Official UK procurement notice
Milk and Milk Products · UK public procurement notice
Authority: The Education Authority (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSupply and Delivery of Milk and Milk Products. The initial period will be for 4 years from the Start Date (anticipated to be July 2026) with options to extend for any additional period(s) of up to and including 24 months.
This Contract is established by the Education Authority and is open to the EA, including NI educational bodies as follows, who at some point, during the life of the Contract may wish to utilise the agreement and should have access at any point, with the permission of EA.
This Contract is not intended to replace any current agreements that participating or nonparticipating institutions may already have in place.
Department of Education - Schools Plus
www.educationni.gov.uk/services/schoolsplus ↗
Primary and Post Primary schools under the control of the EA, Catholic Maintained Schools
Independent Schools in NI, Irish Medium Schools in NI, both Controlled and Voluntary
Grammar Schools, Nursery School for NI (both controlled, and Catholic Maintained),
Schoolmeals kitchens on-site at all of these schools, and Controlled Youth Centres.
Further Education Colleges in NI : www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts/furthereduc… ↗
NICIE - nicie.org ↗
Grant Controlled Integrated Education Schools in NI
Independent Schools in NI www.isc.co.uk/schools/northern-ire… ↗
EA Teachers' and Educational Centres
Council for the Curriculum, Examination and Assessment NI (CCEA)
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
Middletown Centre for Autism
Controlled Schools Support Council (CSSC)
Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE)
Pre-Schools and Nurseries included within the EA Pre-School Education Programme (PSEP)
The value detailed under each contract is estimated. There is no commitment as to the usage, volume or value of products required under this contract. The EA reserves the right to reallocate any values between all contracts/suppliers where required throughout the period of the Contract, within the limit of the overall awarded Contract value (£21,000,000).
- Not divided into lots: The tender was structured into sections rather than lots to reduce duplication and streamline evaluation.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Mar 2032, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Cream · Dairy products · Full-cream milk · Milk · Milk and cream · Pasteurised milk
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£21,000,000
- Technical & professional ability
CoP 1 - Technical ability to perform the contract – Previous Experience – All subsections, CoP 2 - Food safety management procedures, CoP 3 - Food Premises Inspection Report – All subsections, CoP 4 - Recall and Withdrawal Procedure
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 (2)
- AC1 - Proposed Methodology and Performance Management: 15%
- Total Contract Price: 85%
Published award criteria (2)
- AC1 - Proposed Methodology and Performance Management: Full details can be found in the doucment section of the CfT on eTendersNI https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
- Total Contract Price: Full details can be found in the doucment section of the CfT on eTendersNI https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
- Technical & professional ability
CoP 1 - Technical ability to perform the contract – Previous Experience – All subsections, CoP 2 - Food safety management procedures, CoP 3 - Food Premises Inspection Report – All subsections, CoP 4 - Recall and Withdrawal Procedure
- Price carries 85 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 8.5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 Mar 2032
- First published
- 17 Dec 2025, 14:02 GMT
- Last source update
- 16 Jun 2026, 15:46 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 30 Jun 2026
- Authority reference
CAT-25-003- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-038197- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f7f7Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
Full details can be found in the doucment section of the CfT on eTendersNI etendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗
- Risks
The Buyer cannot guarantee any particular level of business (volumes/values) within the Contract.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 26 May 2026, 15:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 19 May 2026, 15:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Full details can be found in the doucment section of the CfT on eTendersNI etendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗
Timeline
17 Dec 2025 → 1 Jul 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published307 days ago17 Dec 2025, 14:02 GMT
- Market engagement279 days ago14 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
PRE-MARKET ENGAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE (PME) for Milk and Milk Products for the Education Authority. Interested suppliers are asked to complete and return the questionnaire.
- Tender notice published176 days ago27 Apr 2026, 16:19 BST
- Clarification questions by154 days ago19 May 2026, 15:00 BST
- Submission deadline147 days ago26 May 2026, 15:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent127 days ago16 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published126 days ago16 Jun 2026, 15:46 BST
- Standstill ends117 days ago25 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Award decision expected by112 days ago30 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts112 days ago1 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
9 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 17 Dec 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published17 Dec 2025, 14:02 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published27 Apr 2026, 16:19 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £21,000,00027 Apr 2026, 16:19 BSTwas £11,500,000
- Status changed to active27 Apr 2026, 16:19 BST
- Procurement method changed27 Apr 2026, 16:19 BST
- Deadline published: 26 May 2026, 15:00 BST27 Apr 2026, 16:19 BST
- Contract award notice published16 Jun 2026, 15:46 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete16 Jun 2026, 15:46 BST
- Contract signature expected29 Jun 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| DALE FARM LIMITEDSupply and Delivery of Milk and Milk Products - Section 1 - Armagh (all subsections), Section 2 - Ballymena (all subsections) and Section 5 - Omagh (Subsections 1, 2, 3 and 5)1 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2030 · up to 30 Jun 2032Extensions: options to extend for any additional period(s) of up to and including 24 months · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. Additional items may be added to the Contract throughout the Term with the agreement of both the Buyer and the Supplier. | £7,000,000 | 16 Jun 2026standstill to 25 Jun 2026 | Standstill |
| DRAYNE'S DAIRY LIMITEDSMEMilk and Milk Products - Section 3 - Belfast and Section 4 - Dundonald1 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2030 · up to 30 Jun 2032Extensions: options to extend for any additional period(s) of up to and including 24 months · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. Additional items may be added to the Contract throughout the Term with the agreement of both the Buyer and the Supplier. | £7,000,000 | 16 Jun 2026standstill to 25 Jun 2026 | Standstill |
| The Grove DairySMEMilk and Milk Products - Subsection 5.4 Omagh Area 41 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2030 · up to 30 Jun 2032Extensions: Options to extend for any additional period(s) of up to and including 24 months · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. Additional items may be added to the Contract throughout the Term with the agreement of both the Buyer and the Supplier. | £7,000,000 | 16 Jun 2026standstill to 25 Jun 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3final-stage tenders | 2 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonGROVE DAIRY LTDSME · Northern Ireland
- wonDRAYNE'S DAIRY LIMITEDSME · Northern Ireland
- wonDALE FARM LIMITED · Northern Ireland
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
3 commercial parties on the notice- DALE FARM LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- DRAYNE'S DAIRY LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- GROVE DAIRY LTDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender