Find a TenderAwarded

Published 2 Dec 2024, 15:47 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Local Democracy Reporting Service - 2025 Supplier Applications

Official notice

Authority: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

ServicesOpen procedure

Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: UK

Published estimate£32,500,000≈ £6.5m / year

Submissions closed 3 Jan 2025awarded 15 Apr 2025

Awarded to Reach Shared Services Ltd +8 more9 awards

Contract term 5 yrsends 30 Jun 2030 · extension options published · starts 1 Jul 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

A key component of the BBC’s public purpose mission is to ensure that audiences can engage fully with major local issues, essential to democracy, keeping audiences informed and holding local authority to account. The BBC works with the local news industry to improve the provision of local journalism and has now completed a competitive procurement for the reselection of 'Suppliers' for the Local Democracy Reporting Service across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, to deliver the recruitment of 165 journalists, employed by local news providers, across 118 Contract Areas.

This notice outlines the results of the tender process for the 2025 Supplier Applications following the tender which commenced in December 2024.

In regards to total value of the contracts awarded, the level of funding the BBC provides in relation to each Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) (as stated in the ITT) is £40,790 per LDR (non-London) and £43,190 per LDR (London) per annum with a 2% inflationary increase per annum in year 2 onwards. The breakdown of the 165 LDRs allocated across each contract area was stated in the tender documents.

CPV: Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1Local Democracy Reporting Service 2025 Supplier ApplicationsAwarded 5 yrsPublished value£32,500,000

Local Democracy Reporting Service 2025 Supplier Applications

Contract period: 1 Jul 2025 – 30 Jun 2030 (5 yrs)

Delivery: UK

Extensions: The initial contract term will run for a period of 30 months. Contracts may be extended for up to an additional 30 months to 30th June 2030.Variant bids: not allowed

79620000 Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

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 were scored

Quality: 92.5%Social value: 5%Environmental: 2.5%

Published sub-criteria (8)

Delivery: 35%
Holding Power to Account: 20%
Relationships: 10%
Audience and Engagemnet: 7.5%
Multimedia Content: 10%
Diversity: 10%
Social Value: 5%
Sustainability: 2.5%

Published award criteria (9)

Delivery: 35%
Holding Power to Account: 20%
Relationships: 10%
Audience and Engagemnet: 7.5%
Social Value: 5%
Multimedia Content: 10%
Diversity: 10%
Sustainability: 2.5%
Cost: 0

Conditions of participation1

Suitability
IMPORTANT: It is a Condition of this Procurement that Bidder's MUST either be
i) a current BBC LNP 'Partner' or
ii) have submitted their application to be a BBC LNP 'Partner' by 14.00 on 3rd January 2025
to be able to submit a response to this ITT by the submission deadline. Please refer to: www.bbc.com/lnp/partners/how-to-… ↗
Where there is more than one economic operator, the BBC reserves the right to require a grouping of economic operators to take a particular legal form or to require a single economic operator to take primary liability or to require that each party undertakes joint and several liability.
Please register your interest in this project by taking the following steps: 1 - Register your company on the Jaggaer eSourcing portal (this is only required once): 1.1 Go to bbc.bravosolution.co.uk ↗ 1.2 - Click the link on the login page to register. 1.3 Accept the terms and conditions and click 'Continue'. 1.4 - Enter your correct business and user details. 1.5 - Note the username you chose and click 'Save' when complete. 1.6 - You will shortly receive an email with your temporary password. 2 - Express an interest in the tender: 2.1 - Login to the portal with the username/password. 2.2 - Click the 'PQQs/ITTs Open to all Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier). 2.3 - Click on the relevant PQQ/ITT to access the content. 2.4 - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top o…

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: Services
Notice status: Awarded
Procurement threshold: Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: No (one-off requirement)
First published: 2 Dec 2024, 15:47 GMT
Last source update: 7 May 2025, 10:27 BST
Award evaluation window: 16 Jan 2025 – …
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-019292
Classification (CPV): Supply services of personnel including temporary staff
Delivery area: UK
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04c196 Find a Tender

Contract terms

Electronic trading: e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Performance terms: Refer to contract documents issued as part of tender

Review and risk notes

Review procedure: The applicable review time limits shall be as stated in Regulations 92 and 93 Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Publisher note: In the case of technology requirements, the BBC may involve its technology partner (Atos IT Solutions and Services Limited) to assist in the scoping and drafting of invitations to tender and/or the evaluation of tenders. However, the final decision as to which is the most economically advantageous (by reference to the award criteria) will be made by the BBC. The awarding authority reserves the right not to award a contract and to annul the procurement process at any stage. Tenders and all supporting documents must be priced in sterling and all payments will be made in sterling. The contract shall be subject to English law. The awarding authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest, or any tender and reserves the right to accept part of a tender unless the tenderer expressly stipulates otherwise in the tender document.

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: portal not identified

Language: EN

Submission deadline: 3 Jan 2025, 14:00 GMT
Submission channel: {"electronicSubmission","written"}
Accepted languages: en
Bids opened: 16 Jan 2025, 14:00 GMT

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

www.bbc.co.uk/supplying/ ↗

Timeline

3 Jan 2025 → 1 Jul 2025 · 4 dates

Submission deadline
3 Jan 2025, 14:00 GMT
Bids opened
16 Jan 2025, 14:00 GMT
Notice published
7 May 2025, 10:27 BST
Contract starts
1 Jul 2025, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender

Status changed to complete
7 May 2025, 10:27 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 18

Awarded value £1717 contracts exc. VAT

Bids received 54

Contracts signed 17latest 15 Apr 2025

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Reach Shared Services LtdLocal Democracry Reporting Service 2025 Supplier Applications	—	—	Awarded
Newsquest Media Group LtdSME	—	—	Awarded
National World Publishing LtdLocal Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications	—	—	Awarded
Iliffe Media GroupSMELocal Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications	—	—	Awarded
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON ENTERPRISES LIMITEDSMELocal Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications	—	—	Awarded
Radio Manx LtdLocal Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications	—	—	Awarded
Newbury News & Media LtdSMELocal Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications	—	—	Awarded
Baylis Community Media CiCSMELocal Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications	—	—	Awarded
Brighton and Hove News LtdSMELocal Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications	—	—	Awarded

9 further award records carry no date or value.

Contracts

Local Democracry Reporting Service 2025 Supplier Applications · Reach Shared Services Ltd
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Contract 019292-2025-E(3,7,8,18,20,22, 23, 24, 26, 34, 35, 37, 40, 42, 51, 52, 56, 57, 60, 65), N (7, 10), S9, W(3,5,11)-5 · Newsquest Media Group LtdSME
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications · National World Publishing Ltd
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications · Iliffe Media GroupSME
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications · THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON ENTERPRISES LIMITEDSME
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications · Radio Manx Ltd
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications · Newbury News & Media LtdSME
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications · Baylis Community Media CiCSME
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications · Brighton and Hove News LtdSME
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracry Reporting Service 2025 Supplier Applications
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Service 2025 Supplier Applications
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Service 2025 Supplier Applications
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracy Reporting Services 2025 Supplier Applications
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active
Local Democracry Reporting Service 2025 Supplier Applications
Signed
15 Apr 2025
Value
£1
Period
… – 30 Jun 2030
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
54bids	—	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Contracting authorityBody governed by public lawBroadcasting Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London, UK, W1A 1AAContact email, phone Published organisation website ↗

Dispute resolution & review bodies

Business and Property Courts of England and Wales – TCCReview body London

Bidders & participating suppliers

15 commercial parties on the notice

Baylis Community Media CiCAwarded supplier Maidenhead, UK
Brighton and Hove News LtdAwarded supplier Brighton, UK
Caerphilly Media LtdAwarded supplier Caerphilly, UK
DC Thomson & Co LtdAwarded supplier Dundee, UK
Highland News and Media LtdAwarded supplier Elgin, UK
Iliffe Media GroupAwarded supplier Rochester, UK
National World Publishing LtdAwarded supplier Leeds, UK
Newbury News & Media LtdAwarded supplier Newbury, UK
Newsquest Media Group LtdAwarded supplier Newport, UK
Radio Manx LtdAwarded supplier Douglas, UK

Show 5 more suppliers

Reach Shared Services LtdAwarded supplier London, UK
Shetland News Online LtdAwarded supplier Shetland, UK
Social Spider CiCAwarded supplier London, UK
The University of Northampton Enterprises LtdAwarded supplier Northampton, UK
Tindle Newspapers LtdAwarded supplier Farnham, UK

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria