Official UK procurement notice
Specialist Analytical Service for NRW
Authority: Natural Resources Wales (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
Re-procurement plannedSpecialist Analytical Services for Natural Resources Wales · tender expected
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNRW is seeking to award a contract for the supply of an analytical service to NRW. The purpose of the requirement is to outsource samples for environmental analysis required by WFD, EQSD and Habitats directives, the samples are collected in a range of matrices; including freshwater, trade, treated sewage, saline, biota and sediment. Reporting limits are often required in low, or very low ranges.
- Recurrence: On expiry of this contract.
CPV: Laboratory services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1NRWAS manage an outsourced analysis contract for the wider business, delivering…AwardedRenewal
NRWAS manage an outsourced analysis contract for the wider business, delivering samples from our laboratory to a third-party laboratory for analysis. The reasons for outsourcing are generally when specialised methods are yet to be developed by NRW or where setting up in-house capability is uneconomical due to low sample numbers. The samples are collected from a range of matrices; including freshwater,
trade, treated sewage, saline, biota and sediment. Reporting limits are often required in low, or very low ranges.
This Invitation to Tender is for a contract to provide NRW with water quality and environmental analysis and for providing results in a suitable format. The contract also includes the provision of a refrigerated courier service to collect samples from an agreed location.
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 award criteria (2)
- Quality: 60
- Price: 40
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
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
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · On expiry of this contract.
- First published
- 12 May 2021, 08:45 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Dec 2025, 12:34 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 11 Jun 2021 – …
- Authority reference
86123- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-084339- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-02afebFind a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING AN EXPRESSION OF INTEREST / COMPLETING THE ITT i) Suppliers should register on the eTendering portal https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk ii) Once registered, suppliers must express their interest as follows a) login to the eTendering portal b) select ITT' c) select 'ITTs Open To All Suppliers' d) access the listing relating to the contract (itt_86123 "Specialist Analytical Services for NRW") and view details e) click on 'Express Interest' button in the 'Actions' box on the left-hand side of the page iii) Once you have expressed interest, the ITT will move to 'My ITTs', where you can download and view documents and where you can construct your reply as instructed. You must then publish your reply using the publish button. iv) For any support in submitting your expression of interest, please contact the eTendering helpdesk on 0800 0112470 or at [email protected]. (WA Ref:159577)
How it was run
Official noticeTender documents are also served through a separate tool: https://etenderwales.bravosolution.co.uk/ ↗
- Submission deadline
- 11 Jun 2021, 14:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 90 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 11 Jun 2021, 14:00 BST
Timeline
11 Jun 2021 → 18 Dec 2025 · 4 dates- Submission deadline11 Jun 2021, 14:00 BST
- Bids opened11 Jun 2021, 14:00 BST
- Contract starts13 Sept 2021, 00:00 BST
- Notice published308 days ago18 Dec 2025, 12:34 GMT
Notice history
2 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 15 Sept 2021- Status changed to complete15 Sept 2021, 16:24 BST
- Buyer details updated18 Dec 2024, 16:29 GMT
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2023-03: 1 release · 6 Mar 2023
- 2021-09: 1 release · 15 Sept 2021
- 2021-05: 1 release · 12 May 2021
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| RPS Environmental Management Limited | £890,515 † | — | Awarded |
| RPS Environmental Management LimitedSubcontracting: declared | £800,000 † | — | Awarded |
| RPS Environmental Management Limited | £800,000 † | — | Awarded |
| RPS Environmental Management Limited | £1,056,468 † | — | Awarded |
| RPS Environmental Management Limited | £1,456,215 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Specialist Analytical Service for NRW · RPS Environmental Management Limited
- Signed
- 7 Sept 2021
- Value
- £890,515
- Period
- 13 Sept 2021 – 31 Dec 2023
- Status
- active
- Change Implementation of 12-month extension option to 31/12/2023. Rates to increase by 15%, except for courier rates that will increase by 10%. The revised rates will be applied from 1st March 2023 and will remain fixed until 31st December 2023, and is inclusive of the biota samples sent to RPS in February 2023. The modification relates to regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 clause 72(1)(a)., Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: The extension option and annual rate increase was included in the original contract.
Contract 022961-2021-86123-1 · RPS Environmental Management Limited
- Signed
- 7 Sept 2021
- Value
- £800,000
- Period
- … – 31 Dec 2024
- Status
- active
Specialist Analytical Service for NRW · RPS Environmental Management Limited
- Signed
- 7 Sept 2021
- Value
- £800,000
- Period
- 13 Sept 2021 – 31 Dec 2024
- Status
- active
- Change Extension of 12 months to 31/12/2024. 12% rate increase on all tests with exceptions detailed below: - Cyanide water 95% increase - Dioxin biota 25% increase - PCB biota 70% increase - PCDF biota 25% increase 22% rate increase for courier costs., Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: The variation relates to Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 PCR 2015 clause 1(a). Extension option and annual rate uplift allowed for within the original contract.
Specialist Analytical Service for NRW · RPS Environmental Management Limited
- Signed
- 7 Sept 2021
- Value
- £1,056,468
- Period
- 13 Sept 2021 – 31 Dec 2025
- Status
- active
- Change Implementation of 12-month extension option to 31/12/2025. Rates to increase by 7%. The modification relates to regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 clause 72(1)(b)., Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: This modification for additional services from RPS has become necessary whilst the CI Project is completed. A change of contractor cannot be made for technical reasons, as only RPS can meet all of our analysis requirements and changing suppliers would cause significant inconvenience and duplication of costs for NRW, as it took the first 12 months of the contract to fully mobilise this contract. The value of the modification does not exceed 50% of the original approved contract value.
Specialist Analytical Service for NRW · RPS Environmental Management Limited
- Signed
- 7 Sept 2021
- Value
- £1,456,215
- Period
- 13 Sept 2021 – 31 Dec 2026
- Status
- active
- Change Implementation of 12-month extension option to 31/12/2026. Rates to increase by 6%. The modification relates to regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 clause 72(1)(c). Maximum variation value is 399747 GBP. This includes 151727 GBP contingency estimates for emergency use only for if additional analysis is required during the HVAC improvement works at NRWAS in early 2026., Need for modification brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority/entity could not foresee: 1. Case for Change 2. Direct Data Capture System delayed Roll-out 3. Lack of confirmed monitoring plans for 2026/7-2031 4. Ongoing HVAC issues 5. Changing analytical requirements mid-year 6. Courier supplier performance issues The LIMS Admin team, already under significant pressure and reduced capacity, would be responsible for implementing a new contract, a process that previously took 7 months. Delays to the rollout of the Direct Data Capture system and the inability to automate 3rd party data uploads have further limited resource. The complexity of launching an internal waste analysis service and the need for full Chain of Custody arrangements also require stability and time to become fully embedded. Attempting to procure a new supplier now, in the absence of confirmed long-term monitoring plans, would carry considerable risk. It may also result in a poorly defined specification, reduced supplier interest, and implementation difficulties.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2bids · 2 electronic | 0 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeDispute resolution & review bodies
- High CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- RPS Environmental Management LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria