Courier Services for Hampshire Scientific Services

What the buyer is asking for

Hampshire County Council (the Authority) is tendering a contract for courier services to support Hampshire Scientific Services ("HSS"). HSS provides scientific advisory and analytical services to UK public authorities and is accredited to high quality standards required by Government. Under the Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority (SCPHA) arrangements, HSS coordinates the transport of time‑critical food and feed enforcement samples from East Suffolk ports to designated laboratories in Kent and Hampshire. These samples are collected for enforcement testing and are highly time‑critical, with some requiring collection, delivery, and analysis within a strict 24 hour window. Maintaining chain of custody, sample integrity, and timely delivery is critical to statutory enforcement work. The purpose of this procurement is to appoint a suitably capable same‑day courier to deliver a robust, reliable and responsive service. The supplier will be required to provide secure, direct transport that preserves chain of custody and sample integrity, avoiding hub consolidation or processes that add delay or risk, and to provide scalable capacity to meet weekday demand with occasional weekend requirements. The contract will be for an initial period of 19 months, with the option to extend for up to 2 additional 12-month periods. The Authority reserves the option to reduce the 19 month term by 7 days (1 week), so that the initial term would end on 29th June 2028. Any additional periods would then also reflect that amended date. This is to ensure this contract is co-terminus with the Authority's underlying contracts with the ports set out in the Specification.

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• 30%qualityQuality criterion 1 (Lot 0)Question 3 - Delivery Model Compliance
• 15%qualityQuality criterion 2 (Lot 0)Question 4 - Capacity, Responsiveness and Resilience
• 15%qualityQuality criterion 3 (Lot 0)Question 5 - Chain of Custody, Sample Integrity and Records
• 10%qualityQuality criterion 4 (Lot 0)Question 6 - Contract Management and Continuous Improvement
• 30%pricePrice criterion 1 (Lot 0)Total Submitted Weekly Price - for Journeys 1 to 7

What you must already have

Conditions of participation. These are pass or fail, so check them before writing anything.

• economic

  This tender has the following Conditions of Participation. Further supplementary information on each of the requirements is contained within the tender documents. • Corporate Social Responsibility – Suppliers are asked to confirm they meet their legal obligations and expectations of the Council regarding their approach to equalities and sustainability. • Data Protection & ICO Registration – Suppliers are required to meet stated Data Protection standards and be registered with the Information Commissioners Office. • Insurance – As a minimum, suppliers are required to hold, or commit to obtain prior to contract award, Public and Employer's Liability insurance. Minimum cover levels for these and any other additional insurance requirements relevant to this requirement, are detailed in the tender documents. • Financial Standing & Business Risk – The Council uses Creditsafe and requires all suppliers to achieve a minimum Business Risk score of 30/100. For scores between 30 and 50, a Parent Company Guarantee or Performance Bond may be deemed required as appropriate. Suppliers must also be able to evidence at least 12 months of trading.

• technical

  The tender has the following Conditions of Participation related to technical ability. Further supplementary information on each of the requirements is contained within the tender documents. • Health & Safety - Suppliers are required to confirm that arrangements are in place to manage health and safety effectively. • Relevant Experience - Suppliers are asked to provide details of at least 1 contract that demonstrates their technical and professional ability to deliver the services.

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 18 comparable procurements we can tell you the typical field size, how often one of these goes uncontested, and whether the buyer awards on price or on quality.

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice published28 days ago

   24 Aug 2026, 15:39 BST
2. Clarification questions by7 days ago

   14 Sept 2026, 17:00 BST
3. Submission deadlinein 4 days

   25 Sept 2026, 14:00 BST
4. Award decision expected byin 65 days

   25 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender

1. Pipeline or early engagement notice2 Jul 2026, 10:53 BST062122-2026
2. Tender notice24 Aug 2026, 15:39 BST080477-2026

Payment terms

In accordance with the the Contract Terms & Conditions at Annex 3, the Council shall pay the Supplier any sums due no later than a period of 30 days from the date on which the Council has received a valid and undisputed invoice. For an invoice to be deemed valid it must meet the requirements of Schedule 2 – Payment and Invoicing of the Contract Terms & Conditions.

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender