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Election Printing

Reading Borough Council

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

17 Aug 2026 at 17:40

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

17 Aug 2026 at 16:53

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

30 Oct 2025 at 16:50

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Reading Borough Council bought election printing and related services for its Electoral Services team. The requirement covers printing for elections, Business Improvement District elections, canvassing, year-round registration and other printing needs. It also includes emailing and posting statutory forms. The work is delivered for Reading Borough Council in Reading, within the United Kingdom. This is a public-sector services contract focused on high-volume, legally sensitive electoral communications rather than general commercial print work. Relevant suppliers are likely to provide managed printing and distribution, support recurring electoral activity, and handle statutory forms accurately across scheduled elections and ongoing registration operations.

The procurement is complete and was awarded on 17 August 2026 to CIVICA ELECTION SERVICES LIMITED. It used a direct award because the council identified a single supplier for technical reasons, citing incompatibility and disproportionate technical difficulties if existing services were changed. The contract was signed on 2 January 2026 and runs from 27 August 2026 to 31 March 2029, with one possible 12-month renewal to 31 March 2030. The awarded value is £640,000 excluding VAT, or £800,000 including VAT. There was one completed lot. The contract is active, with performance measured against delivery timeliness, print accuracy and compliance with specifications.

This award shows sustained demand from Reading Borough Council for integrated election and registration printing, statutory-form distribution and related communications. A future competitor would need dependable production and fulfilment capacity for election periods as well as year-round registration work. The requirement favours suppliers able to manage accurate, compliant printing at scale, coordinate emailing and posting, and meet tight delivery deadlines when electoral activity is time-critical. Evidence of consistently accurate output, robust quality controls, reliable distribution arrangements and disciplined specification compliance would strengthen a supplier’s position. Experience supporting electoral services or similarly regulated, high-volume public communications would also help demonstrate that the supplier can maintain continuity and avoid technical disruption.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Election Printing

Notice Description

Printing Contract for Electoral Services for Elections/Business Improvement District Elections (BID), Canvass and all year-round Registration/Printing Requirements and emailing/posting statutory forms.

Procurement Information

Single supplier - technical reasons Pursuant to Section 41 and Schedule 5 (Regulation 7) of the Procurement Act 2023, which permits a direct award justification for additional or repeat goods, services or works, namely 7. The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods, services or works in circumstances where- * (a)a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works, and * (b)the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d774
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078304-2026
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

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79800000 - Printing and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£640,000 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
£640,000 £500K-£1M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
30 Oct 202510 months ago
Contract Period
2 Jan 2026 - 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
Reading Borough Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
READING
Postcode
RG1 2LU
Postcode Area
Reading
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ16 Berkshire West
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Reading
Electoral Ward
Abbey
Westminster Constituency
Reading Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CIVICA ELECTION SERVICES LIMITED

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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