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AwardedFind a Tender · award

Force Communications Solution - CPA/SPU/2684P

Buyer: Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire →

BuyerPolice and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire
StatusAwarded
DeadlineNot published
Value£10,000,000
Published2 Apr 2026

What is being bought

UK6 Contract Award Notice following publications of UK1 Pipeline Notice and UK5 Transparency Notice. This is in respect of a Direct Award for the continuation of service for a Force Communication Solution to commence on March 8th 2028 with the incumbent provider. The intention is to replace the current contract CPA/SPU/401 which will reach the end of the term on March 7th 2028 as there are no further options to extend, and to enter into a new contract for an initial period of 5yrs with optional extensions. Saab SAFE is the core platform used by the organisation to take emergency and non-emergency calls from members of the public. The system has integrated telephony and radio (through interfaces with Airwave), which allows a call to be managed from whatever route it enters the Force Control Room, through to dispatch of an officer, at an appropriate grading. The system is classed as one of the Force’s core platforms, required 24/7, and contains multiple layers of redundancy. The system was the first of its type in the UK, with other forces since adopting due to its flexibility and is in use in thirty-five mission critical areas worldwide. When the system went live in 2018 it replaced seven disparate systems and integrated them into a single solution. The system also integrates into other key line of business systems used by the force, including Niche and Duty Management, to support other processes, such as crime recording and case management. Since its introduction in 2018, it has been continually tuned to suit our needs, and indeed, the wider policing market. Migrating to a new platform would have an excessive cost of change, involving a multi-year project (minimum of 24 months), significant business change and a large number of internal resources, and would not be as operationally effective / beneficial as the product we currently use. As well as project costs, new underlying hardware would be needed, requiring significant capital investment. The hardware currently used for the Saab platform remains fit-for-purpose and only needs replacing in-line with standard refresh cycles. It couldn’t be repurposed for a new platform as there would have to be a period of dual running if we were to move platforms. Aside from software and hardware, the amount of knowledge built up by our support team should not be underestimated, although impossible to quantify in cashable terms. Likewise, training Force Control Centre colleagues on a new platform would take between 4-6 months. Saab SAFE is a large multi-component system, but to support wider business processes, it has links into a number of other key platforms, many using bespoke interfaces. Many of these interfaces are bespoke and would need fully re-developing if moving to another platform. The cost and effort to do this would effectively get us to the same position we are now, it would not provide a technically superior product. Vendors would build the cost of any development into the procurement of a solution, however, there would be substantial indirect costs as internal resources, such as testing, project management, training would be required. There is no other solution that offers links into all these respective products already. For the above reasons, the Force is direct awarding to the incumbent under the PCC's Terms and Conditions for a period of 5years with the option to extend annually for a further period of 5 years.

Lot details

Lot 1

No lot description published.

Statuscomplete

Comparable-procurement analytics

No usable CPV category has been published, so a comparable market set cannot yet be built.

Procurement strategy & market signals

Framework agreementNot published
Dynamic purchasing systemNot published
Competitive procurementNot published
Recurring requirementNot published
Procurement method rationaleNot published
Rationale classificationsNot published
Special regimeNot published
Covered byNot published
Submission policyNot published
Selection criteriaNot published
Risk detailsNot published

Planning & early market engagement

BudgetNot published
No-engagement rationaleNot published
Planning documents0
Planning milestones0

No planning milestones published.

Related procurements

No linked framework, prior procurement or reprocurement published.

Awards

Force Communications Solution - CPA/SPU/2684P

Statuspending
SupplierSaab UK Ltd
Value£12,000,000
Contract periodFrom 8 Mar 2028 to 7 Mar 2033

Documents & submission route

No documents are published in the current source record.

Source data inventory

Diagnostic view. “Not published” means this current release does not provide a value.

OCIDocds-h6vhtk-067abc
Latest release ID030676-2026
Latest release timestampThu Apr 02 2026 08:23:05 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Sourcefind-a-tender
Official notice URLNot published
Tender statuscomplete
Procurement methoddirect
Procurement method detailsDirect award
Main procurement categoryNot published
Above thresholdNot published
Legal basis2023/54
Tender period: startNot published
Tender period: endNot published
Expression of interest deadlineNot published
Enquiry deadlineNot published
Award period: startNot published
Award period: endNot published
Submission method detailsNot published
Submission languagesNot published
Electronic catalogue policyNot published
Total tender valueNot published
Tender lots in source1
Tender items in source0
Tender documents in source0
Awards in latest release1
Contracts in latest release0
Parties in latest release2

Notice history

DateEventReference
2 Apr 2026award, contract030676-2026
1 Apr 2026award, contract030381-2026
1 Apr 2026planning030361-2026

All source data

Unmodified official OCDS data retained by Tenderline for this procurement process.

Complete current OCDS release JSON
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Complete JSON history (3 releases)
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    },
    "description": "UK5 Transparency Notice following publication of UK1 Pipeline Notice. This is in respect of a Direct Award for the continuation of service for a Force Communication Solution to commence on March 8th 2028 with the incumbent provider. The intention is to replace the current contract CPA/SPU/401 which will reach the end of the term on March 7th 2028 as there are no further options to extend, and to enter into a new contract for an initial period of 5yrs with optional extensions.\nSaab SAFE is the core platform used by the organisation to take emergency and non-emergency calls from members of the public. The system has integrated telephony and radio (through interfaces with Airwave), which allows a call to be managed from whatever route it enters the Force Control Room, through to dispatch of an officer, at an appropriate grading. The system is classed as one of the Force’s core platforms, required 24/7, and contains multiple layers of redundancy. The system was the first of its type in the UK, with other forces since adopting due to its flexibility and is in use in thirty-five mission critical areas worldwide.\nWhen the system went live in 2018 it replaced seven disparate systems and integrated them into a single solution. The system also integrates into other key line of business systems used by the force, including Niche and Duty Management, to support other processes, such as crime recording and case management.\nSince its introduction in 2018, it has been continually tuned to suit our needs, and indeed, the wider policing market. Migrating to a new platform would have an excessive cost of change, involving a multi-year project (minimum of 24 months), significant business change and a large number of internal resources, and would not be as operationally effective / beneficial as the product we currently use.\nAs well as project costs, new underlying hardware would be needed, requiring significant capital investment. The hardware currently used for the Saab platform remains fit-for-purpose and only needs replacing in-line with standard refresh cycles. It couldn’t be repurposed for a new platform as there would have to be a period of dual running if we were to move platforms.\nAside from software and hardware, the amount of knowledge built up by our support team should not be underestimated, although impossible to quantify in cashable terms. Likewise, training Force Control Centre colleagues on a new platform would take between 4-6 months.\nSaab SAFE is a large multi-component system, but to support wider business processes, it has links into a number of other key platforms, many using bespoke interfaces. Many of these interfaces are bespoke and would need fully re-developing if moving to another platform. The cost and effort to do this would effectively get us to the same position we are now, it would not provide a technically superior product. Vendors would build the cost of any development into the procurement of a solution, however, there would be substantial indirect costs as internal resources, such as testing, project management, training would be required. There is no other solution that offers links into all these respective products already.\nFor the above reasons, the Force is direct awarding to the incumbent under the PCC's Terms and Conditions for a period of 5years with the option to extend annually for a further period of 5 years.",
    "procurementMethod": "direct",
    "procurementMethodDetails": "Direct award",
