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Official procurement procedure
Provision of Scanning Surveillance Activities for APHA, including PME's
No classification published
Location not published
Published value
Not published
Submission deadline Not published
Lots published1
Procurement Executive Summary
AI & Search Synopsis
Generated from official OCDS record
Tenderline Synopsis: ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY: "Provision of Scanning Surveillance Activities for APHA, including PME's". Published status: complete. Published value: Value not published. 1 published lot. Submission deadline not published. See the official notice for participation instructions.
| Contracting Authority | ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY | Scope & Categories | Not published | Submission Window | complete No deadline published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submission Gateway | Direct notice route | Legal Basis & Regime | Standard procurement | Estimated Value (exc. VAT) | Not published |
Bidder Intelligence · Authority Profile: ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY
Market Analytics
Derived from OCDS awards & bid statistics
Published history for ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY. 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
Not availableNo published reports
Supplier ConcentrationHigh Concentration
Bruker UK LimitedTop vendor: 100% of attributable valuePayment Terms
Check noticePublished terms
Coverage: 77 active published awards; 0 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 Unpublished data stays unknown.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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bruker UK Limited | 1 win | £750,000 |
Procedure terms
Contracting AuthorityANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY | Procedure methodNot published | Procurement categoryNot published |
Statuscomplete | Framework / DPSNot published | CompetitionNot published |
Above thresholdNot published | Legal basisNot published | Tender period startsNot published |
Clarification deadlineNot published | Electronic submissionNot published | Submission languagesNot published |
Published1 Apr 2026, 09:43 BST | Last source update1 Apr 2026, 09:43 BST | Recurring procurementNot published |
ClassificationNot published | ||
Delivery areaLocation not published | ||
OCIDocds-h6vhtk-05d7d4 | ||
What is being bought
Provision of Scanning Surveillance Activities for APHA including PMEs. Scanning surveillance plays a vital role in protecting animal health and food safety. It helps identify potential food safety risks, ensures compliance with national and international disease reporting requirements, and highlights animal welfare concerns and possible adverse reactions to medicines. In addition, it provides valuable insight into patterns and emerging trends in endemic diseases, enabling early intervention and informed decision-making.
APHA's Veterinary Investigation Centres (VICs) already provide PMEs and surveillance data, forming a core part of the national disease monitoring network. However, their coverage is limited and their capacity is constrained. To maintain a comprehensive and resilient surveillance service across England and Wales, APHA needs additional support from external providers.
What changed
From the official release history
- Official notice release published
1 Apr 2026, 09:43 BST - Official notice release published
18 Mar 2026, 15:17 GMT - Official notice release published
11 Mar 2026, 13:52 GMT - Official notice release published
11 Mar 2026, 09:59 GMT - Official notice release published
11 Mar 2026, 09:30 GMT - Official notice release published
9 Mar 2026, 15:25 GMT - Official notice release published
4 Mar 2026, 14:52 GMT - Official notice release published
4 Mar 2026, 12:10 GMT - Official notice release published
28 Jan 2026, 15:33 GMT - Status changed to complete
31 Oct 2025, 11:47 GMT - Official notice release published
31 Oct 2025, 11:47 GMT - Buyer information updated
31 Oct 2025, 11:47 GMT
Lots and requirements (1)
Published by the contracting authority
- Lot 1 · #1Individual lot title not publishedcompletePublished valueNot publishedThe source published no individual title or description for this lot.Contract periodNot publishedEligibilityNot publishedOptions / renewalNot published
Timeline
- Procedure published
1 Apr 2026, 09:43 BST - Award active
Not published · Not published - Contract active
Signed 31 Mar 2026, 00:00 BST · £50,000
Commercial outcome and competition
Awards University of Cambridge Not published · Not published · active |
Contracts Provision of Scanning Surveillance Activities for APHA, including PME's £50,000 · signed 31 Mar 2026, 00:00 BST · active Contract period: 1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST — 31 Mar 2029, 23:59 BST |
Bid statisticsNo aggregate bid statistics published |
Buyer and organisations in this procedure
ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY
Contracting authority GB-PPON-PBHC-6261-BLLQDocuments (1)
Official links; attachments are not copied
Related procedures (0)
No related procedures published
Planning and rationale
Planning budgetNot published |
No-engagement rationaleNot published |
Procedure rationaleAPHA is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs ("Defra") with responsibility for disease surveillance to identify new and re-emerging threats to animal health and welfare and public health. APHA fulfils this function through (i) statutory surveillance, by monitoring and collecting notifiable and reportable disease information and (ii) scanning surveillance, through the voluntary submission and collection of information by private vets enabling the early detection of new and re-emerging disease threats. Veterinary Investigation Centres ("VICs") provide PME and surveillance data to APHA, but their limited geographical coverage and operational capacity require APHA to procure supplementary service provision from the listed suppliers to ensure comprehensive PME services and data surveillance across England and Wales.
