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WNC Security Services - Core Guarding

West Northamptonshire Council

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

24 Sep 2026 at 16:15

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

14 Sep 2026 at 12:09

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

11 Aug 2026 at 14:40

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

West Northamptonshire Council bought professional manned guarding for its council-owned and managed estate, including prominent public-facing premises. The service protects council buildings and supports the safety of employees, contractors, service users, visitors, vulnerable people, children and the public. Work is delivered across multiple council sites in West Northamptonshire, with duties ranging from shifts of up to 12 hours to coverage requirements of up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The requirement includes security guards and provision for additional hours when buildings are used late, including for meetings and training, as well as maintenance. This is an operational guarding service across a varied estate, rather than a single-site security assignment.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to 1st Reaction Security Limited, a small and medium-sized enterprise. The Council used a direct award, citing extreme and unavoidable urgency and the need to avoid a break in critical security provision while a longer-term competitive procurement is prepared. The contract was signed on 24 September 2026 and runs from 24 September 2026 to 10 August 2027. Its value is £1,033,510.75 excluding VAT (£1,240,212.90 including VAT). The service was described as commencing on 11 August 2026. The procurement was divided into one lot, which was suitable for SMEs. The stated justification was the supplier’s ability to mobilise quickly and maintain service continuity; no scored evaluation criteria are recorded.

For suppliers considering comparable future guarding work for West Northamptonshire Council, this award indicates demand for a dependable, multi-site service covering operational and public-facing buildings, including sites with critical security needs. A credible provider would need the capacity to staff varied shifts, including around-the-clock coverage, and maintain reliable service across changing site requirements. The Council’s stated requirements point to robust recruitment, screening and vetting, current Security Industry Authority licences and role-relevant accreditations, with enhanced checks including DBS checks where required. Providers also need to sustain ongoing staff training and professional development, and keep an authorised, trained relief pool able to cover planned and unplanned absence. Demonstrable mobilisation capability, local knowledge, infrastructure and resources to maintain continuity with minimal disruption were important in this award. The stated SME suitability suggests smaller providers could be relevant competitors.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

WNC Security Services - Core Guarding

Notice Description

This award was made under Direct Award, Transparency Notice reference ocds-h6vhtk-06e17f, publication date was 11 08 2026. The Direct award justification is under extreme and unavoidable urgency and is therefore being made pursuant to section 41 and paragraph 13 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 and therefore the mandatory standstill period was not applied and the actual services commenced on 11 08 2026 and end on 10 08 2027 (12 month contract term). West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) requires the provision of professional Manned Guarding Services across its estate. Services will be delivered at a range of Council-owned and managed premises, including high-profile, public-facing locations. The effective delivery of these services is critical to maintaining the security of Council premises and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Council employees, contractors, service users, visitors, vulnerable individuals, children, and members of the public. WNC require a reliable, customer-focused and professional security service, operating across a variety of sites with shift patterns ranging up to 12 hours and covering requirements of up to 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. They shall demonstrate robust recruitment, screening and vetting procedures and ensure that all security personnel, hold the appropriate current Security Industry Authority (SIA) licences and accreditations relevant to their role and are subject to enhanced recruitment checks, including DBS checks where required. * The Service Provider shall ensure ongoing training and professional development for all personnel assigned to the Contract. * The Service Provider shall maintain a pool of appropriately trained and authorised relief staff capable of covering planned and unplanned absence. * The Service Provider must provide assurance that service continuity, security standards and contractual obligations will be maintained at all times.

Procurement Information

The Council determined that continuation of the existing contractual arrangements was no longer appropriate.The resulting requirement to secure replacement security services at short notice has created a situation of extreme and unavoidable urgency.The need to secure immediate replacement security provision was not reasonably foreseeable and has arisen from the occurrence of recent service incidents rather than any act or omission of the Council. The Council must ensure that appropriate security arrangements are in place immediately upon termination of the existing contract in order to avoid any gap in service provision which would create unacceptable risk of interruption to service. Any interruption to security provision would create unacceptable risks to public safety, the security of Council employees, members of the public, Council property and other assets. West Northamptonshire Council requires the uninterrupted provision of security guarding services across a number of operational, public-facing and critical Council sites. The Council therefore considers it strictly necessary to implement replacement arrangements without delay in order to ensure continuity of security services and maintain appropriate security coverage across its estate. The direct award is considered strictly necessary for a 12-month term to ensure continuity of critical services, allow for sufficient time for mobilisation, operational stabilisation, implementation of the replacement arrangements and completion of a longer-term compliant competitive procurement exercise. The Council has considered a shorter contract duration but concluded that a shorter period would create a significant risk of procurement activity needing to commence before service delivery has stabilised following transition from the incumbent provider. The contract does not include extension options and is intended solely as an interim arrangement pending implementation of a longer-term procurement solution. The Council does not have sufficient time to undertake a competitive procurement process, including an accelerated competitive procedure available for urgent competitive procedures under section 54(3)-(4) of the Procurement Act 2023, before replacement arrangements are required. A direct award is therefore being made pursuant to section 41 and paragraph 13 of Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 on the basis that it is strictly necessary on the grounds of extreme and unavoidable urgency. 1st Reaction has been identified as a supplier capable of mobilising within the required timescales and maintaining continuity of service. Currently they are delivering services to the Council Lot 4 - out of hours, monitoring and maintenance provision. The supplier possesses the operational capability, local knowledge, infrastructure and resources required to mobilise and deliver the services from commencement of the contract with minimal disruption to service delivery.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e17f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090714-2026
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
SME
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79713000 - Guard services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£1,033,510 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£1,033,510 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
11 Aug 20262 months ago
Contract Period
24 Sep 2026 - 10 Aug 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
West Northamptonshire 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
NORTHAMPTON
Postcode
NN1 1ED
Postcode Area
Northampton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF24 West Northamptonshire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
West Northamptonshire
Electoral Ward
Castle
Westminster Constituency
Northampton North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

1st Reaction Security 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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