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Provision of Laboratory Services for Testing of Alcohol Dependency

Department for Transport

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

AwardUpdate

28 Jul 2026 at 13:50

Award Notice
Award

07 Sep 2023 at 16:03

Award Notice
Tender

31 Oct 2022 at 13:14

Tender Notice
Planning

12 Jul 2022 at 11:03

Planning Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), an executive agency of the Department for Transport, procured laboratory services to support alcohol-dependency testing. The requirement is for accurate and confidential blood-sample screening using Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT) testing with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) methodology and classic reporting. The service supports the DVLA’s road-safety and law-enforcement functions. Work is associated with the DVLA in Swansea and includes the laboratory testing service, reporting, storage and destruction of samples, business continuity, management information and service delivery. The requirement also covers arrangements involving franchise doctors and reporting of test results and performance trends. The procurement is classified as laboratory services.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded following an open procedure. Four bids were received. The contract was initially awarded to SYNLAB Laboratory Services on 1 September 2023 for £1,670,000. A further award is active for Eurofins Clinical Diagnostics UK Limited, with a contract value of £2,999,000 and an award recorded in 2026; the contract was signed on 1 September 2023 and runs from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2028. The contract was novated from the original contractor to Eurofins and extended by 24 months. The estimated tender value was £3,800,000. Evaluation included price and quality criteria covering service delivery, CDT testing, franchise doctors, sample storage and destruction, reporting, business continuity and wellbeing-related social value.

This procurement indicates sustained public-sector demand for specialist alcohol-dependency laboratory testing, with a requirement large enough to support established clinical diagnostics providers. A credible future supplier would need to deliver confidential blood-sample screening using CDT and capillary zone electrophoresis, provide reliable classic reporting, and manage sample storage and destruction securely. Strong service management would be important, including accurate and timely results, management information, performance and trend reporting, and effective business continuity arrangements. Suppliers should also be able to support the DVLA’s network of franchise doctors and demonstrate quality across the complete service rather than laboratory analysis alone. The evaluation placed substantial emphasis on price, alongside service quality, operational resilience and social value relating to wellbeing.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Laboratory Services for Testing of Alcohol Dependency

Notice Description

The DVLA is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport (DfT), based in Swansea. The DVLA's primary aims are to facilitate road safety and general law enforcement by maintaining accurate registers of drivers and vehicle keepers and to collect Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). The purpose of the Laboratory Services for Testing of Alcohol Dependency is to provide an accurate and confidential blood sample screening (Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT) utilising the Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) methodology with classic reporting.

Lot Information

Provision of Laboratory Services for Testing of Alcohol Dependency

Provision of Laboratory Services for Testing of Alcohol Dependency

Options: 2 x 12 month options

Renewal: After 36 months core term please refer to II.2.11 for options to extend. The Authority reserves the right utilise options or consider alternative strategy.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0350eb
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071231-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Planning Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

CPV Codes

71900000 - Laboratory services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£3,800,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£4,669,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
28 Jul 20264 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
9 Dec 2022Expired
Future Notice Date
31 Oct 2022Expired
Award Date
1 Sep 20232 years ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2023 - 31 Aug 2028 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Transport
Additional Buyers

Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency

Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
SWANSEA
Postcode
SA6 7JL
Postcode Area
Swansea
Country
Wales
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL4 Mid and South West Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL43 Swansea
Delivery Location
TLL18 Swansea
Local Authority
Swansea
Electoral Ward
Mynydd-bach
Westminster Constituency
Swansea West

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

Eurofins Clinical Diagnostics UK Limited

SYNLAB Laboratory Services

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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