Official UK procurement notice
Request for Information – Medical Device Quality Control (QC) Testing Capacity
Authority: Secretary of State for Health and Social Care acting as part of the Crown through UK Health Security Agency (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement description- The purpose of this document is to enhance the Authority’s understanding of the marketplace and its options for sourcing for a potential future requirement.
- The issuance of this request for information (RFI) does not constitute a sourcing exercise nor will the Authority pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this RFI.
- The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) key objectives for this RFI are:
a. understand the ability of the marketplace to fulfil its requirements.
b. refine the scope of the requirements to best align to the marketplace; and
c. inform the Authority’s chosen route to market to best enable competition
- The key dates for this RFI are as follows:
- RFI Published: 27th April 2026
- RFI Response: 17:00 - 29th May 2026
- Should you have any questions or queries relating to this RFI, please use the Atamis portal’s messaging centre to direct your questions to us for a response.
- If a response is not received by the RFI response deadline this will have no impact on your ability to tender for the opportunity in the future. UKHSA will not enter into contracts on the basis of replies to this RFI.
| Description of Scope of Requirements:
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for protecting the public from infectious diseases, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards, and other health threats. We provide scientific, operational and strategic leadership nationally, locally, and internationally to strengthen the nation’s health security.
UKHSA is assessing opportunities to enhance its existing Quality Control (QC) testing capability through collaboration with UK-based organisations that deliver operational QC services for medical devices and related products (primarily, LFD & PCR testing kits). This Request for Information (RFI) aims to understand the capability, capacity, readiness, and interest of organisations that may be able to support UKHSA’s public health mission during surge periods or emergencies.
Objectives:
- Identify operational QC testing facilities with available capacity or surge capability.
- Assess technical, digital, and governance capabilities for potential collaboration.
- Explore commercial models for engagement with UKHSA.
This RFI is intended for organisations currently providing QC testing services for medical and related devices within the UK. Responses should describe existing facilities and capabilities that could be deployed to support UKHSA’s laboratory operations, particularly during periods of increased demand or public health emergencies. These QC tests relating to Parts 1–2 of the inspection process are to be undertaken at the manufacturing facility. Part 3 testing the performance/functionality of the kits can be undertaken either at the manufacturing site or another mutually agreed appropriate site. Recent procurements of PCR and LFD products have been from manufacturers based in the United Kingdom, United States of America, China, and Italy.
Should you wish to respond to this Request for Information, please complete the response questionnaire which is found at the following link: atamis-1928.my.salesforce-sites.com/ProSpend__CS_Contrac… ↗
CPV: Auditing services · Industrial quality control services · Laboratory services · Technical inspection and testing services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Secretary of State for Health and Social Care acting as part of the Crown through UK Health Security Agency buys Industrial inspection services (CPV 7173), and who usually turns up
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care acting as part of the Crown through UK Health Security Agency’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Industrial inspection services (CPV 7173) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in Greater London (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside Greater London.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 57 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid46% / 8%
2–338% / 19%
4–68% / 29%
7+8% / 44%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate29% / 58%
Within ±2%71% / 24%
Above estimate0% / 18%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7173No real estimate
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 192 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid8%
2–319%
4–629%
7+44%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 27 Apr 2026, 16:27 BST
- Last source update
- 12 May 2026, 15:41 BST
- Authority reference
C442643- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-043569- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068c04Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
27 Apr 2026 → 1 Aug 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published176 days ago27 Apr 2026, 16:27 BST
- Latest notice published161 days ago12 May 2026, 15:41 BST
- Market engagement144 days ago29 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Request for Information (RFI)
- Contract starts81 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 Apr 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published27 Apr 2026, 16:27 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published12 May 2026, 15:41 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)
RFI deadline extended to 29th May 2026.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender