Official UK procurement notice
ID 6592875 - DAERA - LMC - The provision of certification services to the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (NIBLFQAS)
Authority: Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland·Procurement run by: CPD - Supplies and Services Division
The Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) requires the continued provision of certification services for the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (FQAS). FQAS plays a critical role in providing assurance regarding animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards and supports market access for Northern Ireland beef and lamb producers and processors. The current contract expires on 31 March 2027, and a replacement contract is required to ensure continuity of certification services from 1 April 2027.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) requires the continued provision of certification services for the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (FQAS). FQAS plays a critical role in providing assurance regarding animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards and supports market access for Northern Ireland beef and lamb producers and processors. The scheme currently has approximately 11,422 active participants (as of 30/04/2026). The current contract expires on 31 March 2027, and a replacement contract is required to ensure continuity of certification services from 1 April 2027.
CPV: Certification services · Documentation services · Legal documentation and certification services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£10,843,438
- Technical & professional ability
As per Tender Documentation
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).
- AC1 - Compliance with Specification Schedule in Full: Pass/Fail Criterion
- AC2 - Farm Assessment Methodology: Weight: 12.6
- AC3 - Certification Methodology: Weight: 12.6
- AC4 - Method of Data Collection and Recording: Weight: 12.6
- AC5 - Registration Methodology: Weight: 11.2
- AC6 - Supplementary Services: Weight: 7
- AC7 - Crisis Management: Weight: 3.5
- AC8 - Social Value: Weight: 10.5
- AC9 - Total Contract Price: Weight: 30
- Technical & professional ability
As per Tender Documentation
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £7,222,363 (twice the annual value).
Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland buys Legal documentation and certification services (CPV 7913), and who usually turns up
Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland has little published record in this market. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Legal documentation and certification services (CPV 7913) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
No supplier sizes published for this authority.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 42 days of the bid deadline.
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.
Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.
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.
1 bid23%
2–327%
4–628%
7+21%
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.
Below estimate18%
Within ±2%68%
Above estimate13%
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.
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 7913Published estimate£11m
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid26%
2–332%
4–627%
7+15%
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.
Based on 248 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£10m–£11m
Estimate£11m
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.
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.
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | None on file | at estimate n=1 | |
| £1.1bn11 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 2 live · £101k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=9 | |
| £16m26 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 15 live · £7.2m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=5 | |
| £40m8 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 4 live · £6.0m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=7 | |
| £1.9m3 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 1 live · £700k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=5 |
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. Contracts Finder contracts appear on the Retender Radar, not yet in these figures.
- 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
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 4 Nov 2026, 16:18 GMT
- Last source update
- 4 Nov 2026, 16:18 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 4 Jan 2027
- Authority reference
ID 6592875- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-104853- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07b349Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
For further details on invoicing procedures please see : www.financeni ↗.
gov.uk/articles/account-ni-good-invoicing-practice
Contract Value
The estimated value figure indicated in the Scope Section represents an overall estimated
contract value. This value reflects the potential scale of the contract and takes into
account potential optional extension periods and the uptake of potential optional services
as detailed in the tender documents. This figure does not however take into account the
application of indexation or increases to charges due to increases in the Real Living
Wage. Neither CPD nor the contracting Authority can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract. The Contracting Authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Suppliers remain responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by them or by any third party acting under instructions from the Supplier in connection with taking part in this procurement process regardless of whether such costs
arise as a consequence, directly or indirectly of any amendments made to the
procurement documents by the Contracting Authority at any time. No legally binding
contract shall arise (and a Supplier shall have no legitimate expectation that a contract will
be entered into) until such time as entry into the Contract has been confirmed by the Contracting Authority.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via eTendersNI- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 8 Dec 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 1 Dec 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Tenders must be submitted electronically via the relevant Call for Tender (CfT)
opportunity on eTendersNI, website details immediately below.
Paper submissions will not be accepted or considered and will be rejected by the
Contracting Authority / Buyer.
The tender documents are available with unrestricted and full direct access, free of
charge, at: URL etendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗
Timeline
4 Nov 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice published10h ago4 Nov 2026, 16:18 GMT
- Today5 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 26 days1 Dec 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 33 days8 Dec 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 60 days4 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 146 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published4 Nov 2026, 16:18 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- CPD - Supplies & Services DivisionProcess contact pointProcuring entityConstruction and Procurement Delivery - Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland.
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender