Official UK procurement notice
Soil Surveys · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Forestry and Land Scotland (Central government)
What is being bought5 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionForestry and Land Scotland (the Authority) has an ongoing requirement to place a Framework Agreement with external Contractors for the provision of soil surveys across all of Scotland.
The successful tenderer(s) will be required to:
- Undertake standard surveys, including:
- Carry out site/soil/peat depth surveys of afforested, clear felled, open hill and ex-agricultural land (please note that a very large proportion will be either afforested or clear-fell).
- Undertake non-standard surveys, including but not limited to:
- Bespoke type of soil survey e.g. peat depth probing; or
- Assessment of newly acquired land including possibly reclaimed land such as old mine works.
For each survey, the successful tenderer(s) will:
- Record the site/soil patterns and associated specific data, using the FC soil classification;
- Map Soil Polygons and associated linear and point data in a digital format;
- Peat Depths ideally to be recorded in the Peat Depth layer via supplied digital layer (currently via ESRI Fieldmaps). Access to which plus any necessary training to use the app will be provided by FLS.
- Deliver all data outputs from the survey, as specific digital GIS format directly into Foresterweb, together with associated attributes; and
- Produce a written report for each survey site.
- Recurrence: Summer 2030
CPV: Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services · Environmental services · Forestry services · Horticultural services · Survey conduction services · Survey services · Surveying services
Lots and requirements (5)Procurement structure
5 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Soil Surveys - North RegionPublished value£300,000
Lot #2Soil Surveys - East RegionPublished value£130,000
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) have a requirement to procure Soil Surveys to meet our requirement to manage the National Forest Estate.
Survey requirements under this Framework Agreement may include:
- Standard Surveys including Site/Soil/Peat Depth Surveys of afforested, clear felled, open land and ex-agricultural land (please note a very large proportion will be either afforested or clear-fell);
- Non-Standard Surveys including, but not limited to:
- Bespoke type of soil survey e.g. peat depth probing; or
- Assessment of newly acquired land including possibly reclaimed land such as old mine works.
For each survey, you will be required to:
- Record the site/soil patterns and associated specific data, using the FC soil classification;
- Map Soil Polygons and associated linear and point data in a digital format;
- Peat Depths to be recorded in the Peat Depth layer via supplied digital layer (currently via ESRI Fieldmaps). Access to which, plus any necessary training to use the app, will be provided by FLS.
- Deliver all data outputs from the survey, as specific digital GIS format directly into Foresterweb (a bespoke version of GIS Forester), together with associated attribute; and
- Producing written reports for each site. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Lot #3Soil Surveys - West RegionPublished value£375,000
Lot #4Soil Surveys - Central RegionPublished value£400,000
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).
Published sub-criteria (10)
- Resource: Delivery Team – Soil Surveyors: 20
- Resource: Delivery Team – Non-Surveying: 10
- Resource: Framework/Contract Management: 10
- Service Continuity & Deadlines: 10
- Quality Maintenance: 15
- Health & Safety: 10
- Lone Working: 15
- Fair Work First: 5
- price: 60
- Sustainability And Climate Change: 5
Published award criteria (15)
- Mandatory Skills Test: Pass/Fail
- Resource: Delivery Team – Soil Surveyors: 20%
- Resource: Delivery Team – Non-Surveying: 10%
- Resource: Framework/Contract Management: 10%
- Service Continuity & Deadlines: 10%
- Quality Maintenance: 15%
- Health & Safety: 10%
- Lone Working: 15%
- Fair Work First: 5%
- Sustainability And Climate Change: 5%
- Prompt Payment In The Supply Chain: Pass/Fail
- Real Living Wage: Pass/Fail
- Accredited Living Wage Employer: Not Scored
- Construction Industry Scheme (CIS): Not Scored
- Price: 60%
- Suitability
Please see attached SPD statements at Annex B of the 627 ITT document, which is one of the document attachments making up the tender pack within PCS-Tender.
- Economic & financial standing
Please see attached SPD statements at Annex B of the 627 ITT document, which is one of the document attachments making up the tender pack within PCS-Tender.
- Technical & professional ability
Please see attached SPD statements at Annex B of the 627 ITT document, which is one of the document attachments making up the tender pack within PCS-Tender.
- Price carries 60 of 160 points: a 10% discount moves about 6 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Soil Surveys” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · Summer 2030
- First published
- 31 Mar 2026, 11:43 BST
- Last source update
- 19 Jun 2026, 09:06 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 1 Sept 2026 – …
- Authority reference
627- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-057831- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0678d6Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
- Performance terms
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are detailed in Schedule 1, Part B of the 627 T&Cs document, which is one of the document attachments making up the tender pack within PCS-Tender.
- Review procedure
An economic operator that suffers, or is at risk of suffering, loss or damage attributable to a breach of duty under the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 or the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 , may bring proceedings in the Sheriff Court or the Court of Session.
Publisher note: Question Scoring Methodology for Technical Criteria: 0 - Unacceptable - Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement. 25 - Poor - Response is partially relevant and poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled. 50 - Acceptable - Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas. 75 - Good - Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled. 100 - Excellent - Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full. Any Tenderer that receives a score of ZERO (0) or ONE (1) for one or more (of the following) Technical Question WILL be excluded from the tender. Any Tenderer that receives an overall Technical score below 50% out of 100% WILL be excluded from the tender. Please refer to Schedule 1, Section 10.3 of the 627 T&Cs document, which is one of the documents attached making up the tender pack within PCS-Tender, for a full list of operational reasons for modification under Regulation 72(1)(a) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. The Scottish Government Supplier Journey: www.supplierjourney.scot The Buyer Help and Guidance on PCS-T here: https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/web/buyerhelp.html The Supplier Development Programme is available to assist suppliers with public procurement including training events: https://www.sdpscotland.co.uk/ The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 32119. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343 (SC Ref:834961)
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 31 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 120 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 1 Sept 2026, 08:00 BST
Timeline
19 Jun 2026 → 1 Sept 2026 · 4 dates- Notice published125 days ago19 Jun 2026, 09:06 BST
- Next notice expected88 days ago27 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends52 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown31 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Bids opened51 days ago1 Sept 2026, 08:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Jun 2026- Published value published: £1,480,00019 Jun 2026, 09:06 BST
- Status changed to active19 Jun 2026, 09:06 BST
- Procurement method changed19 Jun 2026, 09:06 BST
- Deadline published: 31 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST19 Jun 2026, 09:06 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Court of SessionReview contact point
- The Inverness Justice CentreReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.