Find a TenderPlanned procurementPlanned procurement notice
Published 19 Oct 2026, 12:53 BST

Official UK procurement notice

FILM/AUDIO/VIDEO PRODUCTION (2027-2030) · UK public procurement notice

Authority: Nuclear Waste Services Limited (Public body)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Recreational, cultural and sporting services (92) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Planned pipeline value£500,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 27 Oct 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 2 yrsends 28 Feb 2029 · up to 28 Feb 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Mar 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

NWS requires an experienced agency of Film, Audio and Video Production with demonstrable credentials, which include evidence of previous work for high-profile clients in both the private and public sectors. The Contractor’s staff will work with NWS and will bring a variety of skills and competencies within Film, Audio and Video Services. The team must be able to evidence experience from previous assignments and contracts. With direction from NWS’ Creative Lead, the successful Contractor will assist with the development of film/audio production across the following deliverables, while adhering to NWS brand values, to the highest standard, on time and on budget.

The successful Contractor shall provide a single point of contact, subject to NWS’ regular review, for responding to NWS, picking up the scope and tracking and notifying the budget spend. The delivery of the work could be provided by the Contractor in-house or via sub-contractors. The approved single point of contact shall not be replaced at a later stage without notifying NWS. The successful Contractor will provide options as required and manage amendments from start to completion, with delivery of the appropriate video/audio files on specification, including digital and high-res versions.

The Team appointed will be professionally qualified, and key personnel will provide CVs for approval by NWS.

The successful Contractor will make allowances for hard of hearing or subtitles as required, as well as provide VOs in both English and Welsh when required. The successful Contractor will assist with the industry regulation processes, including UK government legal accessibility requirements and delivery to broadcast stations, should this become a requirement.

Examples of previous film productions can be seen below; the successful Contractor will be expected to match or improve on the quality of films produced:

youtu.be/sGasDQmPD5M ↗

youtu.be/1GPDi39iDlY ↗

youtu.be/MWkPujO8gC0 ↗

GDF Explained - Geology Q&A with Andrew Parkes - YouTube

Underground resources - YouTube

What we're up to at the Low Level Waste Repository - YouTube

What is the GDF (Geological Disposal Facility) community siting factor?

How does the multi-barrier system work in a GDF?

Requirements would come in the shape of briefs, spanning a range of formats and styles, including short concept-style films, ‘in the moment’ social media stories and talking heads made at short notice, long-form explainers and short ‘fly on the wall’ documentary-style films that showcase the work across NWS. Access to different film directors and camera crew, specialist skills and equipment, studio locations within commuting distance from both Cumbria and the Southeast, in-house post-production services and resources are necessary. The agility to provide a small crew at short notice will be required on a regular basis. NWS is seeking a Contractor with own camera equipment covering all bases, and studio film/audio broadcast facilities, owned or contracted, readily available. These will be equipped to the latest industry standards, with own or hired kit and access to set build capabilities.

The successful Contractor will provide a suite of post-production services, ranging from green screen to Computer Generated Imagery and 3D techniques, and will continually update these services to find new innovations and developments within the sector. The successful Contractor will have an awareness of AI techniques and regulations. Use of AI will be strictly limited to tried and tested techniques and any use of AI beyond retouching material filmed conventionally should be declared and subject to NWS approval.

Should NWS require a preferred photographer to join the crew, they should be allowed access to the Contractor’s studio facility or facilities and to film production's locations if required, and as appropriate.

Delivery would include providing different file formats in very high resolution as required, long- and short-form as required, portrait or landscape as required, managing amends and keeping a record of all files’ versions and approvals. The Contractor should keep all NWS files safely and securely archived for the duration of the Contract, unless otherwise specified. Upon request, open files and folders would be delivered to NWS at the end of each project for future editorial use.

Work will be required over a period of two years with an optional extension at NWS’ discretion of a further period of two years. Each project’s lead times will be agreed at the outset of each brief.

CPV: Information film production

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 2 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£500,000
Contract period: 1 Mar 2027 – 28 Feb 2029 (2 yrs) · up to 28 Feb 2031 with extensionsValue: £500,000 exc. VAT · £600,000 inc. VAT
Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: Extend for 12 months and addition 12 months

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How Nuclear Waste Services Limited buys Motion picture and video tape production and related services (CPV 9211), and who usually turns up

Nuclear Waste Services Limited’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: Motion picture and video tape production and related services (CPV 9211) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerNuclear Waste Services Limited · all categories
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 4 of 12 known-size awards · market: CPV 9211 · UK-wide, n=20
33%80%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Here, local means registered in North West England (authority’s region).

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 0 of 7 known-location awards · market: CPV 9211 · North West England (authority’s region), n=5
0%20%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside North West England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 decided notices · market: division 92 · North West England (authority’s region), n=12
77 days45 days

Half of these awards were announced within 77 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 10 of 15 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 9211 · North West England (authority’s region), n=5
67%40%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer7 lots with bid counts · all categories
57% had one bid
The market7 lots with bid counts · CPV 9211 · UK-wide
0% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid57% / 0%
Buyer: 4 of 7 lots with published bid counts. Market: 0 of 7 lots with published bid counts.
2–329% / 29%
Buyer: 2 of 7 lots with published bid counts. Market: 2 of 7 lots with published bid counts.
4–614% / 0%
Buyer: 1 of 7 lots with published bid counts. Market: 0 of 7 lots with published bid counts.
7+0% / 71%
Buyer: 0 of 7 lots with published bid counts. Market: 5 of 7 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyerNo estimate-and-award pairs published
The market7 lots with estimate and award · CPV 9211 · UK-wide
57% below estimate
Market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate57%
Market: 4 of 7 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%29%
Market: 2 of 7 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate14%
Market: 1 of 7 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 921124 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£500k
Expected competition
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 22 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet9% single-bid risk
Past bids on 22 similar lots
1 bid9%
2 of 22 similar past lots received 1 bid (9%).
2–345%
10 of 22 similar past lots received 2–3 (45%).
4–636%
8 of 22 similar past lots received 4–6 (36%).
7+9%
2 of 22 similar past lots received 7+ (9%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £500k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

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.

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.

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
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
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 Oct 2026, 12:53 BST
Last source update
19 Oct 2026, 12:53 BST
Authority reference
C16925
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-098463
Latest notice
Planned procurement notice (UK3)
Classification (CPV)
Information film production
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078ab7 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Atamis (Health Family) · Who buys & how to bid on Atamis
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free · one account PER buying organisation portal · password resets come "from Salesforce.com" (check spam)
Submission deadline
24 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
17 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

19 Oct 2026 → 1 Mar 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Planning notice published1 day ago
    19 Oct 2026, 12:53 BST
  2. Today
    20 Oct 2026
  3. Tender notice expectedin 8 days
    27 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
  4. Clarification questions byin 28 days
    17 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
  5. Submission deadlinein 35 days
    24 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
  6. Contract startsin 132 days
    1 Mar 2027

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Planned procurement notice published
    19 Oct 2026, 12:53 BST
    UK3

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

Nuclear Waste Services Limited

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PNWB-5846-DYCH Pelham House, Pelham Drive,, Calderbridge, Seascale, North West, CA20 1DBContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure