Official UK procurement notice
Geotechnical Works and and Associated Services
Authority: Forestry and Land Scotland (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionForestry and Land Scotland (FLS) require contractors to deliver geotechnical works and consultancy services across Scotland’s national forests and land.
The Contractor will provide a combination of planned and emergency geotechnical works, acting as Principal Contractor and, where required, Principal Designer under CDM 2015. All works must comply with Design Manual for Roads & Bridges (DMRB), the Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works (MCHW), British Standards, and Eurocodes.
The scope includes:
-Application of a range of rock and soil slope reinforcement techniques;
-Rock removal and scaling;
-Small scale tree felling and extraction;
-Provision of specific plant (e.g. mobile barriers, off-road vehicles and nonroad engines);
-Removal of vegetation and arboreal control to enable geotechnical works and inspections;
-Installation of protection measures against rock and debris falls such as draped mesh, baseline, temporary or permanent catch fencing (and removal if required);
-Provision of traffic management and other on-site communications as part of overall geotechnical works;
-Provide emergency response to geotechnical incidents;
-Chainsaw work as required;
-Use of drones as required;
-Design and Build (Principal Contractor/Principal Designer roles);
-Supply accurate as built details and specifications and GPS coordinates of all installed infrastructure; and
-Undertake and record geotechnical asset inspections including any necessary site preparation to enable inspections, e.g vegetation clearance, as well as carry out necessary maintenance and recording of inspections.
In addition to physical geotechnical works, the Framework includes a comprehensive range of geoenvironmental, geotechnical, hydrogeological, scientific, and planning consultancy services to support FLS in the sustainable management of Scotland’s national forests and land. These services are essential for informing design decisions, ensuring regulatory compliance, and mitigating environmental and geotechnical risks.
- Recurrence: Prior to 4 year contract period ending.
CPV: Geotechnical engineering services · Ground investigation services · Ground investigation work · Works for complete or part construction and civil engineering work
How this framework works
From the published notice- Places
- up to 3 suppliers
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has a requirement to place a Contract with an…
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has a requirement to place a Contract with an external service providers for the provision of Geotechnical Works and Associated Services.
The framework agreement may be used by Forestry and Land Scotland and Transport Scotland Additional information: Scotland Excel are delivering this procurement exercise on behalf of Forestry and Land Scotland however are not party to management of the contract. The Contracting Authority will be Forestry and Land Scotland.
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
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).
Published sub-criteria (9)
- Fair Work First: 5
- Technical Ability and Site Management: Part A Programmed Works: 25
- Technical Ability and Site Management Part B: Emergency Callout: 25
- Managing a Quality Service: Planning and resourcing: 15
- Managing a Quality Service: Professional services: 10
- Contract Coverage: 10
- Planning Permission: 5
- price: 30
- Sustainability and Climate Change: 5
Published award criteria (9)
- Fair Work First: 5
- Technical Ability and Site Management: Part A Programmed Works: 25
- Technical Ability and Site Management Part B: Emergency Callout: 25
- Managing a Quality Service: Planning and resourcing: 15
- Managing a Quality Service: Professional services: 10
- Contract Coverage: 10
- Planning Permission: 5
- Sustainability and Climate Change: 5
- Price: 30
- Suitability
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents.
- Price carries 30 of 130 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Geotechnical Works and and Associated Services” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 3 suppliers, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- 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
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · Prior to 4 year contract period ending.
- First published
- 16 Jan 2025, 16:55 GMT
- Last source update
- 8 May 2026, 14:57 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 22 Jun 2026 – …
- Authority reference
FLS-157-F- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-042603- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04d3e1Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: Question Scoring Methodology for Technical Criteria: 0 - Unacceptable - Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement. 1 - Poor - Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled. 2 - Acceptable - Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas. 3 - Good - Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled. 4 - Excellent - Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full. The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 28940. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343 A sub-contract clause has been included in this contract. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2363 Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/ A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows: The Authority has considered the Community Benefits requirement of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and has concluded that these shall not be a mandatory requirement of this procurement. However, the Authority is dedicated to maximising community benefit opportunities as they arise. Accordingly, should the Bidder offer community benefits on a voluntary basis, they will be required to discuss the content of their community benefit proposal and agree a plan for the delivery of the agreed community benefits which will become a condition of the contract. Please outline any voluntary community benefits you intend to offer as part of this procurement. In doing so, please confirm your understanding that you will be required to report annually to the Authority on the delivery of these community benefits. These will form part of the contract/framework deliverables and may be delivered by the supplier and/or any sub-contractors. (SC Ref:794991)
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 22 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bids opened
- 22 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
Timeline
24 Feb 2025 → 20 Oct 2026 · 5 dates- Next notice expected24 Feb 2025
- Notice published167 days ago8 May 2026, 14:57 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends122 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown22 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Bids opened122 days ago22 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST
- Bids must remain valid until2 days ago20 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 May 2026- Published value published: £5,000,0008 May 2026, 14:57 BST
- Status changed to active8 May 2026, 14:57 BST
- Procurement method changed8 May 2026, 14:57 BST
- Deadline published: 22 Jun 2026, 12:00 BST8 May 2026, 14:57 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- The Inverness Justice CentreReview body
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria