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MHCLG Augmented Planning Decisions

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

This public procurement record has 8 releases in its history.

Award

06 Aug 2026 at 11:00

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
AwardUpdate

06 Feb 2026 at 14:18

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

05 Feb 2026 at 22:06

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

25 Nov 2025 at 11:13

UK4 - Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

21 Nov 2025 at 14:03

UK4 - Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

27 Oct 2025 at 19:05

UK4 - Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

27 Oct 2025 at 18:13

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

27 Oct 2025 at 17:59

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government commissioned an augmented planning decision service, with the procurement carried out through the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Commercial Innovation Hub. The requirement is an artificial intelligence-enabled planning tool for householder development applications, with potential expansion to other non-major, non-minor application types. It is intended to support planning officers with policy research, citation and report generation, identification of material considerations, policy compliance assessment, planning balance evaluation and reasoned, verifiable decision recommendations. The solution must integrate with existing planning systems. Expected users include MHCLG, DSIT, 317 local planning authorities, the Planning Inspectorate, devolved administrations, combined authorities, national parks authorities and the Broads Authority. Delivery is therefore UK-wide across planning services.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded under a two-stage competitive flexible procedure. Five valid final-stage bids were received, with a maximum of five bidders progressing from the selection stage. Evaluation for the tender was weighted 40% to the working prototype demonstration, 40% to the technical questionnaire including social value, and 20% to commercial pricing. Google Cloud EMEA Limited was selected for the service, with the award dated 5 February 2026 and a value of £6,906,513 excluding VAT (£8,287,815.60 including VAT). The signed contract is active, was signed on 21 April 2026, and runs from 5 May 2026 to 4 August 2028, with an optional extension to 4 August 2029. The procurement value was £8,333,333.33 excluding VAT, or £10 million including VAT.

This requirement suits suppliers combining artificial intelligence, software development, systems integration and public-sector planning expertise. A credible competitor would need to understand the statutory and administrative planning process, particularly householder applications, and translate policy and evidence into transparent, auditable recommendations rather than unverified automated decisions. Relevant capability includes policy research, citation generation, report production, material-considerations analysis, compliance assessment, planning-balance evaluation and decision reasoning. The service must work with established planning systems and support users across central government, local authorities and specialist planning bodies, so experience of complex, multi-organisation deployments and data protection compliance would be important. The procurement also demonstrates that the buyer expects prototype-led evaluation, strong technical and team capability, social value, implementation support and post-live service management, including incident resolution and root-cause analysis.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

MHCLG Augmented Planning Decisions

Notice Description

The Contracting Authority (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) seeks to develop a planning tool that enables Augmented decision making for planning applications. The initial focus will be on householder developments (as defined in Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015) with a view to expand into further application types within the 'other*' category (those not classified as Major or Minor) which represent 69% of all planning applications. The objective is to dramatically reduce planning application processing times initially targeting a reduction from upwards of 8 weeks to circa 4 weeks, with a long-term vision of near-instant decisions for straightforward applications. All reduction targets do not include elements that solutions cannot be expected to affect i.e. statutory 21-day consultation periods, site visits, neighbour notifications, external consultee responses, and committee scheduling. Proposals will need to demonstrate understanding of the relevant parts of the planning process including administrative processes (e.g. policy research, citation generation, report generation) as well as analytical processes (e.g. material considerations identification, policy compliance assessment, planning balance evaluation, decision reasoning). Solutions should be designed to assist planning officers with the above processes and provide reasoned, verifiable recommendations for decisions. Solutions must be integrated with existing planning systems. As part of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage, bidders will be required to participate in a two-week demo build (unpaid) to each develop a working prototype which will be evaluated at "Demo Day". This will take the form of a presentation of the prototype, and this will be evaluated in accordance with the process and award criteria set out in the ITT. During the contract, the service recipients (i.e. those that will use the solution) may include: DSIT MHCLG Local Planning Authorities (317 LPAs) Planning Inspectorate Devolved Administrations Combined Authorities (mayoral authorities with planning powers) National Parks Authorities (separate planning authorities) Broads Authority (special planning authority) The procurement has been carried out by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology for and on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: Beta Phase & Scale Phase activation is at the Authority's sole discretion, depending on success of minimum viable product. Support & Grow Phase at Authority's sole discretion, dependent on the success of Beta Phase Extension to Support, Maintenance & Grow Phase at Authority's sole discretion No automatic renewal provisions

Renewal: Alpha Phase (Pilot) Duration: Estimated 3 months from contract signature Beta & Scale Phase Duration (if activated): Estimated 12 months following successful Alpha Phase completion Support & Grow Phase Duration: Estimated 12 months following Beta & Scale Phase Optional Extension: Estimated 12 months following initial Support & Grow Phase Total Potential Duration: Up to 39 months (including all phases)

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d4aa
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074578-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£8,333,333 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£8,333,333 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£6,906,513 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£6,906,513 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
6 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
5 Nov 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
5 Feb 20266 months ago
Contract Period
5 May 2026 - 4 Aug 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active, Pending
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
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
SW1A 2EG
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

Google Cloud EMEA Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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