AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Lancashire County Council published a quarterly award notice for local and school bus services in Lancashire, awarded through a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). The notice refers to multiple underlying contracts for July to September 2026, but does not name those suppliers or provide individual contract values.
Published outcomeThe published award record is active and records a £1 indicative value for a grouped quarterly notice; this is not evidenced as the value of any underlying contract.
Market significanceThis is a short quarterly DPS call-off reporting notice in the North West transport-services market. Supplier-level award allocation and actual expenditure are not published in the supplied record.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice type
99% confidenceAwarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
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Process notice_type: Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder.
Award status
98% confidenceActive
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Award ocds-b5fd17-4bbec336-76e2-4a0c-b14d-2622ad710ee0-1 has status active.
Award decision date
95% confidence30 June 2026
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Award date: 2026-06-30T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract period stated in notice
98% confidence1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026
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Tender and award contractPeriod state 2026-07-01 to 2026-09-30T23:59:59+01:00.
VALUES
Published values explained
Published notice value
99% confidence£1 GBP (indicative only)
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Tender and award value are 1 GBP; the description states that the price is indicative only because this is a quarterly contract award notice covering contracts awarded under a DPS.
Underlying contract values
99% confidenceUnknown
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The supplied record provides no individual contract values or allocation of the indicative £1 figure.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender deadline
98% confidence30 June 2026, 10:00 BST
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TenderPeriod endDate: 2026-06-30T10:00:00+01:00.
Award date
95% confidence30 June 2026
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Award date: 2026-06-30T00:00:00+01:00.
Stated service period
98% confidence1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026
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Award contractPeriod startDate and endDate.
Notice publication date
99% confidence20 October 2026
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Award datePublished and process published_at: 2026-10-20T15:55:04+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceProvision of local bus services and school bus services in Lancashire
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Process and tender title.
Category
99% confidenceTransport services, excluding waste transport (CPV 60000000)
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Tender classification: CPV 60000000.
Delivery area
94% confidenceNorth West, United Kingdom
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Tender item delivery address specifies North West, United Kingdom.
Published lot information
99% confidenceNo lots supplied
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lots array is empty and no award lot IDs are supplied.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceSelective; call-off from a Dynamic Purchasing System
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procurement_method is selective and procurement_method_details is Call-off from a dynamic purchasing system.
SME suitability flag
95% confidenceYes
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Tender suitability.sme is true.
Number of bids or suppliers appointed
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
Evaluation, scores and award rationale
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Stated duration
98% confidenceApproximately three months
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The stated contract period runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
Contract signature or execution
99% confidenceUnknown
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The source is an active award notice and supplies no signature or executed-contract evidence.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Award structure
98% confidenceGrouped quarterly reporting notice rather than a supplier-specific award disclosure
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The description says it is a quarterly contract award notice and that contracts have been awarded under a DPS; the supplier is recorded only as Various.
Commercial transparency
99% confidenceActual contract values and supplier allocations are not available in the supplied notice
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The £1 figure is expressly indicative; no named suppliers, lots, or individual values are provided.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Supplier disclosure quality
99% confidenceThe source records the supplier as “Various”, not an identifiable legal supplier.
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Supplier identity status is checked_unmatched; no verified company name or company number is supplied.
Value quality
99% confidenceThe published £1 amount is explicitly indicative and must not be treated as a contract or supplier value.
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Award and tender description state that the price is indicative only.
Allocation quality
99% confidenceUnderlying awards cannot be allocated by supplier, lot or value from this record.
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No lots, individual suppliers, or individual values are supplied.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The notice is a grouped quarterly DPS award notice and does not identify the underlying awarded suppliers.
- The source supplier value “Various” is an unverified collective label. The Companies House matching workflow completed without a safe company match; no Companies House verification is implied.
- The published £1 figure is explicitly indicative; actual and individual contract values are unknown.
- No lot titles, lot allocations, individual award values, bid counts, scoring, evaluation rationale, pricing detail, signature evidence, or extension terms are supplied.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Lancashire County Councillocal bus servicesschool bus servicesDynamic Purchasing SystemDPS call-offtransport servicesContracts Finder
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Lancashire bus services award?
The supplied notice lists the supplier as “Various” and does not identify the underlying suppliers. The name could not be verified as a company identity.
What is the value of the award?
The notice shows £1 GBP, but explicitly says this is indicative only. Individual contract values are not supplied.
What period does the notice cover?
The stated service period is 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.