Provision of passenger services

The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is an arms-length body of the Ministry of Defence, employing around 6,000 people, headquartered in Aldermaston, Berkshire.

For more than 70 years, AWE has supported the UK Government's nuclear defence strategy and the Continuous At Sea Deterrent. We also use our nuclear know-how and technical expertise to provide innovative solutions that support the UK's counter-terrorism and nuclear threat reduction activities.

We work at the extremes of science and engineering to understand the performance of nuclear warheads, and assess the safety, security and effectiveness of the stockpile in the absence of live testing.

AWE is looking to engage with the market to understand the supplier's capability and capacity to meet its needs for passenger services post conclusion of its existing contract, which is set to expire on the 31st December 2024. A procurement may be required to secure an arrangement for future passenger services over 5 years, with a budget of £8.3m. AWE is seeking a zero-commitment framework. As such, AWE, or any of its affiliated bodies, will not be obligated to commit to the full value of the contract.

The supply of passenger services will support the AWE Aldermaston and Burghfield sites, as well as ad-hoc off-site visits both within the vicinity of the two aforementioned sites, and around the wider UK when required. At present there are no plans to service other AWE sites, however it should be noted that during the lifecycle of the contract, the infrastructure and layout of AWE's sites are subject to change, which may in turn lead to AWE's passenger services requirements changing. This potential for scope variation, will be reflected in the contract between the successful supplier and AWE.

In respect of the requirements, the following are deemed in scope. Please note that a full list will be supplied at ITT together with specifications and sizes:

1. 1 x minibus (catering to approximately 24 seats).
2. 1 x coach (catering to approximately 50 seats).
3. Ability to provide ad-hoc minibuses (catering to approximately 20 seats) for off-site visits.
4. Maintenance and inspection services for the provided vehicles.
5. Minibuses and coaches will need to be able to run between the times of 6.30am & 7:00pm, 229 days per year, excluding bank holidays and weekends.

In respect of requirements 1-5, all services must be accompanied by supplier provided employees (drivers and maintenance teams), of whom are eligible for SC clearance. The selected solution will be light touch from AWE staff, with the selected supplier owning the full management of passenger services.

To support the development of our procurement strategy and understand how the market can support and fulfil AWE requirements, AWE is requesting interested parties to submit the proforma; Appendix A, to [email protected], including in the title of your email submission "Passenger Services".

AWE shall undertake a security assessment against the information you submit in the proforma. If you successfully meet AWE's security requirements, a request for information (henceforth 'RFI') will be sent to the nominated email address provided in your proforma. For the avoidance of doubt, you will not be invited to respond to the RFI if, in the sole opinion of AWE, you do not meet the necessary security requirements.

Responses to the RFI should be submitted via email to [email protected], including in the title of your email submission "Passenger services".

We ask that you register your interest in this PIN and RFI by 04/05/2024 BST. Submissions after this deadline may not be considered.

The nature of this PIN is such that AWE intends to operate restrictions within the relevant procurement regulations in order to protect essential national security interests. If an economic operator has connections with any hostile entity or foreign states which are deemed by AWE to pose a risk to the UK's national security interests or is otherwise considered not to possess the reliability necessary to exclude risks to the security of the United Kingdom, AWE reserves its right to exclude them from this exercise.

In issuing this PIN and engaging with the market, AWE is not committing to conduct any procurement in relation to this Programme. Equally non-participation in this Market Engagement will not be taken into account in any future procurement activities and will not preclude any organisation from submitting a tender in any future competitions.

Note: The nature of this contract is such that the award will be subject to supplier's passing AWE's security requirements as dictated by its site licenses.