Official UK procurement notice
Technical Support to Regulatory Assessments of Solid Radioactive Waste Disposal Framework
Authority: ENVIRONMENT AGENCY (Public body)·On behalf of: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
What is being bought5 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe Environment Agency is the independent environmental regulator for the nuclear industry and for radioactive substances regulation in England. It regulates a range of activities, depending on the type of site, but in all cases it regulates the disposal of solid radioactive waste on or from the site, as well as discharges to air and water (which are also defined as disposal under the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 (EPR2016)). Its remit covers England, but the Environment Agency works closely with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on matters of mutual interest, including those relating to the management and disposal of solid radioactive waste.
The Authority is seeking to establish an Open Framework, for up to an 8 (eight) year period, with multiple suppliers across 3 (three) technical Lots, that have the capability to provide expert technical advice and scrutiny across several areas of regulatory assessments of solid radioactive waste disposal.
Suppliers appointed to the framework will support the Environment Agency in meeting its statutory obligations in the regulation of solid radioactive waste disposals. Framework suppliers will have the capability to provide expert advice and scrutiny on solid radioactive waste disposal and support in the technical evaluation of Site-Wide Environmental Safety Case (SWESCs) from operators of nuclear licensed sites and Environment Safety Cases (ESCs) from developers and operators of radioactive waste disposal facilities. The scope of services will also encompass advice relating to the Environment Agency’s remit in pre-disposal management and materials not yet formally declared as wastes, such as spent fuel and separated plutonium.
- How the procedure runs: Open Tender Stage, followed by Price Negotiation Stage
CPV: Environmental engineering consultancy services · Environmental impact assessment other than for construction · Environmental issues consultancy services · Geological consultancy services · Nuclear safety services · Technical analysis or consultancy services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Open framework · open framework scheme (admission reopens)
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Places
- up to 12 suppliers
- Framework period
- 4 yrs · up to 8 yrs from 1 Sept 2026
- Scheme runs until
- 31 Aug 2034
- Supplier levy on call-offs (max %)
- No fees will apply
Who may buy through it
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Defra group bodies.
Published description of the framework
The Authority anticipates the framework will operate for 8 (eight) years in total commencing 1st September 2026 until 31st August 2034. The Authority anticipates the framework will be re-opened in its third year with a further tender process undertaken to establish a follow-on framework for up to a further 5 (five) years to 2034 at the discretion of the Authority and subject to a continued business need.
At the re-opening point incumbent framework suppliers will have the opportunity to revise their tender response, leave their offer as per their last framework tender submission or voluntarily exit the framework. Tenderers should be aware that at the re-opening point new suppliers will have the opportunity to tender to be included on the framework. All tender responses from incumbent and new suppliers will undergo an evaluation process to select the successful suppliers for the follow-on framework. Incumbent suppliers may be replaced by other suppliers with higher scoring tenders.
Lots and requirements (5)Procurement structure
5 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Technical Secretariat for Expert Advisory PanelPlannedRenewalPublished value£1,350,000
The Authority will appoint a single supplier to provide technical secretariat support to establish and maintain an Expert Advisory Panel. The Environment Agency Expert Advisory Panel (EAEAP) will provide independent advice and expertise in the following areas relating to the regulation of solid radioactive waste disposal and pre-disposal management.
The full Specification will be included in the Bidder Pack.
- Economic & financial standing
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.1
- Technical & professional ability
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.2 and Technical Specifications
- Condition of participationshortlisting
No selection criteria will be applied
Lot #2Specialist support to regulation of geological disposalPlannedPublished value£4,339,000
The Authority appoint up to 5 (five) suppliers to provide specialist expertise and advice to the Environment Agency related to the regulation of geological disposal. Framework Suppliers will provide technical support to supplement internal Environment Agency capability during both the pre-application stage and the review of the first permit application for intrusive site investigations.
- Economic & financial standing
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.1
- Technical & professional ability
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.2 and Technical Specifications
- Condition of participationshortlisting
No selection criteria to be applied
Lot #3Topical Review ServicesPlannedPublished value£356,000
The Authority will appoint the successful tenderers for sub-lots 2.1, 2.2 and Lot 3 to establish access to expert Services under sub-lot 1.2 to support the continued development and enhancement of its internal processes and/or external regulatory guidance related to the disposal of solid radioactive waste. Over the lifetime of the Framework, there may also be a requirement for Environment Agency to develop new guidance in response to evolving government policy, operator proposals, international recommendations, or scientific developments.
- Economic & financial standing
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.1
- Technical & professional ability
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.2 and Technical Specifications
- Condition of participationshortlisting
The Authority will appoint the successful tenderers for sub-lots 2.1, 2.2 and Lot 3 to this sub-lot. There will be no additional selection or award criteria.
Lot #4LLWR 2026 Environmental Safety CasePlannedRenewalPublished value£3,460,000
The Authority will appoint a single Contractor, with the required skills and experience, to assist the Environment Agency in its detailed review of the 2026 Environmental Safety Case (ESC) for the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) facility in Cumbria, England. The Authority expects to benefit from the Contractor bringing to the review their experience from involvement in other near-surface radioactive waste disposal safety assessments. The Contractor should also bring specific capabilities in facility design and substantiation, materials performance, conceptual environmental model review, safety assessment calculation specification and undertaking of assessment modelling (e.g. using GoldSim and or other suitable software).
