---
title: "The Future Rural Payment Service (FRPS)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06b046"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06b046"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b046.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b046.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2026-06-08"
---

# The Future Rural Payment Service (FRPS)

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06b046

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), located in London, United Kingdom, has concluded a procurement process titled "The Future Rural Payment Service (FRPS)", under the Farming and Countryside Programme. This project focuses on restructuring payment services for land managers and food producers, enhancing environmental benefits. The procurement fell under the services category and was completed through a direct, below-threshold procurement method without competition. The contracting process has reached the award stage, with Virgoblue Ltd, a large supplier based in Worthing, UK, chosen to implement the service. The contract, valued at £26,400, was signed on 13th May 2026, with commencement on the same day, ending on 30th June 2026 and accommodating a potential one-month renewal.

This procurement offers significant business growth opportunities for companies proficient in government supporting services, particularly those adept at programme definition, leadership roles, and governance model development. Large enterprises with expertise in managing complex transformation and project outcomes, especially those that can offer data-driven PMO designs, would be well-placed to compete. Firms capable of guiding the integration of automated insights and business intelligence into government programmatic platforms would find this tender aligns with their expertise, presenting potential for strategic growth in the public service sector.

## Notice

Background The Farming and Countryside Programme (FCP) was created to replace the EU's farming support system with a new approach that rewards land managers and food producers for delivering environmental benefits. The Future Rural Payment Service (FRPS), currently part of FCP, is expected to become a standalone programme before FCP closes in FY 26/27. This assignment will help Defra, RPA, DDTS and partners define what FRPS needs to become and how to get there. Proposed work 1. Programme Definition: A clear statement of what FRPS will achieve, why it is needed, and what success looks like. This includes the problem statement, scope (in/out), success measures, constraints, risks, dependencies and delivery approach. 2. Leadership and Roles Advice on the senior structure required for FRPS, starting with accountabilities across Defra, RPA and DDTS, and translating these into roles at SCS2, SCS1 and G6. This should reflect RPA's operational role and the wider Defra interest beyond farming. 3. Governance Model: A simple, pragmatic governance model setting out each forum's purpose, chair, membership, decision scope and escalation routes. It must work across Defra organisations and functional domains and support FRPS's future expansion into wider grants. 4. Projects and Outcomes: A set of projects that fully cover the FRPS scope, each linked to a clear sub-outcome. This should include major dependencies, enablers, acceptance criteria, shared assumptions and a high-level phasing plan showing how the full FRPS scope is delivered. 5. PMO Design: A PMO design suitable for a modern, large-scale transformation. It should be proactive, data-driven and able to use automation and AI-enabled insight to anticipate risks, accelerate decisions and maintain momentum. It should be lean but capable of coordinating planning, managing dependencies and supporting delegated decision-making. 6. Role of ALBs (Particularly RPA): Clear advice on the role RPA should take and under what conditions. This includes mapping these conditions to the future FRPS operating model, covering accountability, capability and commercial control. 7. Roadmap: A realistic roadmap showing: a. today's starting point b. what needs to be built or decided c. the milestones that create a fully separate programme d. the sequence of decisions required to get there The roadmap must reflect current organisational constraints.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/053993-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Jun 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 12 May 2026 |
| Contract period | 12 May 2026 - 30 Jun 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £26,400 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS |
| 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 | VIRGOBLUE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 75 - Administration, defence and social security services

### Codes

- 75130000 - Supporting services for the government

## Release History

- 8 Jun 2026 at 16:18 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/053993-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/053993-2026
  8th June 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/A-17407
  FRPS Contract C34353

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-06b046. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b046.json.