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Biosecurity for England - MOA

DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

17 Aug 2026 at 16:01

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

17 Aug 2026 at 15:58

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commissioned environmental services to continue Biosecurity for England, a seabird-island protection programme. The work is intended to prevent accidental introductions of invasive predatory mammals such as rats and mice, and to detect and respond rapidly to incursions. It supports biosecurity and island restoration measures for important seabird islands in England, helping sustain improvements in marine-bird environmental status and address pressures on seabird populations. The programme follows the UK-wide Biosecurity for LIFE project and its legacy regional programmes. The buying organisation is Defra, a central government department, and delivery is focused on England’s seabird islands.

This procurement is complete and was awarded by direct award on 17 August 2026. The stated reason for using this route was that the selected supplier already had the required expertise and infrastructure; the process used a single-supplier technical-reasons rationale. One lot was completed. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was awarded the environmental services contract for £300,000 excluding VAT, or £360,000 including VAT. The contract period runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2029. A contract signature was scheduled for 28 August 2026. The award is above the relevant threshold. The procurement was assessed on the basis of the supplier’s required expertise and infrastructure, rather than through a competitive tender.

This award demonstrates demand for specialist seabird-island biosecurity and environmental conservation services within Defra’s programmes. A credible future competitor would need practical expertise in preventing, detecting and responding to invasive mammals on remote or ecologically important islands, together with the infrastructure to maintain those measures over a multi-year programme. Relevant experience would include delivering biosecurity, island restoration or seabird conservation work at regional or national scale, and understanding how interventions support marine environmental objectives. The selected supplier’s position reflects established expertise and infrastructure, as well as continuity from leading the earlier Biosecurity for LIFE project. Organisations with comparable field capability, conservation knowledge and programme-management capacity would be best placed to compete if this requirement returns.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Biosecurity for England - MOA

Notice Description

Seabird islands are vulnerable to invasive predatory mammals (e.g., rats and mice) which can cause severe impacts on breeding seabird populations. Biosecurity measures to prevent accidental introductions, and to detect and respond rapidly to incursions, appear to be proving effective in improving the UK Marine Strategy (UKMS) indicator for marine birds on the presence of invasive mammals on important seabird islands. However, seabirds continue to fail to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES), with pressures exacerbated by sustained outbreaks of avian influenza, declining prey abundance, spatial squeeze from offshore developments, and bycatch. The UKMS update specifically highlights improvements in the invasive mammal indicator as largely due to the UK-wide Biosecurity for LIFE (B4L) project (2018-2023), led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) with Defra contributing via the EU LIFE fund, and now continuing via legacy regional programmes including Biosecurity for England (B4E). Defra's obligations under the UKMS are to achieve and maintain GES; continuation of seabird island biosecurity is therefore important to sustain progress and avoid regression. Biosecurity and island restoration measures are also identified as a priority action in the England Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway (ESCaRP) report. Defra funding for B4E ended at the close of financial year 2025/26; this MoA supports continued delivery of seabird biosecurity work in England for FY 2026/27, FY 2027/28 and FY 2028/29.

Procurement Information

The supplier has the required expertise and infrastructure in place.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e5df
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078237-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
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
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

CPV Codes

90700000 - Environmental services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£300,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
17 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

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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