The services to be provided by the suppliers under the contract include (but are not limited to):
• conducting postmortem examinations of animal carcases with the objective of diagnosing disease;
• collecting and reporting data from PMEs and disease investigations of animals for the purpose of accumulating disease surveillance intelligence;
• alerting APHA to suspicions of notifiable disease, New or Re-emerging disease Threats ("NRT") and animal welfare issues;
• participating in a network of veterinary staff with experience in animal disease investigation, diagnosis and pathology, and engaging in government surveillance for potential NRT in animals; and
• engaging in daily discussions with private veterinary surgeons about disease incidents where specialist advice is needed.
Five of the suppliers have been providing these services to APHA since 2014 and the remaining three suppliers, since 2021.
The contracting authority, APHA, is relying on the single supplier direct award justification in paragraph 6 of schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023: (a) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required; and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.
The explanations as to why the justification applies are as follows.
Absence of competition for technical reasons - paragraph 6(a). APHA applied clear and objective criteria to assess the technical capability of suppliers on the market. The identified suppliers are the only suppliers (i) able to provide high value PME data of the requisite equivalent standard of VICs and (ii) with the technical capability to operate a diagnostic PME and disease surveillance service for animals, as part of an integrated surveillance network with existing APHA sites and databases. The suppliers can operate as a strategic extension to APHA's diagnostic and surveillance capabilities and ensure comprehensive PME access across England and Wales.
The suppliers' technical capability includes (but is not limited to):
• delivery of PME outputs that are quality-assured and fully compliant with Veterinary Investigation Diagnosis Analysis ("VIDA") data recording requirements, and facilitating integration into APHA's epidemiological datasets;
• substantial experience in conducting PMEs and diagnosing both routine and emerging animal diseases;
• personnel registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons ("RCVS");
• purpose-built or suitably adapted PME facilities for large animal carcasses, meeting all relevant biosecurity, health and safety, and environmental regulations; and
• IT systems compatible with APHA's Data Capture Tool to enable secure and efficient surveillance data transmission.
The suppliers' ability to meet these requirements, in combination, effectively constitute exclusive rights. These rights arise from the unique integration of technical capability, infrastructure, and operational readiness that enables only these suppliers to deliver the services to the required standard and within the required timeframe. No other suppliers currently possess the combination of VIDA-compliant data systems, purpose-built PME facilities, accredited veterinary personnel, and established integration with APHA's surveillance infrastructure. These characteristics are essential to the delivery of the services. Accordingly, the suppliers hold exclusive rights in practice to deliver the services required under this contract.
No reasonable alternatives - paragraph 6(b).
It is not reasonable for APHA to acquire and fully implement an alternative PME and data surveillance service by the critical service delivery date of 1 January 2026 or at any point prior to 31 December 2028.
An alternative supplier(s) would have to build a replacement service. It would take significant time and financial investment in infrastructure to upgrade facilities to meet the requisite biosecurity, health and safety, and environmental regulations and standards. The service requires specialist facilities to enable the safe and efficient postmortem examination of animals, including large animals, and the correct and safe disposal of animal remains. Modifying or adapting facilities to meet the standards of the VIDA programme, invest in specialist diagnostic tools required for service delivery and train staff to operate a diagnostic PME service and collect surveillance data correctly, or this could pose a high risk to animal health and welfare, public health, and potentially, international trade. A replacement service would be built in the context of a limited and inconsistent demand for these services and a service critical delivery date of 1 January 2026. It would not be reasonable for an alternative supplier(s) to build a replacement service.
It would not be reasonable for APHA to transition to an alternative interim PME and data surveillance service. There is not sufficient time to (i) secure the facilities required; (ii) train staff to operate a diagnostic PME service and collect surveillance data correctly; and (iii) ensure service compatibility with VIDA data recording requirements, national surveillance protocols and APHA's existing epidemiological datasets by 1 January 2026. It is not reasonable for financial and practical reasons (including obtaining governance and funding) for APHA to secure the facilities and staff required to meet a limited demand for the services being supplied. Existing VICs and the suppliers' facilities are tailor-made for this purpose and already meet infrastructure and maintenance requirements. The suppliers have suitably trained and skilled staff for every working day of the year, including registered veterinarians with appropriate skills and experience, and in the context of a limited and inconsistent demand for the service. Transitioning to an interim PME surveillance service is therefore not a reasonable or feasible alternative for financial and practical reasons.
In assessing the availability of reasonable alternatives, APHA has considered the wider market and has not identified any new entrants or other providers with the requisite technical capability, infrastructure, or integration with APHA systems. The market for PME services is highly specialised and constrained by the need for bespoke facilities, trained personnel, and data compatibility with national surveillance systems.
Therefore, there are no reasonable alternatives. |