Notice Information
Notice Title
HMPPS Higher Education
Notice Description
Higher Education services in England and Wales.
Lot Information
Lot 1
To provide a service supporting students in a secure environment to apply for, access funding for and complete, higher education courses. Support should be available for a minimum of 400 module enrolments in England and Wales new enrolments per year. Support for new enrollers will continue for subsequent years until course completion or release. This support must include: Ensuring that a range of courses are adapted for delivery in a secure environment, compliant with HMPPS standards and regulations, approved by security and available for delivery in a secure environment. Production of a prospectus of courses available in a secure environment. To protect student choice this must cover the following minimum range of levels and subject areas: Levels: Certificate level 4, Diploma level 5, Undergraduate degree level 6 Subject areas: English Language, English Literature, Maths, Psychology, Business Management, Geography, Art history, Politics, Criminology, History, Economics, Spanish, French, German, Classical Studies, Law, Sociology, Sports, fitness and coaching, Religion, Health & Social care and Combined Science Marketing and promoting to prisoners the uptake of Higher education in prisons and other secure environments. Offering information, advice and guidance to prisoners on the types of course they could apply for and which course would be most suitable. Support in registering for and applying for courses. Support in registering for and applying for student loans. Supporting tutors to enable them to deliver to students in secure environments. Providing support for any course exams to be conducted in a secure environment. Deliver award/graduation ceremonies in secure environments for students who complete courses whilst incarcerated. The initial term of the contract is for 24 months with an option to extend for a further two periods of up to 12 months each. The service commencement date is the 1st of April 2025. If no extension options are exercised, the end date will be the 31st of March 2027. The estimated contract value of PS3,340,000 GBP is based on an annual spend of PS835k, over the entire maximum contract length of 48 months, assuming the full options to extend the contract are exercised (however this may not be necessary). It may be necessary for contractor to provide termination assistance beyond the expiry of the contract including, but not limited to, assistance to the extent necessary to ensure that any HMPPS learners already registered on a programme of study with the contractor can continue to be able to access the contractor's course materials, and have the opportunity to complete their course. The costs associated with such assistance would be dependent on the number of affected HMPPS learners, the nature of their courses and the extent to which they have progressed through a particular course. It is therefore not possible at this point to attribute an accurate estimated value to such termination assistance and the estimated value referred to at II.1.7 does therefore not include this element of potential service provision
Options: Initial term: 24 months Option 1: 12 months Option 2: 12 months
Procurement Information
MoJ considers that the award of this contract is permitted pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for the following reasons. a) Open University is the only supplier able to meet MoJ's requirement for a minimum acceptable number of courses (as per II.2.4 above) to be delivered in secure environments by the go live date of April 2025, due to technical reasons. Having sought advice from internal and external stakeholders, with experience of higher education and education in a secure environment, the estimated timeframes needed for courses to be adapted by alternative suppliers are: * 6 months for suppliers to develop relationships with higher education (HE) institutions for course delivery (where not delivering the services directly). * 3 months for HE Institutions to engage with MOJ on understanding its security requirements. * 12 - 18 months per course to adapt all course content and material for delivery in secure environments. Furthermore, time would be needed for HMPPS to sign off suitability of degrees to be delivered as part of the services and for MoJ to conduct a procurement for a supplier to deliver the services. Accordingly, alternative suppliers' courses would not be ready for delivery by April 2025. b) Open University already has distance learning courses available, is the only supplier able to meet the minimum acceptable subject range in secure environments, and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists. MoJ publicised its requirements as part of pre-market engagement, advertising them on Contracts Finder, through a Prior Information Notice on Find a Tender Service and Find a Grant, plus directly inviting HE institutions. This provided suppliers the opportunity to engage with MoJ as part of its consideration as to whether alternative suppliers who could meet MoJ's requirements exist. During market engagement (from December 2023 to February 2024) one-to-one meetings were arranged with six interested suppliers that could potentially deliver some of the services (aside from the Open University). Of these suppliers, the supplier with the most courses currently available for delivery in secure environments could not meet the minimum requirements of offering qualifications at levels 4, 5, and 6 in core subject areas including English language, English literature, sciences, languages, psychology, sociology, art, and politics c) Over 100 different undergraduate level courses are currently being offered to students in secure environments. In the interest of opening up competition and to ensure no artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement, MoJ determined the minimum acceptable range of courses (as per section II.2.4 above) that must be available for delivery in a secure environment from April 2025 in order to protect student choice.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-04cc71
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003924-2025
- Current Stage
- Award
- All Stages
- Award
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- Award Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Limited
- Procurement Method Details
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Tender Suitability
- Not specified
- Awardee Scale
- Large
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
75 - Administration, defence and social security services
80 - Education and training services
-
- CPV Codes
75231200 - Services related to the detention or rehabilitation of criminals
75231230 - Prison services
80000000 - Education and training services
80300000 - Higher education services
80400000 - Adult and other education services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- Not specified
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- £3,340,000 £1M-£10M
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 6 Feb 20251 years ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- Not specified
- Award Date
- 19 Mar 20241 years ago
- Contract Period
- Not specified - Not specified
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Complete
- Lots Status
- Cancelled
- Awards Status
- Active
- Contracts Status
- Active
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
- Contact Name
- Abriti Regmi
- Contact Email
- abriti.regmi@justice.gov.uk
- Contact Phone
- +44 02033343555
Buyer Location
- Locality
- LONDON
- Postcode
- SW1H 9AJ
- Post Town
- South West London
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLI London
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLI3 Inner London - West
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLI35 Westminster and City of London
- Delivery Location
- Not specified
-
- Local Authority
- Westminster
- Electoral Ward
- St James's
- Westminster Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster
Further Information
Notice URLs
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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.
{
"tag": [
"compiled"
],
"id": "ocds-h6vhtk-04cc71-2025-02-06T11:04:50Z",
"date": "2025-02-06T11:04:50Z",
"ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-04cc71",
"initiationType": "tender",
"tender": {
"id": "ocds-h6vhtk-04cc71",
"legalBasis": {
"id": "32014L0024",
"scheme": "CELEX"
},
"title": "HMPPS Higher Education",
"status": "complete",
"classification": {
"scheme": "CPV",
"id": "80000000",
"description": "Education and training services"
},
"mainProcurementCategory": "services",
"description": "Higher Education services in England and Wales.",
"lots": [
{
"id": "1",
"description": "To provide a service supporting students in a secure environment to apply for, access funding for and complete, higher education courses. Support should be available for a minimum of 400 module enrolments in England and Wales new enrolments per year. Support for new enrollers will continue for subsequent years until course completion or release. This support must include: Ensuring that a range of courses are adapted for delivery in a secure environment, compliant with HMPPS standards and regulations, approved by security and available for delivery in a secure environment. Production of a prospectus of courses available in a secure environment. To protect student choice this must cover the following minimum range of levels and subject areas: Levels: Certificate level 4, Diploma level 5, Undergraduate degree level 6 Subject areas: English Language, English Literature, Maths, Psychology, Business Management, Geography, Art history, Politics, Criminology, History, Economics, Spanish, French, German, Classical Studies, Law, Sociology, Sports, fitness and coaching, Religion, Health & Social care and Combined Science Marketing and promoting to prisoners the uptake of Higher education in prisons and other secure environments. Offering information, advice and guidance to prisoners on the types of course they could apply for and which course would be most suitable. Support in registering for and applying for courses. Support in registering for and applying for student loans. Supporting tutors to enable them to deliver to students in secure environments. Providing support for any course exams to be conducted in a secure environment. Deliver award/graduation ceremonies in secure environments for students who complete courses whilst incarcerated. The initial term of the contract is for 24 months with an option to extend for a further two periods of up to 12 months each. The service commencement date is the 1st of April 2025. If no extension options are exercised, the end date will be the 31st of March 2027. The estimated contract value of PS3,340,000 GBP is based on an annual spend of PS835k, over the entire maximum contract length of 48 months, assuming the full options to extend the contract are exercised (however this may not be necessary). It may be necessary for contractor to provide termination assistance beyond the expiry of the contract including, but not limited to, assistance to the extent necessary to ensure that any HMPPS learners already registered on a programme of study with the contractor can continue to be able to access the contractor's course materials, and have the opportunity to complete their course. The costs associated with such assistance would be dependent on the number of affected HMPPS learners, the nature of their courses and the extent to which they have progressed through a particular course. It is therefore not possible at this point to attribute an accurate estimated value to such termination assistance and the estimated value referred to at II.1.7 does therefore not include this element of potential service provision",
"hasOptions": false,
"options": {
"description": "Initial term: 24 months Option 1: 12 months Option 2: 12 months"
},
"awardCriteria": {
"criteria": [
{
"type": "price"
}
]
},
"status": "cancelled"
}
],
"items": [
{
"id": "1",
"deliveryAddresses": [
{
"region": "UK"
},
{
"region": "UK"
}
],
"relatedLot": "1",
"additionalClassifications": [
{
"scheme": "CPV",
"id": "75231200",
"description": "Services related to the detention or rehabilitation of criminals"
},
{
"scheme": "CPV",
"id": "75231230",
"description": "Prison services"
},
{
"scheme": "CPV",
"id": "80000000",
"description": "Education and training services"
},
{
"scheme": "CPV",
"id": "80300000",
"description": "Higher education services"
},
{
"scheme": "CPV",
"id": "80400000",
"description": "Adult and other education services"
}
],
"deliveryLocation": {
"description": "England and Wales"
}
}
],
"procurementMethod": "limited",
"procurementMethodDetails": "Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition",
"procurementMethodRationaleClassifications": [
{
"scheme": "TED_PT_AWARD_CONTRACT_WITHOUT_CALL",
"id": "D_PROC_RESTRICTED",
"description": "No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to restricted procedure"
},
{
"scheme": "TED_PT_AWARD_CONTRACT_WITHOUT_CALL",
"id": "D_TECHNICAL",
"description": "The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons"
}
],
