Official UK procurement notice
NRW Helicopter Support Services Framework Agreement 2025-2029
Authority: Natural Resources Wales (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNRW is responsible for the management of the Welsh Government Woodland Estate (WGWE) and land in our care including National Nature Reserves.
This is an all-Wales multi-supplier NRW Framework Agreement for the provision of Helicopter Support Services to help enable the Welsh Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) manage fires on our land, or neighbouring land where conditions pose a threat to our land, that have become well established and/or are out of control.
Services provided under this Framework Agreement may be required anywhere in Wales or land manged by NRW in England. Historically, however, the majority of firefighting work has been located in south Wales.
The number and extent of fires each year will determine the support NRW and FRS will require. Due to this unpredictability, NRW does not guarantee any work or level of expenditure under this Framework Agreement.
The proposed duration of the Framework Agreement is 24 months with the option of extending for a further 2 x 12 months thereafter subject to satisfactory performance and annual price review
CPV: Helicopters · Hire of helicopters with crew · Support helicopters
How this framework works
From the published notice- Bids received
- 4 bids received · 3 suppliers appointed
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1The full description of requirements is provided in the tender documentation published onAwardedPublished value£1,000,000
The full description of requirements is provided in the tender documentation published on etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml ↗.
Requirements include the provision of:
- A helicopter suitably equipped for the aerial application of water using underslung bucket
- Qualified and competent air crew rated for aerial application work and if required experienced ground support crew
- Minimum 910 litre “Bambi” bucket or equivalent that can be operated at full capacity and the availability of at least 1 spare bucket.
- If required, refuelling equipment (and fuel) including a minimum of 2000 litre bowser, suitable 4x4 towing vehicle and pollution control spill kits
- Service Provider(s) must provide a means of effective real time communications between the pilot and the IC, usually in the form of Air band transceivers
- All machinery and equipment to be supplied, remain serviceable and be serviced throughout the duration of the Framework Agreement by the Service Provider(s)
- Liaison with FRS Incident Commander (IC) for briefings, including discussion on deployment.
- Assessment of local onsite conditions by Service Provider(s) and the accurate application of water along the leading edge of the fire (fire front) unless directed otherwise by FRS.
Service Provider(s) are required to abide by the UK Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 Part SPO (Specialised Operations) or equivalent and must maintain throughout the framework all necessary certificates and qualifications required by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Service Provider(s) must have necessary insurance cover and will be required to observe first aid standards, and other such precautions, such as health and safety, and procedures on access to land and water sources. Service Provider(s) are required to report any notifiable incident, such as pollution, and report on its carbon emissions.
Service Provider(s) are not permitted to assign their obligations under this framework to sub-contractors; sub-contracting is not permitted under this FWA.
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 award criteria (2)
- Quality: 60
- Price: 40
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “NRW Helicopter Support Services Framework Agreement 2025-2029” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 12 Jul 2024, 10:34 BST
- Last source update
- 9 Jun 2025, 09:31 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 17 Feb 2025 – …
- Authority reference
project_57490 / itt_113588- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-030795- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-047ce1Find a Tender
- Performance terms
As per Procurement Tender Documents published at etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml ↗
Publisher note: The number and extent of fires each year will determine the support NRW and FRS will require. Due to this unpredictability, NRW does not guarantee any work or level of expenditure under this framework (WA Ref:152001)
How it was run
Official noticeTender documents are also served through a separate tool: https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk/home.html ↗
- Appointment period ends
- 17 Feb 2025, 11:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 90 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 17 Feb 2025, 14:00 GMT
Timeline
14 Oct 2024 → 9 Jun 2025 · 4 dates- Next notice expected14 Oct 2024, 00:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown17 Feb 2025, 11:00 GMT
- Bids opened17 Feb 2025, 14:00 GMT
- Notice published9 Jun 2025, 09:31 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 10 Jan 2025- Status changed to active10 Jan 2025, 12:22 GMT
- Procurement method changed10 Jan 2025, 12:22 GMT
- Deadline published: 17 Feb 2025, 11:00 GMT10 Jan 2025, 12:22 GMT
- Buyer details updated10 Jan 2025, 12:22 GMT
- Status changed to complete9 Jun 2025, 09:31 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast1 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
Contract 030795-2025-113588-1
- Signed
- 29 May 2025
- Value
- £1,000,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4bids · 4 electronic | 4 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeDispute resolution & review bodies
- High CourtReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
3 commercial parties on the notice- Airbourne Solutions LtdFramework contractor
- S.J. CONTRACTING SERVICES LIMITEDFramework contractor
- Skyhook HelicoptersFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria