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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

NHS Estates Technical Standards & Guidance Programme

NHS England · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 18:46.

Opportunity overview

The NHS England Technical Standards and Guidance (TSG) Programme is responsible for publication of Health Building Notes (HBNs) and Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs). These have been provided to the NHS since the 1960s, but in 2017 responsibility was discharged from DHSC to NHS Improvement (now NHS England), within the national NHS Estates and Facilities division.<br/><br/>Producing TSG requires a specialist skill set, including architects, health planners, engineers, technical author and editorial skills. Since 2018 external specialist consultancy support has been procured to provide the necessary resource and expertise so NHS England can progress updates.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

ARCHUS LIMITED

Matched by exact name
Published award value
Value not stated
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
30 Jun 2025
Award ID
039790-2025-1
Status
active
Identifier
06937095
Location
Bristol, UKE, BS1 6PU, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV71000000 — Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
  • CPV71240000 — Architectural, engineering and planning services
  • CPV71530000 — Construction consultancy services

Lots

  • Lot 1 Scoping and Production of Priority HBNs and HTMs£6.8m
  • Lot 2 HTM 05-series (Firecode)£662.5k

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-03849f
Status
complete
Has Recurrence
Yes
Review Details
The tender includes a 10 day standstill period as required by the procurement contract regulations
Procurement Method
open
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure

Covered By

GPA

Amendments

Entry 1
Id
1

Unstructured Changes

Entry 1

Where

Label
Description of procurement
Section
II.2.4.1

New Value

Text
The NHS Estates Technical Standards and Guidance Programme team have responsibility to support the NHS Constitution right for patients to be cared for in a "clean, safe, secure and suitable environment" through publication of a suite of technical guidance documents, available free of charge and disseminated via the NHS England website https://www.england.nhs.uk/estates/ Health Building Notes (HBNs) give best practice guidance on the design and planning of new healthcare buildings and adaptation or extension of existing facilities. Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) give comprehensive advice and guidance on the design, installation and operation of specialised building and engineering technology used in the delivery of healthcare. Specific skills required depend on the nature and coverage of individual guidance documents. Some will be provided by NHS England staff, but the majority of the work to deliver these documents will need to be provided by external contractors: Scoping - review existing guidance, both NHS related and more widely, to determine the specification of the guidance to be produced; Production - work with the specified teams and stakeholders to develop the guidance, test and edit it; Engagement with the appropriate stakeholders from NHS England, DHSC, across the NHS and relevant industry. Professional services needed include: Technical Authors Subject Matter Experts Technical Editors Other specialist skillsets not available within NHS England, including healthcare architects, healthcare planners, engineers (e.g. mechanical, electrical, decontamination, fire) with specialist healthcare experience, medical equipment specialists, etc. Project and Programme Management (PMO) resource to manage delivery of the programme and relevant interfaces. These will be detailed more fully in the ITT. In 2022 a prioritisation exercise was carried out with key stakeholders to identify the Top 40 out of the current suite of c.107 documents that require updates or new guidance developing. These priorities were assessed against key benefits criteria, including patient safety, quality and alignment with NHS England objectives. See attached document for details. For the previous procurement, fixed prices were sought for guidance where scoping documents were available and/or production was required for top priorities. For the remainder of the guidance documents within the contract, indicative prices were sought, based on an estimate of document complexity, to provide flexibility within the call-off contract arrangement to adjust priorities within the programme if required, e.g. urgent operational or patient safety issues. We are seeking views and considering the model we will use for the new contract. NHS England is asking potential bidders to complete a market assessment questionnaire to help inform the forthcoming procurement exercise. Questionnaires must be submitted by 06-12-2022 via https://forms.office.com/r/EBxdXBGMpb The market engagement exercise aims to inform potential providers of the opportunity and collate feedback. A presentation and Q&A session is planned for w/c 12-12-2022. If you would like to join the online supplier event, please send your details including your name, title, organisation name and contact information (email and telephone) to russell.greenwood@nhs.net Any procurement conducted because of this notice will be advertised separately and all organisations wanting to participate will need to respond to the procurement advertisement as and when it is published.

Old Value

Bid Opening

Date
26 Jun 2023, 13:00

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Lot Details

Maximum Lots Bid Per Supplier
9,999,999

Expected award period

Starts
26 Jun 2023, 13:00

Tender Period

Ends
26 Jun 2023, 12:00

Communication

Future Notice Date
31 Jan 2023, 00:00

Contract terms

Has Electronic Payment
Yes
Has Electronic Ordering
Yes

Classification

Id
71000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

Submission terms

Languages

en

Bid Validity Period

Duration In Days
90

Submission Method

electronicSubmission
written

Other Requirements

Requires Staff Names And Qualifications
Yes

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Title
Lot 1 Scoping and Production of Priority HBNs and HTMs
Status
cancelled
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
The NHS Estates Technical Standards and Guidance Programme team have responsibility to support the NHS Constitution right for patients to be cared for in a “clean, safe, secure and suitable environment” through publication of a suite of technical guidance documents, available free of charge and disseminated via the NHS England website<br/>https://www.england.nhs.uk/estates/<br/><br/>Health Building Notes (HBNs) give best practice guidance on the design and planning of new healthcare buildings and adaptation or extension of existing facilities.<br/><br/>Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) give comprehensive advice and guidance on the design, installation and operation of specialised building and engineering technology used in the delivery of healthcare.<br/><br/>Specific skills required depend on the nature and coverage of individual guidance documents. Some will be provided by NHS England staff, but the majority of the work to deliver these documents will need to be provided by external suppliers:<br/><br/>Scoping – review existing guidance, both NHS related and more widely, to determine the specification of the guidance to be produced;<br/><br/>Production – work with the specified teams and stakeholders to develop the guidance, test and edit it;<br/><br/>Engagement with the appropriate stakeholders from NHS England, DHSC, across the NHS and relevant industry.<br/><br/>Professional services needed include:<br/><br/>Technical Authors<br/><br/>Subject Matter Experts<br/><br/>Technical Editors<br/><br/>Other specialist skillsets not available within NHS England, including healthcare architects, healthcare planners, engineers (e.g. mechanical, electrical, decontamination, fire) with specialist healthcare experience, medical equipment specialists, etc.<br/><br/>Project and Programme Management (PMO) resource to manage delivery of the programme and relevant interfaces.

Value

Amount
6,846,140
Currency
GBP

Options

Description
Up to 12 months extension option

Renewal

Description
Up to 12 months extension option

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Technical
Type
quality
Description
70
Criterion 2
Name
Price
Type
cost
Description
30

Contract period

Duration In Days
1,440

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed
Entry 2
Id
2
Title
Lot 2 HTM 05-series (Firecode)
Status
active
Has Options
Yes
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
The NHS Estates Technical Standards and Guidance Programme team have responsibility to support the NHS Constitution right for patients to be cared for in a “clean, safe, secure and suitable environment” through publication of a suite of technical guidance documents, available free of charge and disseminated via the NHS England website <br/>https://www.england.nhs.uk/estates/<br/><br/>Health Building Notes (HBNs) give best practice guidance on the design and planning of new healthcare buildings and adaptation or extension of existing facilities.<br/><br/>Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) give comprehensive advice and guidance on the design, installation and operation of specialised building and engineering technology used in the delivery of healthcare.<br/><br/>Specific skills required depend on the nature and coverage of individual guidance documents. Some will be provided by NHS England staff, but the majority of the work to deliver these documents will need to be provided by external suppliers:<br/><br/>Scoping – review existing guidance, both NHS related and more widely, to determine the specification of the guidance to be produced;<br/><br/>Production – work with the specified teams and stakeholders to develop the guidance, test and edit it;<br/><br/>Engagement with the appropriate stakeholders from NHS England, DHSC, across the NHS and relevant industry.<br/><br/>Professional services needed include:<br/><br/>Technical Authors<br/><br/>Subject Matter Experts<br/><br/>Technical Editors<br/><br/>Other specialist skillsets not available within NHS England, including healthcare architects, healthcare planners, engineers (e.g. mechanical, electrical, decontamination, fire) with specialist healthcare experience, medical equipment specialists, etc.<br/><br/>Project and Programme Management (PMO) resource to manage delivery of the programme and relevant interfaces.

Value

Amount
662,500
Currency
GBP

Options

Description
Up to 12 months extension option

Renewal

Description
Up to12 months extension option

Contract period

Duration In Days
1,440

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Entry 2
Region
UK
Entry 3
Region
UKE

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
71000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
Entry 2
Id
71530000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Construction consultancy services
Item 2
Id
2
Related Lot
2

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
71240000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Architectural, engineering and planning services
Entry 2
Id
71530000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Construction consultancy services

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
economic
Document Type
economicSelectionCriteria
Entry 2
Id
technical
Document Type
technicalSelectionCriteria

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-67205
Name
NHS England

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKE
Locality
Leeds
Postal Code
LS2 7UE
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
1st Floor, Quarry House, Quarry Hill

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Id
07
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Health

Identifier

Legal Name
NHS England
No Identifier Rationale
notOnAnyRegister

Contact

Name
Russell Greeenwood
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-1661
Name
The High Court

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
London
Postal Code
WC2A 2LL
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
The Strand

Details

Identifier

Legal Name
The High Court
Organisation 3
Id
GB-FTS-130973
Name
NHS England

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKJ1
Locality
London
Postal Code
SE1 8UG
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Wellington House, 133-135 Waterloo Rd

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Id
07
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Health

Identifier

Legal Name
NHS England

Contact

Name
Russell Greenwood
Organisation 4
Id
GB-FTS-143371
Name
ARCHUS LIMITED

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKE
Locality
Bristol
Postal Code
BS1 6PU
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
101 Victoria Street, Redcliffe

Details

Scale
sme

Identifier

Id
06937095
Legal Name
ARCHUS LIMITED

Contact

Award information

Award 1
Id
039790-2025-1
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-143371
Name
ARCHUS LIMITED

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
039790-2025-1
Status
active
Award ID
039790-2025-1
Date Signed
1 Jul 2025, 00:00

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · London · UKJ1 · SE1 8UG · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK
  • Delivery location · UKE

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-03849f-2025-07-15T09:17:50+01:00compiled ·