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Published 28 Sept 2026, 11:05 BST

Official UK procurement notice

IWM/2627/Ops/3508: DBS Checking Services for Imperial War Museums

Authority: Imperial War Museums (Central government)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£88,750≈ £30k / year · £106,500 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 19 Oct 202612:00 BST · 21d 0h left
Clarification cut-off 9 Oct 202616:00 BST · questions to the authority
Contract term 3 yrsup to 4 yrs with extensions · starts 1 Jan 2027
Bids per lot · this authority 11division 79 · n=8 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

IWM is tendering for the provision of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) screening solution, including candidate registration, data capture, identity verification, right to work checks, communication with candidates, secure hosting, retention and deletion of information, and reporting to IWM.

The service provider will be required to provide a secure online system that enables IWM to initiate, manage and monitor DBS screening checks for candidates. The solution must support both basic and enhanced screening levels, allow IWM to register candidates, and provide candidates with a clear and accessible process for submitting required information and documentation.

The solution must also support identity document upload, candidate-led submission of identification documents, right to work checks completed by an appropriate third-party partner, and international checks where a candidate has lived, worked or studied outside the UK. Where applicable, the solution must support checks using share codes for international passports outside the UK and Ireland.

IWM is advertising a three-year contract, with the option to extend by a further one-year period. Please note that the advertised value of the contract anticipates that IWM will choose to use the extension.

Read the full description (326 more characters)

Access Code: 7UP57S75YK

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

https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-London:-Personnel-services-except-placement-and-supply-services./7UP57S75YK

To respond to this opportunity, please click here:

https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/7UP57S75YK

CPV: Assessment centre services for recruitment · Personnel services except placement and supply services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1Renewal 3 yrsSMEPublished value£88,750
Contract period: 1 Jan 2027 — 31 Dec 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 4 yrs with extensionsEligibility: SME eligibleDelivery: UKTurnover guideline: ~£59,113/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£88,750 exc. VAT · £106,500 inc. VAT
Extensions
The extension will be offered at the Client's discretion.
79630000 Personnel services except placement and supply services79635000 Assessment centre services for recruitment

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

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
How bids are scored
Quality: 70%Price: 30%
Published sub-criteria (6)
  • Contract Management & Account Support — 20%
  • Data Protection & Information Security — 20%
  • Service Capability & Compliance — 15%
  • User Experience & Performance Management — 15%
  • Quantitative Cost Assessment — 20%
  • Pricing Transparency and Value for Money — 10%

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Imperial War Museums buys Personnel services except placement and supply services (CPV 7963) — and who usually turns up

Imperial War Museums’s own published record, next to the Greater London market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Personnel services except placement and supply services (CPV 7963) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Imperial War Museums

contract notices in 36 months: 1 in CPV 7963 · 13 in division 79 · 54 in all categories

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 8 lots. 4 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 11) and 4 from older notices (bids received, middle 9.5).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

11division 79 · 36m · n=8 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 8 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

0%division 79 · 36m · n=8 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 4 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimatedivision 79 · 36m · n=4 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 5 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

33ddivision 79 · 36m · n=5 notices
Notice updates
i

How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.

Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 67 notices.

Last 24 months.

3all categories · 24m · n=67 notices
Awarded without competition
i

How often this buyer awards without a competition.

Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 79), last 36 months: 13 notices.

Last 36 months.

0%division 79 · 36m · n=13 notices
Bids per lot robust · n=8
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 8 lots on 8 contested notices · division 79, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 0%
  • 2–3 13%
  • 4–6 25%
  • 7+ 63%

Middle value 11 · 8 lots on 8 contested notices · division 79.

Winning award vs estimate moderate · n=4
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 4 lot pairs · division 79, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 0%
  • Within ±2% 75%
  • Above estimate 25%

4 lot pairs · division 79.

The market · authority’s region

Greater London · Personnel services except placement and supply services (CPV 7963)

contract notices delivered in Greater London in 36 months: 28 in CPV 7963 (22 competed, 5 route not published) · 949 in division 79 (630 competed, 162 route not published) · the notice publishes no delivery location, so the authority’s registered region is used

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7963), last 36 months: 15 lots. 7 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 6) and 8 from older notices (bids received, middle 4).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

5CPV 7963 · 36m · n=15 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7963), last 36 months: 15 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

7%CPV 7963 · 36m · n=15 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7963), last 36 months: 8 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

14% belowCPV 7963 · 36m · n=8 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7963), last 36 months: 8 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

58dCPV 7963 · 36m · n=8 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7963), last 36 months: 11 lots.

Last 36 months.

41%CPV 7963 · 36m · n=11 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 7963), last 36 months: 11 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

82%CPV 7963 · 36m · n=11 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=15
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 15 lots on 15 contested notices · CPV 7963, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 7%
  • 2–3 13%
  • 4–6 53%
  • 7+ 27%

Middle value 5 · 15 lots on 15 contested notices · CPV 7963.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=8
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 8 lot pairs · CPV 7963, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 75%
  • Within ±2% 13%
  • Above estimate 13%

8 lot pairs · CPV 7963.

moderate · n=4
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on 4 lots, so only the direction is shown, not a pound figure.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

The middle award in Imperial War Museums (division 79, n=4 pairs) lands at estimate. Too few pairs to turn into a pound figure with any confidence — read the percentage as a rough direction, not this notice’s estimate converted.
Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
28 Sept 2026, 11:05 BST
Last source update
28 Sept 2026, 11:05 BST
Authority reference
3508
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Assessment centre services for recruitmentPersonnel services except placement and supply services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077b4f Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via Delta eSourcing
Submission portal named on this notice: Delta eSourcing · Who buys & how to bid on Delta
Public notice page · account needed to bidElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free Select account; no DUNS asked at signup
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Tender submission deadline
19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Clarification deadline
9 Oct 2026, 16:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Published estimate £88,750 excludes VAT (£106,500 including VAT).

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedjust passed
    28 Sept 2026, 11:05 BST
  2. Clarification questions byin 11 days
    9 Oct 2026, 16:00 BST
  3. Submission deadlinein 21 days
    19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
  4. Contract startsin 95 days
    1 Jan 2027, 00:00 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    28 Sept 2026, 11:05 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Imperial War Museums

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PHRL-5691-LLXM IWM London, Lambeth Road, London, London, SE1 6HZ 0207 416 5000

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender