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Provision of Library Services for HMP Bure, HMP Norwich, HMP Wayland and HMP The Mount

Ministry of Justice

This public procurement record has 8 releases in its history.

AwardUpdate

18 Nov 2025 at 15:16

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
AwardUpdate

18 Nov 2025 at 15:06

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
AwardUpdate

18 Nov 2025 at 15:01

UK5 - Transparency Notice
AwardUpdate

06 Nov 2025 at 13:20

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
AwardUpdate

06 Nov 2025 at 13:19

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

06 Nov 2025 at 09:16

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

06 Nov 2025 at 09:11

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

28 Oct 2025 at 15:20

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Ministry of Justice, based in London, has awarded a contract for the provision of library services at several prisons: HMP Bure, HMP Norwich, HMP The Mount, and HMP Wayland. This procurement falls under the central government’s public authority category and involves the direct awarding of the tender to Greenwich Leisure Ltd, a large-scale supplier supporting the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector. This contract, worth over £1.75 million, commenced on 6th November 2025 and continues until 31st March 2029, with provisions for further extension until 2032, if required. The procurement was conducted via a direct award method due to extreme urgency related to the incumbent supplier's cessation, avoiding disruptions in essential prison education services.

This contract opens opportunities for businesses involved in providing educational and library services, particularly those capable of responding swiftly to urgent requirements in public service sectors. Large enterprises, especially those with experience in public sector contracts or prison services, will find this project particularly fitting. By ensuring that high-quality library services are sustained in these facilities, businesses can not only expand their service portfolio but also contribute significantly to educational objectives within the UK prison system. The stable and fixed-term nature of this contract, combined with potential renewals, offers a predictable growth avenue for qualified suppliers.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Library Services for HMP Bure, HMP Norwich, HMP Wayland and HMP The Mount

Notice Description

A contract to provide and safeguard statutory provision of prison library services at HMP Bure, HMP Norwich, HMP The Mount and HMP Wayland.

Procurement Information

The direct award of library services to the supplier are strictly necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency. The Ministry of Justice has a legal requirement to secure the provision of education and training for prisoners (Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009). Section 86 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 provides that the Secretary of State must secure the provision of such education and training facilities as he/she considers appropriate for education and training suitable to the requirements of prisoners. The incumbent library supplier advised that they would be unable to continue providing a service due to their contractual arrangements ceasing with the local authority on 30th June 2025. This resulted in the supplier going into termination as this represented the majority of their business and they were unable to continue operations due to the loss of this local authority contract. This created a huge challenge for the Authority because there is a statutory obligation to provide prison library services and service provision cannot disrupted. Given these reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency, these services could not be awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure (due to timescales involved and that the supplier only provided 2 months notice of cessation of business). The urgency is unavoidable as it is not attributable to any act or omission of the contracting authority and could not have been reasonably foreseen by the contracting authority. The business owner's requirement is to maintain current delivery and system stability, with future contracts being based on the services currently delivered, with all Terms and Conditions and contract value remaining unchanged. The actual contract date is 02/07/2025-31/03/2029.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d579
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074850-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

CPV Codes

75231230 - Prison services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£1,752,534 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£1,752,534 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Nov 20259 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
30 Jun 20251 years ago
Contract Period
6 Nov 2025 - 31 Mar 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

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

Greenwich Lesiure 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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