"procurementMethodRationale": "MoJ considers that the award of this contract is permitted pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for the following reasons. a) Open University is the only supplier able to meet MoJ's requirement for a minimum acceptable number of courses (as per II.2.4 above) to be delivered in secure environments by the go live date of April 2025, due to technical reasons. Having sought advice from internal and external stakeholders, with experience of higher education and education in a secure environment, the estimated timeframes needed for courses to be adapted by alternative suppliers are: * 6 months for suppliers to develop relationships with higher education (HE) institutions for course delivery (where not delivering the services directly). * 3 months for HE Institutions to engage with MOJ on understanding its security requirements. * 12 - 18 months per course to adapt all course content and material for delivery in secure environments. Furthermore, time would be needed for HMPPS to sign off suitability of degrees to be delivered as part of the services and for MoJ to conduct a procurement for a supplier to deliver the services. Accordingly, alternative suppliers' courses would not be ready for delivery by April 2025. b) Open University already has distance learning courses available, is the only supplier able to meet the minimum acceptable subject range in secure environments, and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists. MoJ publicised its requirements as part of pre-market engagement, advertising them on Contracts Finder, through a Prior Information Notice on Find a Tender Service and Find a Grant, plus directly inviting HE institutions. This provided suppliers the opportunity to engage with MoJ as part of its consideration as to whether alternative suppliers who could meet MoJ's requirements exist. During market engagement (from December 2023 to February 2024) one-to-one meetings were arranged with six interested suppliers that could potentially deliver some of the services (aside from the Open University). Of these suppliers, the supplier with the most courses currently available for delivery in secure environments could not meet the minimum requirements of offering qualifications at levels 4, 5, and 6 in core subject areas including English language, English literature, sciences, languages, psychology, sociology, art, and politics c) Over 100 different undergraduate level courses are currently being offered to students in secure environments. In the interest of opening up competition and to ensure no artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement, MoJ determined the minimum acceptable range of courses (as per section II.2.4 above) that must be available for delivery in a secure environment from April 2025 in order to protect student choice."
},
"awards": [
{
"id": "041327-2024-1",
"relatedLots": [
"1"
],
"status": "active",
"hasSubcontracting": true,
"suppliers": [
{
"id": "GB-FTS-133532",
"name": "The Open University"
}
]
},
{
"id": "003924-2025-1",
"relatedLots": [
"1"
],
"title": "HMPPS Higher Education",
"status": "active",
"suppliers": [
{
"id": "GB-FTS-133532",
"name": "The Open University"
}
]
}
],
"parties": [
{
"id": "GB-FTS-6365",
"name": "Ministry of Justice",
"identifier": {
"legalName": "Ministry of Justice"
},
"address": {
"streetAddress": "102 Petty France",
"locality": "London",
"region": "UK",
"postalCode": "SW1H 9AJ",
"countryName": "United Kingdom"
},
"contactPoint": {
"name": "Abriti Regmi",
"telephone": "+44 02033343555",
"email": "abriti.regmi@justice.gov.uk"
},
"roles": [
"buyer"
],
"details": {
"url": "https://www.justice.gov.uk",
"classifications": [
{
"scheme": "TED_CA_TYPE",
"id": "MINISTRY",
"description": "Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions"
},
{
"scheme": "COFOG",
"id": "01",
"description": "General public services"
}
]
}
},
{
"id": "GB-FTS-133532",
"name": "The Open University",
"identifier": {
"legalName": "The Open University"
},
"address": {
"streetAddress": "Walton Hall, Kents Hill",
"locality": "Milton Keynes",
"region": "UK",
"postalCode": "MK7 6AA",
"countryName": "United Kingdom"
},
"roles": [
"supplier"
],
"details": {
"url": "https://www.open.ac.uk/",
"scale": "large"
}
},
{
"id": "GB-FTS-2059",
"name": "High Court",
"identifier": {
"legalName": "High Court"
},
"address": {
"streetAddress": "Royal Courts of Justice, Strand",
"locality": "London",
"postalCode": "WC2A 2LL",
"countryName": "United Kingdom"
},
"contactPoint": {
"telephone": "+44 20794760000"
},
"roles": [
"reviewBody"
]
}
],
"buyer": {
"id": "GB-FTS-6365",
"name": "Ministry of Justice"
},
"contracts": [
{
"id": "041327-2024-1",
"awardID": "041327-2024-1",
"status": "active",
"value": {
"amount": 3340000,
"currency": "GBP"
},
"dateSigned": "2024-03-19T00:00:00Z"
},
{
"id": "003924-2025-1",
"awardID": "003924-2025-1",
"title": "HMPPS Higher Education",
"status": "active",
"value": {
"amount": 3340000,
"currency": "GBP"
},
"dateSigned": "2025-01-23T00:00:00Z"
}
],
"language": "en",
"bids": {
"statistics": [
{
"id": "2",
"measure": "bids",
"relatedLot": "1",
"value": 1
}
]
}
}