    "procurementMethodRationale": "Applicable justifications are : A: are required to be compatible with an existing asset and C: where the provider is the sole supplier of the goods, services or works. \nSaab SAFE is the core platform used by the organisation to take emergency and non-emergency calls from members of the public. The system has integrated telephony and radio (through interfaces with Airwave), which allows a call to be managed from whatever route it enters the Force Control Room, through to dispatch of an officer, at an appropriate grading. The system is classed as one of the Force’s core platforms, required 24/7, and contains multiple layers of redundancy. The system was the first of its type in the UK, with other forces since adopting due to its flexibility and is in use in thirty-five mission critical areas worldwide.\nWhen the system went live in 2018 it replaced seven disparate systems and integrated them into a single solution. The system also integrates into other key line of business systems used by the force, including Niche and Duty Management, to support other processes, such as crime recording and case management.\nSince its introduction in 2018, it has been continually tuned to suit our needs, and indeed, the wider policing market. Migrating to a new platform would have an excessive cost of change, involving a multi-year project (minimum of 24 months), significant business change and a large number of internal resources, and would not be as operationally effective / beneficial as the product we currently use.\nAs well as project costs, new underlying hardware would be needed, requiring significant capital investment. The hardware currently used for the Saab platform remains fit-for-purpose and only needs replacing in-line with standard refresh cycles. It couldn’t be repurposed for a new platform as there would have to be a period of dual running if we were to move platforms.\nAside from software and hardware, the amount of knowledge built up by our support team should not be underestimated, although impossible to quantify in cashable terms. Likewise, training Force Control Centre colleagues on a new platform would take between 4-6 months.\nSaab SAFE is a large multi-component system, but to support wider business processes, it has links into a number of other key platforms, many using bespoke interfaces. Many of these interfaces are bespoke and would need fully re-developing if moving to another platform. The cost and effort to do this would effectively get us to the same position we are now, it would not provide a technically superior product. Vendors would build the cost of any development into the procurement of a solution, however, there would be substantial indirect costs as internal resources, such as testing, project management, training would be required. There is no other solution that offers links into all these respective products already.\nFor the above reasons, the Force is direct awarding to the incumbent under the PCC's Terms and Conditions for a period of 5years with the option to extend annually for a further period of 5 years.",
    "procurementMethodRationaleClassifications": [
      {
        "id": "singleSuppliersTechnicalReasons"
      }
    ]
  },
  "parties": [
    {
      "id": "GB-PPON-PMWP-7421-WXRW",
      "name": "Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire",
      "roles": [
        "buyer"
      ],
      "address": {
        "region": "UKD63",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Winsford, Cheshire",
        "postalCode": "CW7 2UA",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "HQ, Clemonds Hey, Oakmere Road"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
          {
            "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
            "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
            "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
          }
        ]
      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "PMWP-7421-WXRW",
        "scheme": "GB-PPON"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "name": "sandra sumner",
        "email": "procurement@cheshire.police.uk",
        "telephone": "01606366838"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "GB-COH-01724399",
      "name": "Saab UK Ltd",
      "roles": [
        "supplier"
      ],
      "address": {
        "region": "UKE11",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Hull",
        "postalCode": "HU1 1UU",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Queen Street"
      },
      "details": {
        "vcse": false,
        "scale": "large"
      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "01724399",
        "scheme": "GB-COH"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "email": "psssales@saabgroup.com",
        "telephone": "07922574260"
      }
    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "initiationType": "tender"
}
1 Apr 2026 · 030361-2026 · planning
{
  "id": "030361-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planning"
  ],
  "date": "2026-04-01T13:21:17+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-067abc",
  "buyer": {
    "id": "GB-PPON-PMWP-7421-WXRW",
    "name": "Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire"
  },
  "tender": {
    "id": "CPA/SPU/2684P",
    "lots": [
      {
        "id": "1",
        "status": "planned",
        "hasRenewal": true,
        "contractPeriod": {
          "endDate": "2033-03-07T23:59:59+00:00",
          "startDate": "2028-03-08T00:00:00+00:00",
          "maxExtentDate": "2038-03-07T23:59:59+00:00"
        }
      }
    ],
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "1",
        "relatedLot": "1",
        "deliveryAddresses": [
          {
            "region": "UKD6",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          }
        ],
        "additionalClassifications": [
          {
            "id": "72000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support"
          },
          {
            "id": "32000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment"
          },
