---
title: "ID 6699778 - DAC 29/26 - DoF - NLA Media Access"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Department of Finance"
published: "2026-08-27"
---

# ID 6699778 - DAC 29/26 - DoF - NLA Media Access

Buyer: Department of Finance  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4.json)

## Summary

The Department of Finance, through CPD – Supplies and Services Division, procured a media copyright-licensing subscription service for its Media Monitoring Unit. The requirement is for an NLA licence covering permission to copy and circulate newspaper, magazine and website content. The licence supports the production and distribution of daily newspaper cuttings, including material from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and UK national newspapers, to Ministers, Special Advisers, departmental press offices, senior officials and external customers. The service is delivered for the Department of Finance’s media-monitoring activity in Northern Ireland. NLA Media Access Limited, based in Tunbridge Wells, was selected as the supplier. The procurement is categorised as services and includes newspaper, journal, periodical and magazine subscription activity.

This procurement has been awarded through a direct award and is complete. One lot was awarded to NLA Media Access Limited. The award value is £150,000 excluding VAT, or £180,000 including VAT. The contract period runs from 3 September 2026 to 5 June 2029, with signature scheduled for 2 September 2026. The Department used a direct award because NLA Media Access was identified as the only UK provider with the relevant intellectual-property and exclusive rights, and no reasonable alternative was available. The licence is above the relevant threshold. The award covers subscription and newspaper-content licensing services. The procurement is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises, although the exclusive-rights rationale meant that only the rights holder was selected.

This award demonstrates recurring public-sector demand for legally compliant access to newspaper and other media content for government monitoring and communications. A credible future competitor would need to hold, control or lawfully administer the intellectual-property and exclusive rights required to license copying and circulation across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and UK national newspapers. It would also need to provide broad content coverage and permissions suitable for distributing cuttings to senior public officials, press offices and external customers. Operational capability should support daily media monitoring and circulation throughout weekends and public holidays, with continuity strong enough to avoid copyright breaches. Suppliers without equivalent rights or a demonstrable lawful alternative to the incumbent’s licensing model are unlikely to be competitive for this requirement.

## Notice

NLA Media Access Ltd is an organisation founded by the UK national newspapers to protect the industry's copyright. All Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and UK national newspapers are covered by the Newspaper Licensing Agreement (NLA). The NLA gives permission for organisations to copy from an extensive range of newspapers, magazines and websites. The DoF Media Monitoring Unit requires a NLA licence to enable it to copy and circulate cuttings for distribution to Ministers, Special Advisers, Departmental Press Offices, senior officials and external customers. This contract is essential to allow the Media Monitoring Unit to continue to produce daily newspaper cuttings, including weekends and public holidays.

### Procurement Information

NLA Media Access Ltd (NLA) is the only provider within the UK with the rights to give permission to the bodies listed within the contract to continue to meet their media monitoring requirements, and no reasonable alternatives are available for the provision of the service. The licence is essential to allow the Media Monitoring Unit to continue to produce daily newspaper cuttings, including weekends and public holidays. Failure to award a contract and continuing to access media material would result in the DoF Media Monitoring Unit being in breach of the copyright legislation if it continued to provide this service. Direct award conditions and permissible justifications are set out under Chapter 3 and Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act. Based on the information provided there appears to be justification for a direct award on the grounds set out under paragraph 5 where; (a)due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b)there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081788-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 27 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 3 Sep 2026 - 5 Jun 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £150,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Pending |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | Department of Finance |
| Locality | BELFAST |
| Postcode area | Northern Ireland |
| Postcode | BT4 3SX |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland |
| ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland |
| ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast |
| Local authority | Belfast |
| Electoral ward | Stormont |
| Westminster constituency | Belfast East |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | NLA MEDIA ACCESS LIMITED |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 22 - Printed matter and related products
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 22200000 - Newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines
- 79980000 - Subscription services

## Release History

- 27 Aug 2026 at 14:09 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081788-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081788-2026
  27th August 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- 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-06eda4. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eda4.json.