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Screening and Assessment Lot 2 Reading Paper Tool Contingency

Ministry of Justice

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

24 Sep 2025 at 10:38

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Justice has awarded a contract for the "Screening and Assessment Lot 2 Reading Paper Tool Contingency" under a direct award procurement method, due to intellectual property and exclusive rights considerations. The project focuses on a paper-based assessment tool to measure prisoners' decoding abilities to aid literacy interventions. The procurement process, completed on 24th September 2025, was necessitated by previous unsuccessful digital solutions. The direct award was made to Powell Phonics Ltd, an SME based in Northampton. The contract, valued at £49,238, will run from 1st October 2025 to 30th September 2027, covering the adult and other education services category across the United Kingdom.

This tender presents an opportunity for businesses, particularly those with niche services or products in education and prison system literacy, to align with public sector needs. SMEs and businesses with unique intellectual property in education tools are well-suited to compete for similar contracts due to the emphasis placed on specialised and exclusive solutions. This contract highlights the Ministry of Justice's initiative to enhance educational outcomes within correctional facilities, offering growth potential for suppliers capable of providing tailored educational assessment tools.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Screening and Assessment Lot 2 Reading Paper Tool Contingency

Notice Description

A paper based assessment tool for accurately measuring the decoding ability of prisoners, supporting targeted literacy interventions and contributing to educational planning and rehabilitation efforts. Objectives: * Provide a standardised and reliable measure of prisoners' decoding ability * Enable prison staff and education teams to identify literacy needs quickly and effectively * Support rehabilitation pathways and progression in English provision within prisons * Produce consistent, comparable data that can be aggregated at establishment and system level

Procurement Information

Under the new Prison Education Services (PES), the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is required to provide a digital platform for the Screening and Assessment (S&A) of prisoners in functional skills, reading, and additional learning needs. However, following two recent unsuccessful procurement exercises for the reading element, the Authority is currently unable to fulfil this obligation. As an interim measure, a paper-based solution will be implemented for reading-related screening and assessments. The evaluation tool to be provided is via sites licensed on an individual site license basis based upon the number of prisoners having assessments undertaken within a set period. The contracting authority (MoJ) is invoking the single-supplier direct award provisions under paragraphs 5 and 6 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023: * paragraph 5 (a) due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works This justification also applies due to: * The MoJ does not have any express rights to transfer or licence the intellectual property rights to any other supplier * No reasonable alternatives

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05a0c0
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/059131-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80400000 - Adult and other education services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£49,238 Under £100K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Sep 202511 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
24 Sep 202511 months ago
Contract Period
1 Oct 2025 - 30 Sep 2027 1-2 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Ministry of Justice
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1H 9AJ
Postcode Area
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

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Powell Phonics Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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