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Find a TenderAwarded without competitionContract award notice
Published 27 Aug 2026, 14:09 BST

Official UK procurement notice

ID 6699778 DAC 29/26 - DOF - NLA MEDIA ACCESS

Official notice

Authority: Department of Finance (Central government)·On behalf of: CPD

Direct awardSME suitable
Sectors: Printed matter and related products (22)Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Awarded value£150,000published award · exc. VAT
Award in standstill 11 Sept 2026no call for competition
Award (standstill) to NLA Media Access Limited

What is being bought

Published requirement description

NLA Media Access Ltd (formerly known as the Newspaper Licensing Agency) is an organisation founded by the UK national newspapers to protect the industry’s copyright.

All Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and UK national newspapers are covered by the Newspaper Licensing Agreement (NLA).

The NLA gives permission for organisations to copy from an extensive range of newspapers, magazines and websites.

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1AwardedSME
Eligibility: SME eligible
22200000 Newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines79980000 Subscription services

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Direct award
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Notice status
Awarded without competition
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Direct award (no call for competition)
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
27 Aug 2026, 14:09 BST
Last source update
19 Oct 2026, 11:03 BST
Authority reference
ID 6699778
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-098356
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4 Find a Tender
Why no open competition
Single Suppliers Intellectual Property Exclusive Rights
Published justification

NLA Media Access Ltd (NLA) is the only provider within the UK with the rights to give permission to the bodies listed within the contract to continue to meet their media monitoring requirements, and no reasonable alternatives are available for the provision of the service. The licence is essential to allow the Media Monitoring Unit to continue to produce daily newspaper cuttings, including weekends and public holidays. Failure to award a contract and continuing to access media material would result in the DoF Media Monitoring Unit being in breach of the copyright legislation if it continued to provide this service.

Direct award conditions and permissible justifications are set out under Chapter 3 and Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act.

Based on the information provided there appears to be justification for a direct award on the grounds set out under paragraph 5 where;

(a)due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and

(b)there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

19 Oct 2026 → 28 Oct 2026 · 2 dates
  1. Notice published3 days ago
    19 Oct 2026, 11:03 BST
  2. Today
    22 Oct 2026
  3. Standstill endsin 7 days
    28 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT

Notice history

3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 Aug 2026
  1. Transparency notice published
    27 Aug 2026, 14:09 BST
    UK5
  2. Contract award notice published
    19 Oct 2026, 11:03 BST
    UK6
  3. Contract signature expected
    29 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1some still in standstill
Awarded value £150,0001 award exc. VAT
Awarded toValueDateStatus
NLA Media Access LimitedSME30 Oct 2026 – 31 May 2027 · up to 31 May 2029Extensions: There are two optional extension periods of up to 12 months on each ocassion. £150,00011 Sept 2026standstill to 28 Oct 2026Standstill

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

3 public bodies on the notice

Department of Finance

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations apply GB-PPON: PVTL-7513-YWVJ Craigantlet Buildings, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT4 3SXContact email

Other public bodies

  • CPDBeneficiary authority
  • CPD - Supplies and 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 IrelandGB-PPON: PVWG-8426-YWXV Belfast, Northern IrelandContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • NLA Media Access LimitedAwarded supplierGB-PPON: PLMM-3896-RGZM Mount Pleasant, Tunbridge Wells Kent, South East, TN1 1RPContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Transparency notice awardTransparency noticeUK5Transparency notice on Find a Tender