Award

Provision of Toxicology Services

ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

Award

20 Feb 2026 at 00:16

TenderUpdate

08 Jan 2026 at 17:32

Tender

08 Jan 2026 at 17:26

PlanningUpdate

08 Jan 2026 at 17:24

Planning

04 Aug 2025 at 08:33

Summary of the contracting process

Essex County Council, based in Chelmsford, is overseeing the procurement for the "Provision of Toxicology Services" within the pathology service sector. The contract involves analysing samples to determine causes of death, supporting HM Senior Coroner for the Essex Jurisdiction. The procurement process followed an open procedure, rendering it accessible for various suppliers, and commences in April 2026 for three years, with potential extensions of up to two years. This stage is currently in the award phase, having completed the tender process, with five bids received, and the award pending as of 18th February 2026. Key delivery locations include mortuaries across Essex and East London, and contract provisions will be active from April 2026 to March 2029.

This procurement offers significant opportunities for growth to businesses within the medical laboratory services industry, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to their suitability for the contract requirements. The emphasis on blood and bacteriological analysis services underlines opportunities for companies specialised in these fields to expand their service offerings and geographical reach. Businesses adept at handling high volume requests and providing out-of-hours support will particularly benefit, given the potential for urgent situations and seasonal variances in service demand. Engaging with Essex County Council's e-tendering system, ProContract, facilitates entry into this procurement, promising consistent opportunities for suppliers who establish themselves as reliable service providers during this contract period.

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Notice Title

Provision of Toxicology Services

Notice Description

Essex Coroner Service procured a supplier 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

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: 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.

Planning Information

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 https://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.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-056bf3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015472-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85111800 - Pathology services

85111810 - Blood analysis services

85111820 - Bacteriological analysis services

85145000 - Services provided by medical laboratories

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£838,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£838,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£838,000 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
20 Feb 20263 days ago
Submission Deadline
8 Feb 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
1 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
18 Feb 20265 days ago
Contract Period
31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
2028-12-01

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
benedict.itoyah@essex.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
CHELMSFORD
Postcode
CM1 1QH
Post Town
Chelmsford
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH36 Heart of Essex
Delivery Location
TLH3 Essex

Local Authority
Chelmsford
Electoral Ward
Moulsham and Central
Westminster Constituency
Chelmsford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SHEFFIELD TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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