Official UK procurement notice
Workflow for NHS Labs delivering SCID and SMA ISEs (ENLITE Methodology)
Authority: NHS England (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Intention-to-Award Notice.<br/><br/>This notice is subject to Regulation 10 of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.<br/><br/>For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a procurement via PA23 or PCR 2015.<br/><br/>This is a notice of intention to make an award to one provider in respect of the Service pursuant to the Direct Award C process via PSR for the services of ENLITE Methodology Screening Labs, as part of the delivery and implementation of the ongoing NHS Newborn Blood Spot in-service evaluation (ISE) for Severe Combined Immuno-Deficiency (SCID), with the addition of the ISE for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), as recommended by the UK NSC.<br/><br/>This is an intention to award notice. A notice of the confirmation of the award of each contract will be issued once they are signed.<br/><br/>Pursuant to the NHS Newborn Blood Spot in-service evaluation (ISE) for Severe Combined Immuno-Deficiency (SCID) contracts, with the addition of the ISE for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the providers are to provide the following functions:<br/><br/>
- Specialist scientific and clinical workforce required to deliver assurance, quality oversight, and programme reporting.<br/>
- Laboratory capacity and turnaround requirements to support in‑service evaluation activity alongside existing SCID delivery.<br/>
- Quality assurance and quality control processes, including maintenance of consistent methodologies, validation status, and reporting standards.<br/>
- Information governance, data management, and secure data flows required to support national screening evaluation and reporting.<br/>
- Programme management and coordination activity necessary to support continuity and comparability of in‑service evaluation outputs.
CPV: Services provided by medical laboratories
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Pursuant to the NHS Newborn Blood Spot in-service evaluation (ISE) for Severe Combined…Awarded
Pursuant to the NHS Newborn Blood Spot in-service evaluation (ISE) for Severe Combined Immuno-Deficiency (SCID) contracts, with the addition of the ISE for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the providers are to provide the following functions:<br/><br/>
- Specialist scientific and clinical workforce required to deliver assurance, quality oversight, and programme reporting.<br/>
- Laboratory capacity and turnaround requirements to support in‑service evaluation activity alongside existing SCID delivery.<br/>
- Quality assurance and quality control processes, including maintenance of consistent methodologies, validation status, and reporting standards.<br/>
- Information governance, data management, and secure data flows required to support national screening evaluation and reporting.<br/>
- Programme management and coordination activity necessary to support continuity and comparability of in‑service evaluation outputs.<br/><br/>The Commissioner intends to award a contract following the Direct Award C process to the existing provider. This is an expansion of existing services which, under PSR, constitutes a new service.<br/><br/>The services will start on 1st April 2026 and the initial period will run until 31st March 2028 with an option to extend for up to a further 1 year.<br/><br/>This procurement exercise will utilise the Most Suitable Provider (MSP) award process via the NHS Provider Selection Regime (PSR) regulations.<br/><br/>The sourcing decision was taken in line with the Provider Selection Regime. The Basic Criteria were assessed and confirmed as met. A Most Suitable Provider approach was applied to secure continuity of specialist in service evaluation activity using established providers and methodologies<br/><br/>The Authority evaluated providers against five mandatory key criteria:<br/><br/>Quality and innovation 60%<br/>Value 20%<br/>Integration, collaboration and service sustainability 10%<br/>Improving access and reducing inequalities and facilitating choice 5%<br/>Social value 5%.<br/><br/>Existing break and exit clauses are retained and relied upon in the general conditions to manage risk and affordability. These provisions provide NHS England with the ability to vary or exit the arrangement should the national screening policy, service configuration, or delivery models change, thereby mitigating the financial risk associated with the increased contract value.<br/><br/>The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by midnight on Wednesday, 18 March 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. Written representations should be sent to [email protected], ensuring the following details are referenced:<br/><br/>Project reference: C429690<br/>Project title: Workflow for NHS Labs delivering SCID and SMA ISEs (ENLITE Methodology)
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 6 Mar 2026, 16:25 GMT
- Last source update
- 6 Mar 2026, 16:25 GMT
- Authority reference
C429690- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-020598- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0664a3Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations.<br/><br/>Explanation:<br/><br/>This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.<br/><br/>For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Procurement Act Regulations 2023 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice.<br/><br/>Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by Tuesday 17th March 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.
Publisher note: This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice.<br/><br/>This intention to award notice is subject to Regulation 10 of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.<br/><br/>For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a procurement via PA23 or PCR 2015.<br/><br/>The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by midnight on 17/03/2026.<br/><br/>This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.<br/><br/>Written representations should be sent to [email protected], ensuring the following details are referenced:<br/><br/>Project reference: C429690<br/><br/>Project title: Workflow for NHS Labs delivering SCID and SMA ISEs (ENLITE Methodology) - Direct Award C process<br/><br/>This decision has been made as per NHS England governance processes, by the Commercial & Efficiency Control Approval on 5th March 2026. No conflicts of Interest were identified amongst decisionmakers.<br/><br/>Each of the 5 key criteria were considered on the following basis and consideration was given to the basic selection criteria too.<br/><br/>The Authority evaluated providers against five mandatory key criteria:<br/><br/>Quality and innovation 60%<br/>Value 20%<br/>Integration, collaboration and service sustainability 10%<br/>Improving access and reducing inequalities and facilitating choice 5%<br/>Social value 5%.<br/><br/>Following provider assessments, it was agreed that the Birmingham Women's and Children's Foundation Trust were the only providers capable of meeting the service specifications and requirements of the NHS Newborn Blood Spot in-service evaluation (ISE) for Severe Combined Immuno-Deficiency (SCID) contracts, with the addition of the ISE for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) in full.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust | — | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 020598-2026-1 · Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Signed
- 5 Mar 2026
- Value
- —
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids | — | — | £110,028 – £110,028 |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- High CourtMediation bodyReview bodyReview contact point
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation TrustAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.