Official UK procurement notice
Provision of Hive Side Training
Authority: ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY (Defra Network eTendering Portal)
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionProvision of Hive Side Training as part of the Healthy Bees Plan.
Through the provision of hive side training the awarded contractor will provide training to intermediate hobbyist beekeepers to teach beekeepers how to recognise pests and diseases and ensure good husbandry practices.
The requirement is separated into three lots covering three regions:
Lot 1: North of England and Midlands.
Lot 2: South of England.
Lot 3: Wales
Note on start date: the contract start date was 9/1/26
- How the procedure runs: A two-stage competitive flexible procedure: stage 1 is a written technical & commercial response; and stage 2 is a site visit. The bidder pack provides greater detail regarding each stage and the evaluation criteria.
CPV: Agricultural services · Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services · Bee-keeping machinery · Environmental training services · Industrial and technical training services · Services incidental to agricultural production · Specialist training services · Technical training services · Vocational training services
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value (£406,000 together) · same conditions of participation on every lot · evaluation weights differ by lotLot #1North of England and MidlandsAwardedRenewalPublished value£135,333
Provision of hive side training in the North of England and Midlands.
- Economic & financial standing
As set out in the bidder pack.
- Technical & professional ability
As set out in the bidder pack.
Lot #2South of England.AwardedRenewalPublished value£135,333
Provision of hive side training in the South of England.
- Economic & financial standing
As set out in the bidder pack.
- Technical & professional ability
As set out in the bidder pack.
Lot #3WalesAwardedRenewalPublished value£135,333
Provision of hive side training in Wales
- Economic & financial standing
As set out in the bidder pack.
- Technical & professional ability
As set out in the bidder pack.
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).
Lots publish different evaluation splits; there is no single procedure weighting.
| Lot | Quality | Price | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · North of England and Midlands | 50% | 50% | |
| 2 · South of England. | 50% | 50% | |
| 3 · Wales | 50% | 50% |
- Economic & financial standing
As set out in the bidder pack.
- Technical & professional ability
As set out in the bidder pack.
- Price carries 50 points on every lot: a 10% discount moves about 5 points.
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
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 26 Sept 2025, 12:22 BST
- Last source update
- 19 Jan 2026, 10:58 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 8 Dec 2025
- Authority reference
C32606- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-060112- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05a321Find a Tender
- How it runs
A two-stage competitive flexible procedure: stage 1 is a written technical & commercial response; and stage 2 is a site visit. The bidder pack provides greater detail regarding each stage and the evaluation criteria.
- Risks
Key risks include: (i) the training can only be delivered during the beekeeping season; (ii) we do not train the desired number of learners; and (iii) the training is a novel approach with actual outcomes being uncertain at contract inception.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 14 Nov 2025, 14:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 7 Nov 2025, 14:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
via our e-procurement system Atamis: defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗
Timeline
26 Sept 2025 → 19 Jan 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published394 days ago26 Sept 2025, 12:22 BST
- Clarification questions by352 days ago7 Nov 2025, 14:00 GMT
- Submission deadline345 days ago14 Nov 2025, 14:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by320 days ago8 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent310 days ago19 Dec 2025
- Contract starts297 days ago1 Jan 2026
- Standstill ends292 days ago5 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Latest notice published279 days ago19 Jan 2026, 10:58 GMT
Notice history
7 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 26 Sept 2025- Tender notice published26 Sept 2025, 12:22 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published26 Sept 2025, 12:28 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published27 Oct 2025, 14:31 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published19 Dec 2025, 17:16 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete19 Dec 2025, 17:16 GMT
- Contract signature expected6 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published19 Jan 2026, 10:58 GMTUK7
Published amendments (2)
We published the first version of this notice describing the procurement was reserved for “Supported employment providers”. This is not the case. The opportunity is open to any interested supplier.
Prior versions of the notice described a maximum contract end date of 30 November 2029. This was an error and the maximum end should have read 30 November 2030. All other aspects of the notice remain the same e.g., the total value of the contract remains unchanged.
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2025-09: 2 releases · 26 Sept 2025, 26 Sept 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across several lots1 award | |||
| The Bee Farmers Association Ltd6 Jan 2026 – 30 Nov 2026 · up to 30 Nov 2030Extensions: Subject to success in year 1 and ongoing budget approval, the contract may be extended in one year increments. | £406,000 | 19 Dec 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Provision of Hive Side Training · The Bee Farmers Association Ltd
- Signed
- 16 Jan 2026
- Value
- £406,000
- Period
- 17 Jan 2026 – 30 Nov 2026 · up to 30 Nov 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- Subject to success in year 1 and ongoing budget approval, the contract may be extended in one year increments.
5 agreed KPIs: Course Attendance · Learner Outcomes · Course Visits …
- Course Attendance, Utilisation rate of each course, calculated per the below formula: Number of Learners in Attendance / Maximum Number of Learners.
- Learner Outcomes, Learners which score the course 3 or higher AND report how they will change keeping their bees to improve bee health.
- Course Visits, Compliance to the Authority’s specification and the Supplier’s Tender.
- Reporting, Number of reports submitted to agreement timescales.
- Invoicing, Percentage of accurate invoices and salvage payments, where applicable, received on time.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · North of England and Midlands | 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2 · South of England. | 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
| 3 · Wales | 2final-stage tenders | 2 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- The Bee Farmers Association LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender