Official UK procurement notice
PPA - National Recruitment: Situational Judgment Testing 26/27
Authority: NHS England (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAn agreement with Pearson Professional Assessments for the continued delivery of the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) and associated assessment services.
The initial term of this agreement will run for a period of 12 months, with an optional 12 month extension.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Awarded
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- 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
- 18 Aug 2026, 07:59 BST
- Last source update
- 18 Aug 2026, 09:28 BST
- Authority reference
C463705- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-078373- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e619Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Additional Repeat Extension Partial Replacement
- Published justification
NHS England is currently contracted with Pearson Professional Assessments for delivery of the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MRSA) and associated assessment services.
This direct award is made in accordance with Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Schedule 5 paragraph 7
Additional or repeat goods, services or works
A change in supplier at this time would result in NHS England receiving services that are incompatible with the existing services, and that incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties.
This award is required to ensure continuity of service whilst NHS England completes the National review work and undertakes a new procurement process.
- Risks
The value of this contract is based on the number of exams sat. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure an accurate figure is used for the purposes of calculating the total contractual value, these may fluctuate. Therefore there is the possibility that a modification under the Materialisation of Known Risk ground may be required at some point during the life of the contract.
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 Aug 2026- Transparency notice published18 Aug 2026, 07:59 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published18 Aug 2026, 09:28 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected28 Aug 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pearson Professional Assessments LimitedNational Recruitment: Situational Judgment Testing 26/27- Delivery1 Sept 2026 – 1 Sept 2027 · up to 1 Sept 2028Extensions: 12 month extension permitted subject to further funding approval | £4,374,320 | 11 Aug 2026 | Awarded |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Pearson Professional Assessments LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender