Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 19 Oct 2026, 16:38 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Fire Assurance Framework · UK public procurement notice

Authority: Northern Trains Limited (Central government)

Framework agreementServicesAbove thresholdUtilities
Planned pipeline value£1,500,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Framework period 3 yrsends 1 Apr 2030 · up to 31 Mar 2032 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Northern Trains Limited (NTL) intends to establish a Fire Assurance Framework to support Northern Trains Limited (NTL) in delivering fire safety and compliance activities across its station portfolio. The framework will provide access to specialist services, including Fire Risk Assessments, Evacuation Plans, and associated fire remedial works where necessary.

The Framework will be structured across two specialist lots to ensure the appropriate alignment of Supplier/Contractor capability with the diverse and technically complex requirements of station environments. The proposed lots are as follows:

LOT 1 Professional Services

Advising whether the stations Northern are responsible for complying with the functional requirements of Building Regulations.

Identifying recommendations for Northern to enable compliance with any relevant legislation and the functional requirements of Building Regulations.

Reviewing and commenting on the Fire Strategy document issued to Northern, supporting new stations / AfA schemes against building regulations and relevant fire standards for rail stations.

Highlighting any risks that the Fire Strategy documentation may pose to Northern as the designated SFO.

Identifying recommendations for Northern in response to risks identified.

Undertaking Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs).

Reviewing relevant packages issued by the contractors’ team against compliance with the station fire strategy.

Peer reviewing of emergency evacuation plans and FRAs, developed by Northern or other parties.

Reviewing and endorsing of documentation already produced such as Probabilistic Fire Risk Assessments.

Proposing fire safety management arrangements including staff training, inspection, and review requirements.

Attending at least one site visit per station to get familiar with the station layout and facilities during the construction phase, where applicable.

Attending fire strategy consultation meetings on behalf of Northern.

LOT 2 Remedial Works

Reinstating fire doors: Ensuring that fire doors are properly installed and functioning, preventing fire spread.

Fire compartmentation: Implementing fire compartmentation systems to separate different areas of a building to limit the spread of fire.

Fire stopping: Installing fire stopping materials to seal gaps between combustible materials and prevent the spread of fire.

Emergency lighting: Installing emergency lighting systems to ensure that escape routes areas are visible in case of a fire.

Fire alarm systems: Upgrading or installing fire alarm systems to detect and alert occupants to potential fire hazards.

The Framework is designed to facilitate the call-off of works packages on both a programme and project basis, providing flexibility, scalability, and value for money. NTL is seeking to establish collaborative, long-term relationships with Framework Contractors, underpinned by strong governance, effective contract management, and a shared commitment to delivering high-quality outcomes across its works infrastructure portfolio.

For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:

www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-York:-… ↗

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:

www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/D2WCGEM222 ↗

CPV: Construction work · Risk or hazard assessment for construction · Risk or hazard assessment other than for construction

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
3 yrs · up to 5 yrs from 1 Apr 2027

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 3 yrs

What it takes to win
i

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 more
What this means for your bid
  • “Fire Assurance Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

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

How Northern Trains Ltd buys Consultative engineering and construction services (CPV 7131), and who usually turns up

Northern Trains Ltd’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Consultative engineering and construction services (CPV 7131) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerNorthern Trains Ltd · 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: 0 of 3 known-size awards · market: CPV 7131 · Yorkshire and the Humber, n=44
0 of 339%

No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.

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 Yorkshire and the Humber.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 2 of 3 known-location awards · market: CPV 7131 · Yorkshire and the Humber, n=53
2 of 330%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Yorkshire and the Humber.

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: 9 decided notices · market: CPV 7131 · Yorkshire and the Humber, n=7
52 days142 days

Half of these awards were announced within 52 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.

The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: exactly 0 of 2 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 7131 · Yorkshire and the Humber, n=7
0 of 214%

Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.

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 buyer3 lots with bid counts · all categories · too few to chart
The market33 lots with bid counts · CPV 7131 · Yorkshire and the Humber
0% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0%
Market: 0 of 33 lots with published bid counts.
2–312%
Market: 4 of 33 lots with published bid counts.
4–645%
Market: 15 of 33 lots with published bid counts.
7+42%
Market: 14 of 33 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.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.

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 713136 monthsPublished estimate£1.5m
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 33 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet0% single-bid risk
Past bids on 33 similar lots
1 bid0%
0 of 33 similar past lots received 1 bid (0%).
2–312%
4 of 33 similar past lots received 2–3 (12%).
4–645%
15 of 33 similar past lots received 4–6 (45%).
7+42%
14 of 33 similar past lots received 7+ (42%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 6 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.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Utilities
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
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
19 Oct 2026, 16:38 BST
Last source update
19 Oct 2026, 16:38 BST
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-098656
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Construction workRisk or hazard assessment for constructionRisk or hazard assessment other than for construction
Delivery area
North East (UKC)North West (UKD)Yorkshire & Humber (UKE)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078b25 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

19 Oct 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 3 dates
  1. Planning notice published2 days ago
    19 Oct 2026, 16:38 BST
  2. Today
    21 Oct 2026
  3. Market engagementin 5 days
    26 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT

    Northern Trains Limited ("NTL") is seeking to undertake early market engagement with suitably qualified and experienced Suppliers in advance of a forthcoming procurement to establish a Fire Assurance Framework.

    The proposed framework will support Northern Trains Limited (NTL) in delivering fire safety and compliance activities across its station portfolio. The framework will provide access to specialist services, including Fire Risk Assessments, Evacuation Plans, and associated fire remedial works where necessary.

    NTL invites interested Suppliers to attend a virtual Pre-Market Engagement session, which will be held on:

    26th October 2026 at 11:00am via Microsoft Teams

    The session will include a presentation delivered by the Project and Procurement Teams, outlining the strategic objectives of the Framework, the anticipated scope of works, and the proposed procurement approach.

    The session will provide insight into the following areas:

    -Overview of the Fire Assurance Framework.

    -Scope of works and technical requirements.

    -Anticipated lotting structure.

    -Procurement route, timelines, and key milestones

    NTL is also seeking feedback from the market to help inform the development of the procurement strategy, including:

    -Proposed contracting model (e.g. framework structure, call-off -mechanisms)

    -Pricing approaches and cost management mechanisms

    -Commercial terms

    NTL may also invite Suppliers to participate in one-to-one follow-up meetings, which are expected to take place shortly after the session. Selection for these sessions will be at NTL's sole discretion.

    This pre-market engagement is being undertaken to inform NTL's approach and does not constitute a commitment to commence a procurement process.

    To express interest in attending the Pre-Market Engagement session, please email:

    [email protected]

    Please include your organisation's name, contact details and the name of attendees. A calendar invitation with joining details will follow.

    Suppliers should note that there is no obligation to take part in this preliminary market engagement exercise and that if they do not take part, it will not preclude them from the subsequent related procurement process. Engaging Suppliers will not receive preferential treatment in any procurement tender process, and this is in no way an indication of the selection of any organisation or a guarantee of future work.

  4. Contract startsin 161 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    19 Oct 2026, 16:38 BST
    UK2

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

Northern Trains Limited

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PZCJ-2164-HJQZ George Stephenson House, Toft Green, York, Yorkshire & Humber, YO1 6JTContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure