required to complete the project.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- 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
- 19 Dec 2025, 19:20 GMT
- Last source update
- 8 Apr 2026, 10:22 BST
- Authority reference
LPC 2025/06- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-085180- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05fb00Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 2 Feb 2026, 14:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 12 Jan 2026, 14:00 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Not allowed
Tenders should be submitted to [email protected], copying [email protected].
Timeline
19 Dec 2025 → 8 Apr 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published304 days ago19 Dec 2025, 19:20 GMT
- Clarification questions by281 days ago12 Jan 2026, 14:00 GMT
- Submission deadline260 days ago2 Feb 2026, 14:00 GMT
- Contract starts232 days ago2 Mar 2026
- Latest notice published195 days ago8 Apr 2026, 10:22 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Dec 2025- Tender notice published19 Dec 2025, 19:20 GMTUK4
- Contract details notice published8 Apr 2026, 10:22 BSTUK7
- Status changed to complete8 Apr 2026, 10:22 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smart Data Foundry | £73,116 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · Smart Data Foundry
- Signed
- 12 Mar 2026
- Value
- £73,116
- Period
- 16 Mar 2026 – 30 Mar 2028
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Smart Data FoundryAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications A detailed description of the project requirements is provided in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document published on the Low Pay Commission website. The pricing schedule template can be found alongside the ITT document. Note that there may be a short delay in the linked page go…
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender