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Toxicology Service for HM Coroner for Suffolk

Suffolk County Council

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

21 Jul 2026 at 15:54

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

31 Mar 2026 at 10:20

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

06 Jan 2026 at 14:26

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

18 Nov 2025 at 08:53

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Suffolk County Council procured a specialist toxicology laboratory service for HM Coroner for Suffolk. The service analyses toxicology samples taken during post-mortem examinations, helping determine causes of death. It covers professional laboratory pathology, blood analysis and bacteriological analysis services. Work and sample handling relate to Suffolk, for the council and the coroner’s service. The requirement is a public-sector service rather than the supply of equipment or general healthcare provision. It is relevant to laboratories and specialist forensic or clinical testing providers with the infrastructure, quality systems and professional expertise to receive, track, analyse and report post-mortem samples securely and reliably. The contract is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, although mandatory technical accreditation applies to the selected lot.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through an open procedure. One lot was evaluated on quality at 60% and cost at 40%, with ISO 15189 accreditation or an equivalent mandatory technical requirement. The tender closed on 3 February 2026, enquiries closed on 19 January 2026 and the award period ended on 27 March 2026. Seven bids reached the final stage, including three from SMEs. Suffolk County Council awarded the contract to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on 26 March 2026 for £750,000 including gross value. The contract was signed on 23 June 2026 and runs from 6 July 2026 to 5 July 2029, with an option to extend by up to 24 months, to 5 July 2031. A standstill period ended on 13 April 2026.

This award demonstrates an established Suffolk demand for specialist post-mortem toxicology testing delivered through a professional laboratory service. A credible future competitor would need ISO 15189 accreditation or an equivalent, experience analysing toxicology samples for coronial or comparable public-sector work, and reliable systems for safely receiving, tracking, storing, testing and dispatching samples. Capacity planning matters: the earlier market engagement asked providers to state weekly sample-testing capacity, the days on which samples could be received, experience working with county-level local authorities, relevant regulatory-body memberships and access to frameworks or wider contracts. The requirement therefore suits an accredited pathology or forensic laboratory able to provide dependable reporting, secure chain-of-custody processes and sufficient operational resilience for recurring coronial demand.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Toxicology Service for HM Coroner for Suffolk

Notice Description

HM Coroner for Suffolk required a provider for Toxicology samples taken at postmortem examinations to be analysed by a professional specialist laboratory service to help enable a cause of death to be determined.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The contract could be extended for 24 months.

Planning Information

The Authority wishes to invite interested parties to respond to the following topics: 1. Do you as a supplier have experience of working with other LAs at county level. 2. Are you part of a framework or wider contract that SCC could join? 3. Which regulatory bodies are you a member of? 4. How many samples, per week do you have capacity to test? 5. Please confirm which days of the week you are able to receive samples. 6. Do you use a tracking system to ensure samples are safely received and dispatched? Please note that responses received will be recorded and used to inform and reflect future procurements. This will ensure that any resulting tender pack provides information such that all bidders have the same information and no potential bidder unable to respond is disadvantaged. No sensitive or confidential information will be shared. Interested parties should respond to the questions, along with any comments to Rachael.Dann@suffolk.gov.uk by 5 pm 28th November 2025. You are also advised to ensure you are registered on the Central Digital Platform, or your supplier information record is up to date. Suppliers: How to register your organisation and first administrator on Find a Tender in three easy steps https://shorturl.at/kigPg This notice is intended as an awareness, communication and information gathering exercise. Participation is no indication of a commitment to partake in any future tendering process, nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who participate. Please also note that this notice is not intended as a call for competition and as such you will need to express your interest in any future tender opportunity once the tender notice is published. All future tender documents will be available on Suffolk County Council E- tendering portal: http://www.suffolksourcing.uk/ We look forward to your participation and contributions. Suffolk County Council has joined the government's Devolution Priority Programme (DPP), a fast-track programme towards devolution and local government reorganisation. Under the DPP it is proposed that: a) a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) for Norfolk and Suffolk is established, with strategic powers and headed by an elected mayor ("Devolution"). b) the existing two-tier council structure in Suffolk is abolished and replaced with one or more unitary councils covering the current geographical boundary of Suffolk ("LGR"). It is possible that both, one or neither of these changes will happen. These changes are declared as known risks as we do not yet know the implications of Devolution and/or LGR. As a result of LGR and Devolution, contract modifications may be necessary to novate, transfer or disaggregate the contract from the one you entered into to one or more successor authorities or the MCAA. Impacts could include changes to geographical boundaries, significant increases and/or decreases in the goods and/or services required due to the change in size/scope of any successor authority or the MCAA. This may also change the scope of the contract

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e2e8
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/068821-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details 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

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£750,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£750,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£750,000 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
£750,000 £500K-£1M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
3 Feb 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
28 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
26 Mar 20265 months ago
Contract Period
6 Jul 2026 - 5 Jul 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
2029-01-06

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Suffolk County 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
IPSWICH
Postcode
IP1 2BX
Postcode Area
Ipswich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH6 Suffolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH62 Ipswich
Delivery Location
TLH14 Suffolk CC
Local Authority
Ipswich
Electoral Ward
Gipping
Westminster Constituency
Ipswich

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SHEFFIELD TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

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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