Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
NHS England
Wellington House, 133-135 Waterloo Rd
London
SE1 8UG
UK
Contact person: NHS England
E-mail: england.commercialqueries@nhs.net
NUTS: UKJ1
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.england.nhs.uk/
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.england.nhs.uk/
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Health
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Workflow for NHS Labs delivering SCID and SMA ISEs (EONIS-Q Methodology)
Reference number: C429681
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85145000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
This 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 in respect of the Service pursuant to the Direct Award C process via PSR for the services of three EONIS-Q 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.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
1 870 816.22
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UK
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
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 contracts following the Direct Award C process to 3 providers who are existing providers. 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 england.commercialqueries@nhs.net, ensuring the following details are referenced:<br/><br/>Project reference: C429681<br/>Project title: Workflow for NHS Labs delivering SCID and SMA ISEs (EONIS-Q Methodology)
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: Direct Award C criteria
/ Weighting: 80
Cost criterion: Value
/ Weighting: 20
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
Option to extend for up to a further 12 months
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive
Explanation
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.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
Section V: Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
05/03/2026
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 3
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
OC388522
Finance & Procurement Business Unit Trafford General Hospital,Moorside Road M41 5SL
Manchester
M41 5SL
UK
E-mail: purchasing@mft.nhs.uk
NUTS: UK
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
Lowest offer:
1 870 816.22
GBP
/ Highest offer:
1 870 816.22
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice.<br/><br/>This intention to award notice is subject to Regulation 10(7) 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 england.commercialqueries@nhs.net, ensuring the following details are referenced:<br/><br/>Project reference: C429681<br/><br/>Project title: Workflow for NHS Labs delivering SCID and SMA ISEs (EONIS-Q 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 Sheffield Children's Trust, South West London Pathology, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Birmingham Women's and Children's Foundation Trust are 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.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
High Court
Strand,
London,
WC2A 2LL
UK
Internet address(es)
URL: https://www.theroyalcourtsofjustice.com
VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
High Court
Strand,
London,
WC2A 2LL
UK
Internet address(es)
URL: https://www.theroyalcourtsofjustice.com
VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
High Court
Strand,
London,
WC2A 2LL
UK
Internet address(es)
URL: https://www.theroyalcourtsofjustice.com
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
06/03/2026