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Removal and Storage of Bodies on behalf of His Majesty's Coroner

Norfolk County Council

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

27 Aug 2026 at 12:59

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

27 Aug 2026 at 12:57

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

26 Aug 2026 at 15:27

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

07 Jul 2026 at 08:14

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Norfolk County Council, on behalf of Norfolk Coroner’s Service, intends to procure services for the removal, collection and storage of deceased persons. The expected scope covers collecting and transporting deceased people, providing secure body storage facilities, and operating out-of-hours and emergency response arrangements. Suppliers will also need to support business continuity and resilience during major incidents, together with associated reporting and performance management. The service will be delivered across Norfolk, including Norwich and the surrounding county areas. The procurement is for services under the light-touch regime and is intended to support the Coroner’s Service in managing deceased persons safely, securely and reliably. The final service scope and specification are expected to be informed by feedback from potential suppliers during preliminary market engagement.

This procurement is at the planning stage: the council has stated its intention to procure, but this is not an invitation to tender. The expected procedure is an open procedure, with one planned lot. The estimated value is £1,200,000 excluding VAT, or £1,440,000 including VAT. The anticipated contract period is 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2030, with renewal available and an ultimate end date of 30 June 2035. The council expects the next notice to be published by 5 January 2027. Preliminary market engagement includes a Microsoft Teams session planned for 3pm to 4.30pm on 8 October 2026, to discuss demand, service challenges, the contract model, specification, performance measures and commercial arrangements. The future procurement will be managed electronically.

The work is suited to suppliers able to provide secure deceased-person collection, transportation and storage services across Norfolk, including reliable out-of-hours and emergency response. Businesses should be prepared to demonstrate operational resilience, business continuity arrangements and the capacity to respond effectively during major incidents. Experience of handling sensitive services for a coroner or related public-sector body would be relevant to the proposed scope, alongside robust reporting and performance-management capability. The buyer is seeking market feedback on service requirements, anticipated demand, contract design, performance measures and commercial arrangements, so suppliers with practical knowledge of these areas can help shape the future specification. The planned lot is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Removal and Storage of Bodies on behalf of His Majesty's Coroner

Notice Description

This is a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (PMEN) for information purposes only. It is not a formal invitation to tender. You will need to respond to the tender notice in order to be considered for these contracts. The purpose of this PMEN is to maximise transparency and competition for the upcoming tender notice. All details in this PMEN are subject to being updated or changed in the tender notice. We are publishing this notice to share engagement outputs and to ensure as wider audience as possible are aware and informed of Norfolk County Council's intentions. The PMEN fulfils the requirement for a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice to be issued under the Procurement Act 2023. A tender notice will be published to advertise this opportunity . If you wish to apply to attend the engagement and to find out further information, please read below on how to register on the Council's e-tendering portal.

Planning Information

Norfolk Coroner's Service is undertaking preliminary market engagement in advance of a forthcoming procurement exercise for the provision of deceased body collection and storage services. The purpose of this engagement is to inform the development of our procurement strategy and service specification, gain a better understanding of current market capability, and seek feedback from potential suppliers on the proposed service requirements. In accordance with the Procurement Act 2023, this engagement is intended solely to obtain market intelligence and supplier feedback prior to the commencement of a formal procurement process. Proposed Contract Scope The future contract is expected to include services relating to: • Collection and transportation of deceased persons on behalf of the Coroner's Service. • Provision of secure body storage facilities. • Out-of-hours and emergency response arrangements. • Business continuity and major incident resilience. • Associated reporting and performance management requirements. The final scope and procurement approach will be informed by feedback received during this market engagement process. Norfolk County Council is hosting a market engagement session. The session will provide: • An overview of Norfolk Coroner's Service requirements. • Information on current and anticipated service demand. • An opportunity to discuss key service challenges and opportunities. • An opportunity for suppliers to provide feedback on the proposed contract model, service specification, performance measures and commercial arrangements. • Information regarding the anticipated procurement timetable. This procurement will be managed electronically via the Council`s e-procurement system. To participate in this procurement and gain access to documents when they are available, applicants must first be registered on the system at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/Home. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at https://intendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/BuyerProfiles. Once registered you will be able to see the procurement project under the `tenders` section and `express an interest` in this tender. If you encounter any difficulties whilst using the system you can contact the In-tend support team by phoning +44 8442728810 or e-mailing support@in-tend.co.uk. The event will take place via TEAMS. If you wish to attend, please use the intend correspondence facility and send the email addresses of attendees. An invite will be issued. The time of this event will be 3pm to 4.30pm on Thursday 8th October.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c4b7
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081741-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

98 - Other community, social and personal services

CPV Codes

98371200 - Undertaking services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,200,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
5 Jan 20274 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Jul 2027 - 30 Jun 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Norfolk 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
NORWICH
Postcode
NR1 2DH
Postcode Area
Norwich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH5 Norfolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH51 Norwich and East Norfolk
Delivery Location
TLH15 Norwich and East Norfolk, TLH16 North and West Norfolk, TLH17 Breckland and South Norfolk
Local Authority
Norwich
Electoral Ward
Lakenham
Westminster Constituency
Norwich South

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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