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ICO FOI Concilliation Service - Pre Market Engagement

INFORMATION COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

21 Oct 2026 at 12:36

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Information Commissioner’s Office is exploring a future Freedom of Information (FOI) Conciliation Service to handle FOI complaints end to end, including conciliation. The intended service would use technology to support complaint handling while maintaining public trust. The work is classified as services and relates to software, systems, programming and consultancy, system support and computer-related management services. The buyer is the Information Commissioner’s Office, based in Wilmslow. The stated delivery country is the United Kingdom. The current activity is preliminary market engagement to inform the service requirements and a later tender specification, rather than a request for suppliers to submit bids for the service itself.

The process is at planning stage: the buyer is conducting discovery and preliminary market engagement before formal procurement, and no tender invitation has been issued. The buyer expects the market engagement to run for four weeks from 21 October 2026. It requests questionnaire responses by 12 noon on 18 November 2026, with optional 30-minute supplier discussions planned for 24, 25 or 26 November 2026. The estimated service contract period is 1 March 2027 to 1 March 2029. The stated estimated value is £800,000 excluding VAT and £1,000,000 including VAT. The procurement is planned as a single lot. The buyer is seeking market insight to shape the specification, including delivery approach, feasibility, timescales, available products and features, and conditions for successful delivery.

This engagement is relevant to providers of technology-enabled complaint handling, case management, conciliation or related systems and services, particularly those with experience supporting public bodies or organisations handling sensitive information. The buyer wants to learn from suppliers who can explain how an end-to-end FOI complaints service could work in practice, what products and features are available, and how emerging or established technology can be applied while retaining public trust. Suppliers with expertise in service design, implementation and operational delivery can contribute evidence on feasibility, delivery approaches, indicative timelines and the organisational conditions needed for success. The buyer also seeks sector best practice to test its assumptions and develop clear requirements for a later competition. Participation in this market engagement is voluntary and does not affect a supplier’s position in any subsequent procurement.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

ICO FOI Concilliation Service - Pre Market Engagement

Notice Description

The Information Commission (IC) is undertaking discovery for a future FOI Conciliation Service (FCS). We are inviting suppliers to this pre market engagement to share market insight on the feasibility, delivery approach and indicative timescales for a service capable of supporting the end-to-end handling and conciliation of Freedom of Information (FOI) complaints. Prior to commencing formal procurement, we are engaging the market to: *Refine and validate our understanding of the broader opportunity, to demonstrate best practice in the application of new technology whilst maintaining public trust. *Shape our requirements, drawing on sector best practices and supplier expertise to deliver a solution. *Gain insight into indicative delivery timelines, and the organisational conditions we would need to enable for success. *Leverage supplier experience in delivering technology solutions for similar organisations. *Test our current assumptions, identify proven or emerging delivery approaches, understand what products and features are available and ensure we are ready to progress The Premarket engagement will run for four weeks from 21st October 2026 and will inform the subsequent tender specification. It is intended to tender with a robust specification that clearly defines our requirements and enables us to identify the solution that best meets the needs of the FOI FCS service. Participation in this PME (Preliminary Market Engagement) is voluntary, and suppliers will not be disadvantaged in any subsequent procurement process by their decision to engage or not. To assist the Information Commission to develop its proposed service requirements, the Information Commission would appreciate responses from interested potential providers to a questionnaire which is available via the Delta eSourcing Platform. Please copy and paste this URL: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/992RKPA72P into your browser. For any technical queries regarding the Delta eSourcing Portal please contact Delta at helpdesk@delta-esourcing.com, or via telephone on 0800 923 9236. Full PME documentation is available to you when you open the link/URL provided, which provides for you a full description of what the IC is looking for and a questionnaire for you to complete and submit via the Delta platform. Responses to the questionnaire should be submitted by: 12:00 noon on Wednesday 18th November 2026 For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Wilmslow:-Software-package-and-information-systems./992RKPA72P To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/992RKPA72P

Planning Information

Responses are requested to a questionnaire which is available in the Delta eSourcing Platform together with a broader description of the request. The submission closing date is: 12:00 noon on Wednesday 18th November 2026. Submissions are being requested via Delta eSourcing: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/992RKPA72P Please copy and paste this URL into your browser. For any technical queries regarding the Delta eSourcing Portal please contact Delta at helpdesk@delta-esourcing.com, or via telephone on 0800 923 9236. Within Delta, a questionnaire submission document has been provided in the documents section for you to pickup, complete and submit on the Delta eSourcing platform only. To promote constructive discussion, we will be holding one-to-one sessions. You will need to register for this via the questionnaire submission document. There is a separate section for you to indicate your request for a 30 minute session in the submission document and these will be collated when the submissions close on 18th November 2026. The one to one feedback sessions will be held on 24, 25, or 26 November 2026. Each organisation can request a single slot. A Teams invite will be shared with organisations that register their interest in their returned submission after 18th November and the teams invites will be issued by Monday 23rd November. Dates and time slots will be allocated and confirmed to each participant. These allocations will be fixed, and requests for alternative dates or times may not be accommodated. PME Timetable ActivityDate & TimeAccess Questionnaire publicationWednesday 21st October 2026Via Delta eSourcing - https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/992RKPA72P Questionnaire closing date for submission 12 noon Wednesday 18th November 2026Via Delta eSourcing - https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/992RKPA72P One to One feedback sessions: 24, 25, or 26 November 2026. Supplier one-to-one discussion sessions Each slot will be 30 minutes long A Teams invite will be shared with organisations that register their interest in return of their submission, the teams invites will be issued by Monday 23rd November. Dates and time slots will be allocated and confirmed to each participant. These allocations will be fixed, and requests for alternative dates or times may not be accommodated.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-078cbf
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/099433-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

72200000 - Software programming and consultancy services

72250000 - System and support services

72510000 - Computer-related management services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£800,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Oct 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Mar 2027 - 1 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
INFORMATION COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
WILMSLOW
Postcode
SK9 5AF
Postcode Area
Stockport
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD6 Cheshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD62 Cheshire East
Delivery Location
TLD North West (England)
Local Authority
Cheshire East
Electoral Ward
Wilmslow West and Chorley
Westminster Constituency
Tatton

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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