          {
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            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software package and information systems"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "Force Communications Solution - CPA/SPU/2684P",
    "value": {
      "amount": 10000000,
      "currency": "GBP",
      "amountGross": 12000000
    },
    "status": "planned",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "UK1 Pipeline Notice in respect of a Direct Award for the continuation of service for a Force Communication Solution to commence on March 8th 2028 with the incumbent provider. The intention is to replace the current contract CPA/SPU/401 which will reach the end of the term on March 7th 2028 as there are no further options to extend, and to enter into a new contract for an initial period of 5yrs with optional extensions. \nSaab SAFE is the core platform used by the organisation to take emergency and non-emergency calls from members of the public.  The system has integrated telephony and radio (through interfaces with Airwave), which allows a call to be managed from whatever route it enters the Force Control Room, through to dispatch of an officer, at an appropriate grading.  The system is classed as one of the Force’s core platforms, required 24/7, and contains multiple layers of redundancy.  The system was the first of its type in the UK, with other forces since adopting due to its flexibility and is in use in thirty-five mission critical areas worldwide.\nWhen the system went live in 2018 it replaced seven disparate systems and integrated them into a single solution. The system also integrates into other key line of business systems used by the force, including Niche and Duty Management, to support other processes, such as crime recording and case management. \nSince its introduction in 2018, it has been continually tuned to suit our needs, and indeed, the wider policing market.  Migrating to a new platform would have an excessive cost of change, involving a multi-year project (minimum of 24 months), significant business change and a large number of internal resources, and would not be as operationally effective / beneficial as the product we currently use.\nAs well as project costs, new underlying hardware would be needed, requiring significant capital investment.  The hardware currently used for the Saab platform remains fit-for-purpose and only needs replacing in-line with standard refresh cycles.  It couldn’t be repurposed for a new platform as there would have to be a period of dual running if we were to move platforms.  \nAside from software and hardware, the amount of knowledge built up by our support team should not be underestimated, although impossible to quantify in cashable terms.  Likewise, training Force Control Centre colleagues on a new platform would take between 4-6 months.\nSaab SAFE is a large multi-component system, but to support wider business processes, it has links into a number of other key platforms, many using bespoke interfaces. Many of these interfaces are bespoke and would need fully re-developing if moving to another platform.  The cost and effort to do this would effectively get us to the same position we are now, it would not provide a technically superior product.  Vendors would build the cost of any development into the procurement of a solution, however, there would be substantial indirect costs as internal resources, such as testing, project management, training would be required.  There is no other solution that offers links into all these respective products already.\nFor the above reasons, the Force is direct awarding to the incumbent under the PCC's Terms and Conditions for a period of 5years with the option to extend annually for a further period of 5 years.",
    "communication": {
      "futureNoticeDate": "2026-04-01T23:59:59+01:00"
    },
    "aboveThreshold": true,
    "mainProcurementCategory": "services"
  },
  "parties": [
    {
      "id": "GB-PPON-PMWP-7421-WXRW",
      "name": "Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire",
      "roles": [
        "buyer"
      ],
      "address": {
        "region": "UKD63",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Winsford, Cheshire",
        "postalCode": "CW7 2UA",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "HQ, Clemonds Hey, Oakmere Road"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
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            "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
            "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
            "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
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      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "PMWP-7421-WXRW",
        "scheme": "GB-PPON"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "name": "sandra sumner",
        "email": "sandra.sumner@cheshire.police.uk",
        "telephone": "01606366838"
      }
    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
    "documents": [
      {
        "id": "030361-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030361-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK1",
        "description": "Pipeline notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "plannedProcurementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-04-01T13:21:17+01:00"
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}