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Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice
Published 4 Aug 2025, 09:33 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Provision of Toxicology Services

Official notice

Authority: Essex County Council (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Sectors: Health & Social Care (85) Delivery: East of England (UKH3)
Published estimate£838,000≈ £279k / year · £1,005,600 inc. VAT · 1 value update
Submissions closed 8 Feb 2026awarded 18 Feb 2026
Awarded to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Essex Coroner Service has procured a contract for the provision of toxicology services on behalf of his Majesty's Coroner. The contract requirement includes;

  1. Collection of samples from Coroners approved Mortuaries
  2. Testing of samples
  3. Production of a report to support the pathologist in determining the cause of death

Contract will run from April 2026 for an initial period of 3 years with possible extensions of

24 months

  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Dec 2028, 23:59 GMT.

CPV: Bacteriological analysis services · Blood analysis services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 3 yrsSMEPublished value£838,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensionsValue: £838,000 exc. VAT · £1,005,600 inc. VAT
Delivery: East of EnglandEligibility: SME eligible
Extensions: The Agreement term for the contract will be 3 years with an option to extend for a period of 24 months. The decision to extend the Agreement with is at the sole discretion of Essex County Council.
85111810 Blood analysis services85111820 Bacteriological analysis services

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids were scored
Quality: 35%Price: 60%Social value: 5%
Published sub-criteria (3)
  • Technical: 35%
  • Commercial: 60%
  • Social value: 5%
Published award criteria (3)
  • Technical
  • Social value
  • Commercial
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 60 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 6 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Awarded
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Yes · next expected 1 Dec 2028
First published
4 Aug 2025, 09:33 BST
Last source update
31 Mar 2026, 14:22 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 18 Feb 2026
Authority reference
C014PA
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-001637
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV)
Bacteriological analysis servicesBlood analysis services
Delivery area
East of England (UKH3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-056bf3 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
Submission deadline
8 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
22 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

The Tender Pack for this opportunity is available via the Proactis ProContract web portal. Interested parties must first register as a supplier by visiting: procontract.due-north.com/register ↗

Once registered, bidders can access this contract opportunity by following these steps:

  1. Go to: procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities ↗
  2. Search for Essex County Council from the organisation list
  3. Search for Project ref: DN801926 or title C014PA Provision of Toxicology Services
  4. Select "express interest" in this opportunity
  5. Download the Tender Pack and complete your bid submission by the deadline date (12pm 8th of February 2026).

Timeline

4 Aug 2025 → 1 Apr 2026 · 11 dates
  1. Planning notice published
    4 Aug 2025, 09:33 BST
  2. Market engagement
    1 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST

    The current contract expires in March 2026 and the estimated planned tender issue date will be around November / December 2025.

    The Authority wishes to invite interested parties to complete a market engagement questionnaire using Microsoft forms. A link will be included within the information published on Procontract, the Councils e-tendering system. Responses to this market engagement can only be submitted via ProContract. Further information regarding ProContract is provided below.

    ECC uses an e-tendering system, ProContract and you will need to create an account on ProContract to access and respond to both this market engagement exercise and to bid for any future opportunities issued by ECC, including this Toxicology Contract. Please visit procontract.due-north.com/Register ↗ to register an account. It is free to register and use the system.

    If you have any questions regarding this exercise, please submit them via the ProContract Portal and we will reply to your questions as soon as possible.

    You are also advised to ensure your data on the Central Digital Platform is maintained up to date. Suppliers: How to register your organisation and first administrator on Find a Tender in three easy steps (HTML) - GOV.UK.

    The closing date for responses is 5pm on 01 September 2025.

  3. Next notice expected360 days ago
    1 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
  4. Tender notice published292 days ago
    8 Jan 2026, 17:26 GMT
  5. Clarification questions by278 days ago
    22 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
  6. Submission deadline261 days ago
    8 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
  7. Award decision expected by251 days ago
    18 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
  8. Assessment summaries sent251 days ago
    19 Feb 2026
  9. Standstill ends238 days ago
    3 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
  10. Latest notice published210 days ago
    31 Mar 2026, 14:22 BST
  11. Contract starts210 days ago
    1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

12 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 4 Aug 2025
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    4 Aug 2025, 09:33 BST
    UK2
  2. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    8 Jan 2026, 17:24 GMT
    UK2
  3. Tender notice published
    8 Jan 2026, 17:26 GMT
    UK4
  4. Published value updated to £838,000
    8 Jan 2026, 17:26 GMT
    was £1,100,000
  5. Status changed to active
    8 Jan 2026, 17:26 GMT
  6. Procurement method changed
    8 Jan 2026, 17:26 GMT
  7. Deadline published: 8 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
    8 Jan 2026, 17:26 GMT
  8. Tender notice published
    8 Jan 2026, 17:32 GMT
    UK4
  9. Contract award notice published
    20 Feb 2026, 00:16 GMT
    UK6
  10. Status changed to complete
    20 Feb 2026, 00:16 GMT
  11. Contract signature expected
    4 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
    scheduled
  12. Contract details notice published
    31 Mar 2026, 14:22 BST
    UK7
Published amendments (2)

Project Title was change to align with the title of the tender notice

Title change

Routine re-releases (6)
  • 2026-01: 2 releases · 8 Jan 2026, 8 Jan 2026
  • 2025-08: 1 release · 4 Aug 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £838,0001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 53 from SMEs
Contracts signed 1latest 30 Mar 2026
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustC014PA Provision of Toxicology Services1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031Extensions: The Agreement term for the contract will be 3 years with an option to extend for a period of 24 months. The decision to offer extension of the Agreement with is at the sole discretion of Essex County Council.£838,00018 Feb 2026Awarded

Contracts

  • Provision of Toxicology Services · Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    Signed
    30 Mar 2026
    Value
    £838,000
    Period
    1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensions
    Status
    active
    Extensions
    The Agreement term for the contract will be 3 years with an option to extend for a period of 24 months. The decision to offer extension of the Agreement is at the sole discretion of Essex County Council.
    5 agreed KPIs: Assurance of courier service capacity · Specialised testing delivery · Completion of toxicology testing and final report …
    • Assurance of courier service capacity
    • Specialised testing delivery
    • Completion of toxicology testing and final report
    • Reporting Standard
    • Social Value

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
5final-stage tenders30—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Essex County Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PWVM-4844-NRQH County Hall, Market Road, Chelmsford, East of England, CM1 1QHContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications (6)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure