National Highways Operational Technology Commercial Framework

CPV: Information technology services

Bids received

50 bids on the busiest of 5 lots · 69 suppliers appointed

Every one of these 2 lots carries the same published figure, £70,000,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.

Procedure method

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Framework agreement

Who may use this agreement

Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Yes (GPA)

Recurring procurement

No (one-off requirement)

First published

9 Jul 2021, 22:45 BST

Last source update

8 Sept 2025, 11:28 BST

Award evaluation window

6 Sept 2021 – …

FTS notice number

2025/S 000-054580

Classification (CPV)

Information technology services

Delivery area

UK

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-02c68e Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

Published justification

National Highways (NH) is proposing to extend the OTCF from its current expiry date of 9 January 2026 to 9 January 2028. As a result of this extension in term, NH estimates that the estimated value of the OTCF would increase by 20% from the £500 million (plus VAT) specified in the Contract Award Notice to £600 million (plus VAT) for the total six-year term. No other changes are envisaged in respect of the scope of the framework (e.g. the supplies/services covered by the framework).

NH considers that the changes proposed are permitted pursuant to Regulation 72(1)(e) and/or 72(1)(c) PCR (separately), as they do not constitute a substantial modification to the OTCF and/or they were brought about by unforeseen circumstances which do not alter the overall nature of the OTCF and do not increase its value by more than 50%.

In respect of Regulation 72(1)(e), NH does not consider the proposed term extension of 2 years or the increase in estimated value to amount to be ‘substantial’ as it does not meet any of the conditions set out at Regulation 72(8) PCR. This is due to:

• the proposed modifications not altering the fundamental nature of the OTCF. The OTCF will continue to deliver the same scope of services and equipment through the same five lots and supplier base. The proposed extension simply allows for the continued delivery of the OTCF under the existing terms;
• the proposed modifications do not introduce any new conditions which would have allowed for different candidates’ bids to have been accepted under the original procurement procedure as the proposed modifications do not affect eligibility, scope or the evaluation criteria of the original procurement. NH does not consider that any additional suppliers would have been interested had the original contract notice contained a six-year term as opposed to a four-year term;
• a £100m uplift in the estimated value over an additional two years represents a 20% increase in value, but supplier rates are not changing, so the economic balance is not affected by the increase in term. The extension simply allows for continued service delivery from the suppliers over a longer period;
• the proposed term extension and the increase in estimated value does not extend the scope of the OTCF as there is no change to the supplies/services being supplier under each lot; and
• there are no new contractors replacing any suppliers on the OTCF (though some suppliers procured originally may decide not to continue providing services for the extension period).

Additionally, or in the alternative, NH considers the proposed term extension and increased estimated of value to be a permitted modification satisfying all criteria under Regulation 72(1)(c) PCR for the following reasons:

• the practical need for the proposed modifications have been brought about by circumstances which were outside of NH control and in circumstances which NH acting diligently could not have foreseen;
• the proposed modifications do not alter the overall nature of the contract, as the scope of services are not being altered, the term and consequently the estimated value of the OTCF are simply being extended; and
• the increase in estimated value (£100 million) equates to a 20% uplift from the original procurement’s OTCF estimated value and this does not surpass the 50% threshold prescribed in Regulation 72(1)(c)(iii) PCR.

In the original procurement, NH estimated based on best available data at the time, that the OTCF value would be £500 million. Now, with much more available data, NH can estimate with increased accuracy that the estimated value including the proposed 2-year proposed extension will be £600 million.

National Highways will not commence steps to vary any existing arrangements until after a period of at least 10 days beginning with the day after the date on which this notice is published.

Publisher note: The date in this note specified as the date of conclusion of the contract should be disregarded when considering this VEAT notice, as it is the date of submitting this VEAT notice on Find a Tender Service and is completed only as it is a mandatory field which does not enable a date in the future to be entered. While Regulation 33(3) PCR states that the term of a framework should be limited to four years “save in exceptional cases duly justified, in particular by the subject-matter of the framework agreement,” National Highways considers that the extension, which would take the total duration of the framework to six-years, meets this requirement as it is required as a result of circumstances outside National Highways’ control, such as the introduction of a one-year funding settlement and the fact that approval of the RIS3 budget has not yet been confirmed, so the framework is required to continue to ensure the delivery of critical safety equipment on the Strategic Road Network. All values stated in this notice are estimates and are exclusive of VAT.

Appointment period ends

6 Sept 2021, 12:00 BST

Submission channel

{"electronicSubmission","written"}

Accepted languages

en

Bid validity

360 days from the deadline

Bids opened

6 Sept 2021, 12:00 BST

15 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.

The first 50 of 151 commercial parties (by name); the JSON mirror lists them all.

• ADMA Solutions LimitedFramework contractor Hove, UK
• ADMA Solutions LimitedFramework contractor07756875 The Old Casino, 28 Fourth Avenue,, Hove, UK, BN3 2PJ
• Actica Consulting LimitedFramework contractor Guildford, UK
• Actica Consulting LimitedFramework contractor03396854 4 Stirling House, Stirling Road, Guildford, UK, GU2 7RF
• Aecom LimitedFramework contractor01846493 Aldgate Tower, 2 Leman Street, London, UK, E1 8FA
• Aecom LimitedFramework contractor London, UK
• Altaroute LimitedFramework contractor Bristol, UK
• Altaroute LimitedFramework contractor01381677 10 North Road, Yate,, Bristol, UK, BS37 7PA
• Amey OW LimitedFramework contractor London, UK
• Amey OW LimitedFramework contractor01922327 Chancery Exchange, 10 Furnival Street, London, UK, EC4A 1AB