Notice Information
Notice Title
Force Communications Solution - CPA/SPU/2684P
Notice Description
UK6 Contract Award Notice following publications of UK1 Pipeline Notice and UK5 Transparency Notice. This is in respect of a Direct Award for the continuation of service for a Force Communication Solution to commence on March 8th 2028 with the incumbent provider. The intention is to replace the current contract CPA/SPU/401 which will reach the end of the term on March 7th 2028 as there are no further options to extend, and to enter into a new contract for an initial period of 5yrs with optional extensions. Saab SAFE is the core platform used by the organisation to take emergency and non-emergency calls from members of the public. The system has integrated telephony and radio (through interfaces with Airwave), which allows a call to be managed from whatever route it enters the Force Control Room, through to dispatch of an officer, at an appropriate grading. The system is classed as one of the Force's core platforms, required 24/7, and contains multiple layers of redundancy. The system was the first of its type in the UK, with other forces since adopting due to its flexibility and is in use in thirty-five mission critical areas worldwide. When the system went live in 2018 it replaced seven disparate systems and integrated them into a single solution. The system also integrates into other key line of business systems used by the force, including Niche and Duty Management, to support other processes, such as crime recording and case management. Since its introduction in 2018, it has been continually tuned to suit our needs, and indeed, the wider policing market. Migrating to a new platform would have an excessive cost of change, involving a multi-year project (minimum of 24 months), significant business change and a large number of internal resources, and would not be as operationally effective / beneficial as the product we currently use. As well as project costs, new underlying hardware would be needed, requiring significant capital investment. The hardware currently used for the Saab platform remains fit-for-purpose and only needs replacing in-line with standard refresh cycles. It couldn't be repurposed for a new platform as there would have to be a period of dual running if we were to move platforms. Aside from software and hardware, the amount of knowledge built up by our support team should not be underestimated, although impossible to quantify in cashable terms. Likewise, training Force Control Centre colleagues on a new platform would take between 4-6 months. Saab SAFE is a large multi-component system, but to support wider business processes, it has links into a number of other key platforms, many using bespoke interfaces. Many of these interfaces are bespoke and would need fully re-developing if moving to another platform. The cost and effort to do this would effectively get us to the same position we are now, it would not provide a technically superior product. Vendors would build the cost of any development into the procurement of a solution, however, there would be substantial indirect costs as internal resources, such as testing, project management, training would be required. There is no other solution that offers links into all these respective products already. For the above reasons, the Force is direct awarding to the incumbent under the PCC's Terms and Conditions for a period of 5years with the option to extend annually for a further period of 5 years.
Procurement Information
Applicable justifications are : A: are required to be compatible with an existing asset and C: where the provider is the sole supplier of the goods, services or works. Saab SAFE is the core platform used by the organisation to take emergency and non-emergency calls from members of the public. The system has integrated telephony and radio (through interfaces with Airwave), which allows a call to be managed from whatever route it enters the Force Control Room, through to dispatch of an officer, at an appropriate grading. The system is classed as one of the Force's core platforms, required 24/7, and contains multiple layers of redundancy. The system was the first of its type in the UK, with other forces since adopting due to its flexibility and is in use in thirty-five mission critical areas worldwide. When the system went live in 2018 it replaced seven disparate systems and integrated them into a single solution. The system also integrates into other key line of business systems used by the force, including Niche and Duty Management, to support other processes, such as crime recording and case management. Since its introduction in 2018, it has been continually tuned to suit our needs, and indeed, the wider policing market. Migrating to a new platform would have an excessive cost of change, involving a multi-year project (minimum of 24 months), significant business change and a large number of internal resources, and would not be as operationally effective / beneficial as the product we currently use. As well as project costs, new underlying hardware would be needed, requiring significant capital investment. The hardware currently used for the Saab platform remains fit-for-purpose and only needs replacing in-line with standard refresh cycles. It couldn't be repurposed for a new platform as there would have to be a period of dual running if we were to move platforms. Aside from software and hardware, the amount of knowledge built up by our support team should not be underestimated, although impossible to quantify in cashable terms. Likewise, training Force Control Centre colleagues on a new platform would take between 4-6 months. Saab SAFE is a large multi-component system, but to support wider business processes, it has links into a number of other key platforms, many using bespoke interfaces. Many of these interfaces are bespoke and would need fully re-developing if moving to another platform. The cost and effort to do this would effectively get us to the same position we are now, it would not provide a technically superior product. Vendors would build the cost of any development into the procurement of a solution, however, there would be substantial indirect costs as internal resources, such as testing, project management, training would be required. There is no other solution that offers links into all these respective products already. For the above reasons, the Force is direct awarding to the incumbent under the PCC's Terms and Conditions for a period of 5years with the option to extend annually for a further period of 5 years.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-067abc
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030676-2026
- Current Stage
- Award
- All Stages
- Planning, Award
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK6 - Contract Award 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
32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment
48 - Software package and information systems
72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
-
- CPV Codes
32000000 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment
48000000 - Software package and information systems
72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- £10,000,000 £10M-£100M
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- £10,000,000 £10M-£100M
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 2 Apr 20262 days ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- 1 Apr 2026Expired
- Award Date
- 31 Mar 20263 days ago
- Contract Period
- 8 Mar 2028 - 7 Mar 2033 Over 5 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
- POLICE AND CRIME COMMISSIONER FOR CHESHIRE
- Contact Name
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Email
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
- Contact Phone
- Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Buyer Location
- Locality
- WINSFORD, CHESHIRE
- Postcode
- CW7 2UA
- Post Town
- Crewe
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLD North West (England)
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLD6 Cheshire
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLD63 Cheshire West and Chester
- Delivery Location
- TLD6 Cheshire
-
- Local Authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Electoral Ward
- Winsford Over & Verdin
- Westminster Constituency
- Mid Cheshire
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030676-2026
2nd April 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030381-2026
1st April 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030361-2026
1st April 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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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