Award

ELCAS CONTRACT

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

12 May 2025 at 08:41

Tender Notice
Award

09 May 2025 at 11:24

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Defence, headquartered in Glasgow, United Kingdom, is overseeing the procurement process for the ELCAS CONTRACT, focused on staff training services under the industry category of services. This procurement, recently updated on 12 May 2025, pertains to the Enhanced Learning Credits for Military Personnel. The process is currently in the award stage, with the contract to be executed under a limited procurement method, meaning it was awarded without prior publication of a call for competition. The contract was initially let to M-Assessment Services (now QIA Services Limited) in May 2021 and is poised to continue until 31 July 2028, following an extension under legal provisions accommodating technical and economic rationales.

This contract presents significant opportunities for businesses involved in educational and administrative services aimed at supporting military personnel. Companies with expertise in deploying training systems, particularly those compatible with the Ministry of Defence's Cloud infrastructure, could find lucrative opportunities in this sector. While the current extension bypasses an open competition phase, anticipating the revised tender in 2028 could give businesses the chance to engage in meaningful preparation, aligning their service offerings to better meet future specifications. Large or well-established firms may have the capacity to absorb transitional costs, making them well-suited to compete in subsequent bidding processes.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

ELCAS CONTRACT

Notice Description

Enhanced Learning Credits for Military Personnel

Procurement Information

The Contracting Authority intends to extend the current Contract for the Provision of an Administrative Service for Enhanced Learning Credits ("ELC") for Military Personnel (Contract Number 701027428) for a further two years. The Contract was let in May 2021, to M-Assessment Services, who later became QIA, after a Restricted procedure competition in which they were the sole bidder. The Contract was for three years with two option years, which have been taken up and is due to expire on 31st July 2026. The further two year extension with the current supplier will continue the Contract until 31st July 2028. The legal framework for the extension is PCR 72 (1) (b) on the basis that a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons and would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the contracting authority, as follows: a. The ELC scheme is undergoing a complete review which is expected to take another 18-24 months. The review will not be completed in time to tender against a revised specification for a new contract from July 2026. Additionally, the Authority is mandated under the government Secure by Design initiative to procure all in scope systems to be designed and built within MoD Cloud. Therefore, if a new supplier were to win the tender for this contract (starting Jan 26 to include 6 month transition/phase in): 1. the Authority would firstly have to pay a new supplier to build their system within MoD Cloud against the current specification for a contract to run from July '26- Jul '28 only, and then pay a supplier to build another system against the revised future specification (which is a material change of scope) for another new contract commencing in Jul '28. This is a clear duplication of costs. 2. Additionally, the architecture of a privately hosted solution (on supplier hosted sites) does not directly translate into the architecture required within MoD Cloud (creating substantial technical interoperability issues). b. If the Authority extends the current contract under 72(1)(b)(ii): 1. the Authority will be in a position to complete its review of the ELC Scheme and re-procure against the new specification for a longer contract with an intended start date of July 2028; 2. with competitive pressure on suppliers to absorb some or all of the new system build costs (i.e. share the risk); 3. time for meaningful engagement with the market; 4. and a longer RoI period for suppliers due to longer contract length. In summary, the economic and technical burden on both prospective bidders and the Authority for a new contract from July 2026 is not viable; the proposed extension overcomes this and provides time for a more lucrative tender for contract under the revised specification in 2 years' time."

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-050fa4
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020304-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender 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

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80511000 - Staff training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£2,042,461 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
12 May 20259 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
8 May 20259 months ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
ewen.burton339@mod.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
GLASGOW
Postcode
G13 2EX
Post Town
Glasgow
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM3 West Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM32 Glasgow City
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Glasgow City
Electoral Ward
Drumchapel/Anniesland
Westminster Constituency
Glasgow West

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

QIA 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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