--- title: "Rural Payments Service Continuity Project" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0485ee" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0485ee" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0485ee.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0485ee.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "DEFRA GROUP COMMERCIAL" published: "2024-07-30" --- # Rural Payments Service Continuity Project Buyer: DEFRA GROUP COMMERCIAL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0485ee [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0485ee) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0485ee.json) ## Summary The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), represented by the Defra Group Commercial, is planning a procurement process titled "Rural Payments Service Continuity Project." This procurement falls under the industry category of IT services, specifically consulting, software development, Internet and support. The project is located in the United Kingdom and is currently in the planning stage. The procurement method is open, following an open procedure, with the tender period starting on 31st July 2024. The contract period is set to start on 1st February 2025 and end on 31st January 2028. Key dates include the publication date of 30th July 2024, with no renewal or option provisions stated. This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in IT services, particularly those experienced with consulting, software development, Internet and support services. The project involves the support, maintenance, and development of schemes and grants on Defra’s existing ABACO Agri application, which is crucial for Defra's payment processes for various agricultural schemes. While the contract value is £27,000,000, it is not specifically suitable for SMEs or voluntary, community, and social enterprises, indicating that larger, more established IT firms are likely to have a competitive advantage. This initiative will allow successful bidders to contribute to a key governmental digital strategy, fostering long-term business growth and sector leadership in rural payments services. ## Notice Defra is responsible for responsible for improving and protecting the environment. We aim to grow a green economy and sustain thriving rural communities. We also support our world-leading food, farming and fishing industries. For further information please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. We pay out over PS2 billion each year to support a thriving farming and food sector, supporting agricultural and rural communities to create a better place to live. The Rural Payments service (RPS) is Defra's online registration system for farmers, animal keepers and rural traders and businesses. At its core is the payments policy and rules engine application ABACO Agri (previously known as SITI Agri). This has been developed over a number of years and delivers > 80% of the large, complex, reoccurring land-based grants/schemes offered by Defra such as Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), Countryside Stewardship (CS), Combined Offer (CO), Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) among others for more than 90,000 farmers. As part of Defra's digital strategy this application will be replaced with a new solution/service as part of the Farming Countryside Programme (FCP) that is also delivering major policy changes over the next few years. To provide sufficient time to implement, transition and migrate to a new solution/service, the Authority requires a contract for the support, maintenance and development of schemes/grants on Defra's existing deployment of ABACO Agri for up to 3 years. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/023772-2024 | | Notice type | Planning Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 30 Jul 2024 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Feb 2025 - 31 Jan 2028 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £27,000,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEFRA GROUP COMMERCIAL | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | South West London | | Postcode | SW1P 3JR | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ### Codes - 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ## Release History - 30 Jul 2024 at 11:28 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/023772-2024 ## Notice URLs - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs ## 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-0485ee. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0485ee.json.