---
title: "Contract for the provision of External Audit of BCGcattle Phase 3"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05e232"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05e232"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e232.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e232.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY"
published: "2025-11-17"
---

# Contract for the provision of External Audit of BCGcattle Phase 3

Buyer: ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05e232

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## Summary

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), a division of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the United Kingdom, completed a procurement process for a contract titled "Contract for the provision of External Audit of BCGcattle Phase 3," classified under research consultancy services. This contract pertains to services related to bovine tuberculosis vaccine trials and falls under the services category. The procurement adopted a limited method, involving an award procedure without prior publication of a competitive call, on the grounds of compatibility and the supplier's existing experience with the project. The contract, concerning field trials located in the UK, was awarded to Clinical Research and Communication on 28th October 2025.

This tender offers significant growth opportunities for large businesses, especially those specialising in research consultancy services with a track record in clinical trials or veterinary services. Companies with expertise in field trials and those capable of providing comprehensive external audits while ensuring compliance with industry standards will find the project well-suited to their capabilities. It is particularly beneficial for firms with existing methodologies and prior engagement in similar services, as they can leverage their experience to ensure project continuity and success at critical stages.

## Notice

Contract for the provision of External Audit of BCGcattle Phase 3

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The requirement is for the external auditor to be based on the extended field work to complete Phase 3. The complexity and challenges around this project are numerous and the external auditor brings stability and experience. The external auditor is critical to success of the field trials.
Defra have invested in the development of a vaccine and companion DIVA test for bovine TB and it is expected that these will be a key tool in the control of this disease. For granting of a Marketing Authorisation (MA) by VMD a field trial of both diagnostics demonstrating safety and specificity must be run in the field. The external auditor will ensure that the field trial complies with GCPvet by performing audits as well as providing consultancy as and when required. Any significant deviation from GCPvet would risk granting of the MAs, and the field trial having to be repeated.

### Procurement Information

The justification of the direct award to Clinical Research and Communication (CRC) is due to previous expertise in this cattle vaccine trial under a previous contract for these services for this programme of work therefore continuation of this work under a new contract is required. The supplier's knowledge and understanding of the trial is vital to the success of this project which has seen considerable delays due to its complexity. There will be a risk of failure of the project if the supplier were to change at this critical stage.
The justification for this STA/Direct award is under PCR 2015 Reg 32 - "Compatibility - the supplier has the relevant methodology to complete an assignment which was previously let by competitive tender".

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074276-2025 |
| 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 | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 17 Nov 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 28 Oct 2025 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH AGENCY |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| 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 |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CLINICAL RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73210000 - Research consultancy services

## Release History

- 17 Nov 2025 at 10:19 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074276-2025

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.crc-auditing.com/
- 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-05e232. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05e232.json.