---
title: "Evidence to support setting new resilience standards for the water sector"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f34d"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f34d"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f34d.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f34d.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2026-09-07"
---

# Evidence to support setting new resilience standards for the water sector

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f34d

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commissioned research and development consultancy services to provide evidence for setting new resilience standards in the water sector. The work concerns the resilience of water supply and wastewater systems, including their ability to continue operating despite pressures and shocks. It supports consideration of risks to public health, the environment, households, businesses, hospitals and schools arising from failures or prolonged interruptions. The requirement is a service delivered in the United Kingdom. The buying organisation is Defra, the central government department responsible for the procurement. The stated procurement classification is research and development consultancy services, with the work focused specifically on water-sector resilience standards and supporting evidence.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded through a competitive selective process under a framework agreement, using a below-threshold award route. One lot was completed. Jacobs UK Ltd was selected on 25 August 2026, and the contract was signed on 7 September 2026. The contract runs from 7 September to 4 December 2026. Its value is £120,160.88 excluding VAT, or £144,193.06 including VAT. The award and contract are active. Defra reserved no extension option, although any extension would require agreement with the authority and a formal contract change. The evaluation route was a competitive framework award; detailed quality or price weightings are not stated.

This award demonstrates a defined requirement for specialist research and development consultancy supporting public policy on water-sector resilience. Suppliers considering comparable work for Defra would need to show they can produce robust evidence for resilience standards covering both water supply and wastewater systems, and address the consequences of system pressures, shocks and failures. Relevant capability would include research, analysis and consultancy focused on critical water infrastructure, resilience and the regulatory or public-policy context. The successful supplier was a large business, indicating that the requirement was placed with an established consultancy able to deliver a focused evidence project within a short contract period. The work also signals demand for advisers able to connect technical resilience issues with environmental, public-health and economic impacts.

## Notice

The water industry provides critical services that the public, nature, and our economy depend on every day. Failure to maintain a resilient water supply and wastewater system - broadly meaning here one which can continue to perform its functions despite pressures and shocks - can have disastrous consequences. For wastewater, failures by companies to build, maintain and operate resilient sewerage systems can risk harm to public health and the environment. Failure to maintain a resilient water supply system can lead to greater risk of harm to the environment, limitations to growth for both household and commercial sectors and supply interruptions to households, businesses, hospitals and schools. Prolonged supply interruptions could cause devastating economic and social impacts, including harm to public health. The current regulatory regime requires water companies to meet, and continue to be able to meet, their obligations to maintain a

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084352-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 25 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 7 Sep 2026 - 4 Dec 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £120,160 |
| Contracts value | £120,160 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | 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 | Jacobs UK Ltd |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services

## Release History

- 7 Sep 2026 at 12:23 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084352-2026
- 7 Sep 2026 at 11:56 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084321-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084352-2026
  7th September 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084321-2026
  7th September 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-04ef64
- 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-06f34d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f34d.json.