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planning
Official procurement procedure
Prisoner Integrated Communications Service (PICS) – Preliminary Market Engagement
Communication land-line rental
IP telephone services
Mobile telephones
+6 more
UK
Published value
£302,400,000
Submission deadline Not published
Lots published1
Procurement Executive Summary
AI & Search Synopsis
Generated from official OCDS record
Tenderline Synopsis: Ministry of Justice: "Prisoner Integrated Communications Service (PICS) – Preliminary Market Engagement". Published status: planning. Published value: £302,400,000. 1 published lot. Submission deadline not published. See the official notice for participation instructions.
| Contracting Authority | Ministry of Justice | Scope & Categories | Not published | Submission Window | planning No deadline published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submission Gateway | Direct notice route | Legal Basis & Regime | Standard procurement | Estimated Value (exc. VAT) | £302,400,000 |
Bidder Intelligence · Authority Profile: Ministry of Justice
Market Analytics
Derived from OCDS awards & bid statistics
Published history for Ministry of Justice. These figures describe retained records, not a forecast of bids or a measure of buyer bias.
Published-to-award variance
Not availableInsufficient comparable data
Competition Density
5Bids / Report
Supplier ConcentrationHigh Concentration
Solirius Reply LtdTop vendor: 53.1% of attributable valuePayment Terms
Check noticePublished terms
Coverage: 225 active published awards; 4 bid reports (which may be per lot). Supplier values exclude multi-supplier awards, frameworks and DPS, and use GBP only. They are published award values, not payments. Published-to-award variance compares single-lot, single-award, single-supplier GBP procedures with explicitly non-framework/non-DPS status; increases remain in the average. Unpublished data stays unknown. Awarded suppliers are winners, not all bidders.
Historical Awarded Suppliers With This Authority:
| Supplier Name | Historic Awards | Attributable GBP Value |
|---|---|---|
| Solirius Reply Ltd | 1 win | £250,000 |
| Girbau UK | 1 win | £221,250 |
Procedure terms
Contracting AuthorityMinistry of Justice | Procedure methodNot published | Procurement categoryNot published |
Statusplanning | Framework / DPSNot published | CompetitionNot published |
Above thresholdNot published | Legal basisNot published | Tender period startsNot published |
Clarification deadlineNot published | Electronic submissionNot published | Submission languagesNot published |
Published16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST | Last source update16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST | Recurring procurementNot published |
ClassificationCommunication land-line rental, IP telephone services, Mobile telephones, Pay phone provider services, Pre-paid phone card provider services, Short Message Service (SMS) services, Telecommunications cable and equipment, Telecommunications network, Telecommunications system | ||
Delivery area UK | ||
OCIDocds-h6vhtk-050449 | ||
What is being bought
The Prisoner Integrated Communications Service (PICS) is to replace the current Prisoner Telephony Service (PTS) currently implemented across public prisons in England and Wales.
The current PTS involves use of what are widely referred to as PIN phones - pay-phone devices, which are operated with a Personal Identification Number (PIN) linked to a specified prisoner’s account (instead of cash or a phonecard). A prisoner can only make calls to limited nominated numbers which are pre-vetted. This includes family, friends, legal representatives and the Samaritans.
This service is currently provided to approximately 70,000 prisoners, through over 60,000 in-cell phones and 5,000 wing phones, across 109 public prisons in England and Wales. The service is critical for prisoners and prison staff as it contributes to wellbeing, rehabilitation, and supports discipline by enabling prisoners to maintain contact with key people such as friends, family and support services.
The replacement PICS will provide prisoners in England and Wales with strictly monitored digital communication channels (voice, messaging & potentially in-cell video at a later date) via digital devices such as laptops or tablets (currently Launchpad laptops) to securely contact family and friends, legal contacts, prison officers and external organisations to support their overall wellbeing and rehabilitation.
MoJ is in the process of defining its design for the future PICS and is seeking supplier insights and feedback for potential enhancement options that could be included in the proposed solution through preliminary market engagement.
What changed
From the official release history
- Published value updated to £302,400,000
16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST - Status changed to planning
16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST - Official notice release published
16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST - Buyer information updated
16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST
Lots and requirements (1)
Published by the contracting authority
- Lot 1 · #1Individual lot title not publishedplanningPublished valueNot publishedThe source published no individual title or description for this lot.Contract periodNot publishedEligibilityNot publishedOptions / renewalNot published
Timeline
- Pipeline notice
16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST - Procedure published
16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST - engagement
30 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT · scheduledMoJ hosted an early market engagement event on the 28 February 2023. In November 2023 MoJ informed suppliers that had expressed an interest in the opportunity and attended the event that the prisoner telephony project would be paused to enable a further period of discovery in anticipation of hosting the next market engagement event at the end of Q1 or early Q2 2024 which was delayed by the general election. MoJ issued a further PIN in August 2024 to inform the market of the MoJ’s intention to re-engage with suppliers through a market engagement webinar to be held on 19 September 2024 and to publish a Request For Information (RFI) seeking suppliers’ input into a series of questions aimed at developing the potential PTR solution and testing market appetite. MoJ is seeking for organisations to respond to a further Request for Information (RFI) in order to inform the future design for the Prisoner Integrated Communications Service and give organisations the ability to submit their thoughts on various aspects of the potential future requirements. Suppliers interesting in responding to the RFI are asked to submit their responses to this RFI by the 22nd of May 2025. MoJ may choose to engage further with suppliers throughout the pre procurement process that may include; • a request for information (RFI) • webinar(s) • one to one supplier meetings • supplier presentations • solution demonstrations • workshops Organisations should respond to this Notice by registering on the MoJ eSourcing Portal at https://ministryofjusticecommercial.bravosolution.co.uk/ and, within the eSourcing Portal, register for event ‘ Prisoner Integrated Communication Service'. Once registered and your account has been activated, please email prisonercommunication@justice.gov.uk confirming your interest in participating in the market engagement by responding to the RFI so you can be granted access to view, share and submit information relating to this and any future market engagement.
Commercial outcome and competition
AwardsNo award published |
ContractsNo contract published |
Bid statisticsNo aggregate bid statistics published |
Buyer and organisations in this procedure
Ministry of Justice
Contracting authority GB-PPON-PDNN-2773-HVYNDocuments (1)
Official links; attachments are not copied
- 16 Apr 2025, 16:13 BST
Related procedures (0)
No related procedures published
Planning and rationale
Planning budgetNot published |
No-engagement rationaleNot published |
Procedure rationaleNot published |