The exact nature, scope and specification of the Services required from the Contractor will be finalised following receipt of the 2026 ESC, expected in May 2026.
- Economic & financial standing
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.1
- Technical & professional ability
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.2 and Technical Specifications
- Condition of participationshortlisting
There will be no selection criteria applied
Lot #5Radioactive waste disposal (landfills, decommissioning sites & other facililitiePlannedPublished value£246,000
The Environment Agency anticipates receiving applications from operators for either the disposal of LLW to existing landfills or for the construction of a new dedicated disposal facility on nuclear sites which may require input from expert external consultants.
The Authority will appoint up 5 (five) suppliers to provide technical support to assist in the review of ESCs submitted in support of permit applications for the disposal of solid LLW to landfill. Outputs would inform the Environment Agency’s determination of the ESC review or permit variation. The number and timing of these reviews is not currently known.
- Economic & financial standing
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.1
- Technical & professional ability
Information will be provided in the Bidder Pack Pt.2 and Technical Specifications
- Condition of participationshortlisting
No selection criteria will be applied
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 (3)
- Technical: 60%
- Commercial: 30%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Technical: Evaluation criteria are set on in the Bidder Pack Pt.2 Document. The Technical Criteria will account for 60% of the overall evaluation score.
- Social Value: Evaluation criteria are set on in the Bidder Pack Pt.2 Document. The social Value will account for 10% of the overall evaluation score.
- Commercial: Evaluation criteria are set on in the Bidder Pack Pt.2 Document. The Commercial evaluation will account for 30% of the overall evaluation score.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Technical Support to Regulatory Assessments of Solid Radioactive Waste…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 12 suppliers, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Past planning notice
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Open framework scheme
- Who may use this agreement
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Defra group bodies. · open scheme: new suppliers can join during the term
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 29 May 2025, 12:39 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Dec 2025, 10:20 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Jul 2026
- Authority reference
P-37412- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-078765- Latest notice
- Pipeline notice (UK1)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0528c7Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
With 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice
- How it runs
Open Tender Stage, followed by Price Negotiation Stage
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 6 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Appointment period ends
- 6 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Supplier levy on call-offs (max %)
- call-off levy · No fees will apply
All Tender Submissions must be made through the Defra eSourcing Portal, Tenderers must be registered on the portal to access the opportunity and submit a Tender Response. Details of how to register your organisation can be found at atamis-9529.my.site.com/s/Welcome ↗
Timeline
29 May 2025 → 1 Sept 2026 · 7 dates- Planning notice published29 May 2025, 12:39 BST
- Market engagement4 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
The Environment Agency is conducting a market engagement exercise to better understand the interest, capability and capacity of the supply market to provide the required services in a future invitation to tender. To inform its decision making and consider its contracting options, the Environment Agency is inviting interested suppliers to respond to a short questionnaire and attend a virtual supplier event. If you wish to participate in this market engagement exercise, you are invited to complete a short Technical Support for the Regulatory Assessment of Solid Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities Market Engagement Questionnaire. The questionnaire can be obtained by emailing [email protected]. Please use the subject title “Technical Support Market Engagement Questionnaire” in your request. Completed questionnaires should be returned to the same email address no later than 16:00 on 4th July 2025. A virtual supplier event will be held via Microsoft Teams on 10th June 2025 11:00-13:00 BST. This will provide interested organisations an opportunity to learn about the Environment Agency and its requirements for the technical support contract as well as the chance to clarify any matters to assist in completing the questionnaire. Requests to attend the supplier event should be emailed to [email protected] with the subject title “Technical Support Market Engagement Supplier Event”, and include details of the email address(es) invitations should be issued to. To keep the event manageable, suppliers are requested to keep attendees to a maximum of four participants. Any future tender exercise will be conducted through the Defra eSourcing portal. If your organisation is not already registered you can create an account at defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗. This engagement does not constitute a formal notice to tender and there is no guarantee the Environment Agency will proceed with an external tendering exercise to create a framework or other form of contract. By replying to the questionnaire, you are not committing to any future tender submission, and replies will not form part of any subsequent tender process.
- Latest notice published327 days ago2 Dec 2025, 10:20 GMT
- Tender notice expected313 days ago15 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Admission / appointment period ends232 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown6 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by115 days ago1 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts54 days ago1 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
6 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 May 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published29 May 2025, 12:39 BSTUK2
- Planned procurement notice published28 Nov 2025, 17:00 GMTUK3
- Published value updated to £9,750,00028 Nov 2025, 17:00 GMTwas £900,000
- Status changed to planned28 Nov 2025, 17:00 GMT
- Procurement method changed28 Nov 2025, 17:00 GMT
- Pipeline notice published2 Dec 2025, 10:20 GMTUK1
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
3 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRSBeneficiary authority
- DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRSProcuring entityDefra group Commercial (DgC) will manage the procurement on behalf of the Contracting Authority.
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender