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Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice
Published 18 Mar 2025, 08:37 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

PA0000003042 - Dstl Shuttle Service

Official notice

Authority: Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Central government)

ServicesCompetitive flexible procedureAbove thresholdReserved for supported employment providersSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services (63) Delivery: UKSouth East (UKJ3)South West (UKK)
Published estimate£170,000≈ £57k / year · £204,000 inc. VAT · 1 value update
Submissions closed 18 Jul 2025awarded 18 Aug 2025
Awarded to COLLECTIVETECH LIMITED
Contract term 3 yrsends 30 Sept 2028 · up to 30 Sept 2030 with extensions · starts 1 Oct 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), employing approximately 5000 staff across two core sites. Dstl exists to supply the very best impartial scientific and technical research and advice to the MOD and other government departments. Dstl is committed to providing sustainable travel options to its employees under its Travel Plan, with the aim of reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles traveling to Dstl sites. Dstl has committed to provide Dstl staff with an accessible bus/coach service from agreed locations to its sites.The current services are:

  • Porchester - 21 journeys per day.
  • Southsea - 4 Journeys per day.
  • Porton Down - 9 Journeys per day.

Dstl requires a bus/coach service from agreed locations to its core sites as part of its commitment to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles travelling to Dstl sites.

The sites are as follows:

  • Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JQ (3 Routes)
  • Portsdown West, Fareham, Hampshire , PO17 6AD (2 Routes)
  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 30 Mar 2028, 23:59 BST.
  • How the procedure runs: Dstl is seeking to run this tender exercise using the following processes; 1) Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) - Dstl will be pre-qualifying the potential tenderers against the conditions of participation. This is published on the DSP under 'PA0000003042 - Dstl Shuttle Service - Procurement Specific Questionnaire' https://contracts.mod.uk/go/14806850019717362081 2) Invitation to Tender - This will be assessed using the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) where suppliers will be asked to respond to a series of technical and social value questions and provide Dstl with a firm price to deliver the statement of requirements. Noting Dstl reserve the right refine the sub criteria and weightings in accordance with the Procurement Act.
  • No preliminary market engagement: No formal Preliminary Market Engagement has been conducted under the Procurement Act, however the requirement is well understood and considered simple in nature. The timelines associated with this procurement do not allow sufficient time for this activity, given the service requires mobilisation before 01 October 2025.

CPV: Transport agency services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 3 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£170,000
Contract period: 1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sept 2028 (3 yrs) · up to 30 Sept 2030 with extensionsValue: £170,000 exc. VAT · £204,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: UK, South East, South WestEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: Two firm priced option period of 12 months. · Two firm priced option period of 12 months.Second stage: up to 5 candidates invited to tender
63520000 Transport agency services
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    The conditions of participation can be found at the Project Specific Questionnaire published to the Defence Sourcing Portal. Under reference PA0000003042 - Dstl Shuttle Service - Procurement Specific Questionnaire.

  • Technical & professional ability

    The conditions of participation can be found at the Project Specific Questionnaire published to the Defence Sourcing Portal. Under reference PA0000003042 - Dstl Shuttle Service - Procurement Specific Questionnaire.

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: 50%Price: 40%Social value: 10%
Published sub-criteria (3)
  • Technical Capability: 50%
  • Price: 40%
  • Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Social Value: Please note, Dstl reserve the right to refine these weightings prior to the ITT being released.
  • Price: Please note, Dstl reserve the right to refine these weightings prior to the ITT being released.
  • Technical Capability: Please note, Dstl reserve the right to refine these weightings prior to the ITT being released.
Conditions of participation2
  • Economic & financial standing

    The conditions of participation can be found at the Project Specific Questionnaire published to the Defence Sourcing Portal. Under reference PA0000003042 - Dstl Shuttle Service - Procurement Specific Questionnaire.

  • Technical & professional ability

    The conditions of participation can be found at the Project Specific Questionnaire published to the Defence Sourcing Portal. Under reference PA0000003042 - Dstl Shuttle Service - Procurement Specific Questionnaire.

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Competitive flexible procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
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 30 Mar 2028
First published
18 Mar 2025, 08:37 GMT
Last source update
15 Sept 2025, 16:29 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 8 Aug 2025
Authority reference
PA0000003042
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-028169
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV)
Transport agency services
Delivery area
UKSouth East (UKJ3)South West (UKK)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04ee32 Find a Tender
How it runs

Dstl is seeking to run this tender exercise using the following processes;

  1. Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) - Dstl will be pre-qualifying the potential tenderers against the conditions of participation. This is published on the DSP under 'PA0000003042 - Dstl Shuttle Service - Procurement Specific Questionnaire' contracts.mod.uk/go/14806850019717362081 ↗
  2. Invitation to Tender - This will be assessed using the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT)

where suppliers will be asked to respond to a series of technical and social value questions

and provide Dstl with a firm price to deliver the statement of requirements.

Noting Dstl reserve the right refine the sub criteria and weightings in accordance with the Procurement Act.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Defence Sourcing Portal · Who buys & how to bid on MOD DSP
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · registration requires an NCAGE code — obtain in advance · before you can bid: NCAGE
Requests to participate (first stage)
21 Apr 2025, 23:59 BST
Submission deadline
18 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
Clarification deadline
11 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

The Project Specific Questionnaire is now live on Defence Sourcing Portal. contracts.mod.uk/go/14806850019717362081 ↗

Timeline

18 Mar 2025 → 1 Oct 2025 · 11 dates
  1. Planning notice published
    18 Mar 2025, 08:37 GMT
  2. Expressions of interest by
    21 Apr 2025, 23:59 BST
  3. Next notice expected
    19 May 2025, 23:59 BST
  4. Tender notice published
    28 May 2025, 15:07 BST
  5. Clarification questions by
    11 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
  6. Submission deadline
    18 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
  7. Award decision expected by
    8 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
  8. Assessment summaries sent
    18 Aug 2025, 00:00 BST
  9. Standstill ends
    28 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
  10. Latest notice published
    15 Sept 2025, 16:29 BST
  11. Contract starts388 days ago
    1 Oct 2025, 00:00 BST

Notice history

11 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 Mar 2025
  1. Planned procurement notice published
    18 Mar 2025, 08:37 GMT
    UK3
  2. Pipeline notice published
    19 May 2025, 15:56 BST
    UK1
  3. Tender notice published
    28 May 2025, 15:07 BST
    UK4
  4. Published value updated to £170,000
    28 May 2025, 15:07 BST
    was £1,700,000
  5. Status changed to active
    28 May 2025, 15:07 BST
  6. Procurement method changed
    28 May 2025, 15:07 BST
  7. Deadline published: 18 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
    28 May 2025, 15:07 BST
  8. Contract award notice published
    18 Aug 2025, 15:42 BST
    UK6
  9. Status changed to complete
    18 Aug 2025, 15:42 BST
  10. Contract signature expected
    29 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
    scheduled
  11. Contract details notice published
    15 Sept 2025, 16:29 BST
    UK7
Routine re-releases (5)
  • 2025-05: 1 release · 19 May 2025
  • 2025-03: 1 release · 18 Mar 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £2,923,2221 award exc. VAT
Bids received 31 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 2 Sept 2025
Awarded toValueDateStatus
COLLECTIVETECH LIMITED1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sept 2028 · up to 30 Sept 2030Extensions: Two (2) x twelve (12) month optional extensions, available at Dstl's discretion. · Options: Two (2) x twelve (12) month optional extensions, available at Dstl's discretion.£2,923,222ten times the procedure’s published value or more · possibly a unit error, check the notice18 Aug 2025Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 1 · COLLECTIVETECH LIMITED

    Signed
    2 Sept 2025
    Value
    £2,923,222
    Period
    1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sept 2028 · up to 30 Sept 2030 with extensions
    Status
    active
    Extensions
    2 x 12 month option periods to which can be invoked at any time, at the Authorities discretion.
    Options
    The two option years are options available under the contract.
    12 agreed KPIs: MI returns · Service Performance Data · Invoice Payment …
    • MI returns, Passenger numbers to be returned to Dstl on a weekly basis.
    • Service Performance Data, Contractor is to record and supply monthly on-time service performance data,
    • Invoice Payment, Confirmation of receipt and time of receipt by Dstl (as evidenced within Dstl’s finance and/or email system).
    • Self-Audit Certification, Confirmation of receipt and time of receipt by Dstl.
    • Ah-hoc requests, On time delivery of adhoc requests for information and reports
    • Supplier Information, Confirmed by Contractor that they have kept Dstl up to date with any key contact personnel changes.Confirmation by Dstl that no issues have arisen resulting from inaccurate/out of date Contractor contact information.
    • Customer Satisfaction, Contractor’s performance against customer satisfaction surveys
    • Complaints Handling, The Contractor shall use its best endeavours to resolve the Complaint within three (3) Working Days
    • Replacement vehicle timescales, The Contractor shall communicate to Dstl any vehicle breakdowns and a replacement vehicle shall be deployed immediately causing minimal disruption. Service shall resume no later than a hour post deployment
    • Communication on service disruption, The Contractor shall communicate to Dstl any disruptions to the service immediately and propose alternative solutions to ensure continuation of the service in line with the timetable.
    • Departing Early, The Contractor shall leave a stop no earlier than the designated times stipulated on the timetable.
    • Lateness, The Contractor shall attend each designated stop no later than 5 minutes of the provided on the timetable the route time. (Where unavoidable due to circumstances outside of the drivers control service credits will not be applied)

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
3final-stage tenders10—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PDDM-1961-MTLN Porton Down, Salisbury, South West, SP4 0JQContact name, email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • CollectiveTech TA RideTandemAwarded supplierGB-COH: 11908428 International House 126 Colmore Row, Birmingham, West Midlands, B3 3APContact email

Official documents & specifications (6)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Bidding documents and specificationstenderBidding documents and specificationsAccess: The documents will be issued via Defence Sourcing Portal to those suppliers who achieve a PASS against the Project Specific Questionnaire.

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender
  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender
  • Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
  • Planned procurement notice planningPlanned procurement noticeUK3Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender