---
title: "Provision of an Official Veterinary Service for the Imported Food Office (LHR)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04233a"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04233a"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04233a.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04233a.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "LONDON BOROUGH OF HILLINGDON"
published: "2023-12-11"
---

# Provision of an Official Veterinary Service for the Imported Food Office (LHR)

Buyer: LONDON BOROUGH OF HILLINGDON  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04233a

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## Summary

The London Borough of Hillingdon has awarded a contract for the Provision of an Official Veterinary Service for the Imported Food Office (LHR). The procurement process was completed on 11th December 2023 using a limited procurement method without prior publication of a call for competition. The contract has a value of £1,095,014 and was signed on 20th October 2023. The main procurement category is services within the veterinary services industry. The buying organisation is the London Borough of Hillingdon, with the contract awarded to Senlac Associates.

This tender presents opportunities for businesses in the veterinary services sector to provide official veterinary services for the Imported Food Office. Businesses interested in providing these services should consider that the current contract with Senlac Associates expires on 31st March 2024, and there are plans to go out to tender for a new contract starting in April 2026. Understanding the changes in checks required on products of animal origin due to the EU Exit will be crucial for future service provisions. Businesses with expertise in veterinary services and a focus on official food inspections are well-suited to compete for these opportunities.

## Notice

Checks on imports from the EU were originally due to commence from 1 July 2022. However, prior to that, in April 2022, the Brexit Opportunities Minister released a statement advising that all plans for EU-Transition-related imported food clearances had been put on hold until 2023 to allow time for the development of a target operating model which would set out a revised approach to these controls. The subsequent Border Target Operating Model (TOM) was released by the Cabinet Office on 29 August 2023. This Target Operating Model changes the approach that the Council's Imported Food Office (IFO) follows, not only for imports from the EU, but also for those from the rest of the world. The new checks are currently scheduled to be introduced from April 2024. For the Council to maintain its statutory obligations for the inspection and clearance of imported products of animal origin (POAO), it is necessary to have in place a contract for the provision of veterinary services. What remains unknown at this stage is the number of consignments that the IFO is likely to receive from the EU. Therefore, until this information is received, it is difficult to determine what the full impact will be on checks at London Heathrow Airport. It is also not known at this stage what changes there will be to trade patterns once checks on EU imports are introduced. For this reason, a single tender action was recommended to make a direct award to Senlac Associates, the Council's current provider of veterinary services for a two-year proposal provided by Senlac Associates.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Checks on imports from the EU were originally due to commence from 1 July 2022. However, prior to that, in April 2022, the Brexit Opportunities Minister released a statement advising that all plans for EU-Transition-related imported food clearances had been put on hold until 2023 to allow time for the development of a target operating model which would set out a revised approach to these controls. The subsequent Border Target Operating Model (TOM) was released by the Cabinet Office on 29 August 2023. This Target Operating Model changes the approach that the Council's Imported Food Office (IFO) follows, not only for imports from the EU, but also for those from the rest of the world. The new checks are currently scheduled to be introduced from April 2024. For the Council to maintain its statutory obligations for the inspection and clearance of imported products of animal origin (POAO), it is necessary to have in place a contract for the provision of veterinary services. What remains unknown at this stage is the number of consignments that the IFO is likely to receive from the EU. Therefore, until this information is received, it is difficult to determine what the full impact will be on checks at London Heathrow Airport. It is also not known at this stage what changes there will be to trade patterns once checks on EU imports are introduced. For this reason, a single tender action was recommended to make a direct award to Senlac Associates, the Council's current provider of veterinary services for a two-year proposal provided by Senlac Associates.

### Procurement Information

The current contract with Senlac Associates expires on 31 March 2024. Given the recently confirmed change in the checks required on products of animal origin, there is an increased level of uncertainty and therefore, it would not be prudent to go out to tender as potentially interested bidders would be basing their tenders on the existing volume of consignments, which does not reflect a true indication of the future service requirements. It is anticipated that the potential impact of the EU Exit will become clearer during the two-year contract term recommended in this report and, accordingly, it is proposed that the Council goes out to tender for a new contract starting in April 2026. Once the volume of consignments and required inspections is stabilised, extensive pre-tender market engagement in Q1 of 2025/26 so that the market has a full understanding of requirements when the tender is advertised It is anticipated that the potential impact of the EU Exit will become clearer during the two-year contract term recommended in this report and, accordingly, it is proposed that the Council goes out to tender for a new contract starting in April 2026. Once the volume of consignments and required inspections is stabilised, Procurement will work with officers from the IFO to develop the new service requirements. These will be supported by clear and concise volume data, alongside extensive pre-tender market engagements in Q1 of 2025/26 so that the market has a full understanding of requirements when the tender is advertised.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036390-2023 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 11 Dec 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 19 Oct 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £1,095,014 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | LONDON BOROUGH OF HILLINGDON |
| Locality | UXBRIDGE |
| Post town | Southall |
| Postcode | UB8 1UW |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI7 Outer London - West and North West |
| ITL 3 | TLI74 Harrow and Hillingdon |
| Local authority | Hillingdon |
| Electoral ward | Uxbridge |
| Westminster constituency | Uxbridge and South Ruislip |
| Delivery location | TLI74 Harrow and Hillingdon |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SENLAC ASSOCIATES |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85200000 - Veterinary services

## Release History

- 11 Dec 2023 at 15:15 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036390-2023

## Notice URLs

- http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04233a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04233a.json.