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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Community Deceased Removals

Stoke on Trent City Council · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 23:51.

Opportunity overview

The Coroners Service of Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent wishes to establish a contract with supplier(s) to transport and store community deceased patients on behalf of HM Coroner whilst they are awaiting the outcome of the initial investigations and transport for a post mortem where necessary. This function is currently carried out by a number of Funeral Directors within the Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire area, however this needs to be reviewed to ensure best value and fair practice as per the Procurement Act 2023. The current contracts cover the following areas: Burton Cannock East Staffordshire Lichfield Newcastle-under-Lyme South Staffordshire Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stoke on Trent The Coroners Service of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, have a number of key performance indicators that must be met in order for a contract to be awarded, these are: - A deceased is required to be removed from the specified community area within a 60-minute response time, subject to already being engaged on an existing call. Should this be the case coroners call will be prioritised to the next pending call out. - On arrival to the scene the Funeral Director staff will be suitably attired in anonymous uniform and vehicles that carry fit for purpose equipment to perform task. - The Funeral Directors will be prohibited from any form of solicitation but should they be asked where the deceased is to be taken must be able to state the temporary location prior to coroner's mortuary. - The Funeral Directors will use purpose-built vehicles for the transportation of bodies to and from all locations. These vehicles will be un-liveried and clean. - All deceased will be placed in a single use cadaver bag and identification wristlet place on opposing ankle and wrist. ID details will be Name and Address. - Any next of kin, family and friends present at the time of removal will be provided with coroner's information guide by the Funeral Director. - All deceased transferred from the community must be transferred one deceased at a time, unless: a) Informed to transfer direct to mortuary. b) Collecting deceased from a 3rd party funeral director during business hours enroute to the mortuary as part of daily transfer. c) Multiple fatality. - Any deceased will automatically be transferred to the Funeral Directors until requested by the mortuary for transfer. - The Funeral Directors will then have a maximum of 48hrs to transfer deceased to the specified mortuary when contacted by the Public Mortuary or Coroners Service. If any case is required urgently then this information may be related verbally and the instruction will be prioritised for transfer as soon as possible.

Classification

  • CPV98370000 — Funeral and related services

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

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
SandR/2025/461
Status
withdrawn
Above Threshold
Yes
Main Procurement Category
services

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Techniques

Has Framework Agreement
Yes

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
withdrawn

Contract period

Ends
31 Mar 2029, 23:59
Starts
1 Apr 2026, 00:00

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKC
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 2
Region
UKD
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 3
Region
UKE
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 4
Region
UKF
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 5
Region
UKG
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 6
Region
UKH
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 7
Region
UKI
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 8
Region
UKJ
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 9
Region
UKK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
98370000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Funeral and related services

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
081010-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK12
Description
Procurement termination notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
tenderCancellationNotice
Published
9 Dec 2025, 11:57

Planning and budget

Documents

Entry 1
Id
014413-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
10 Apr 2025, 21:18

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Status
scheduled
Due
30 Jun 2025, 23:59
Description
1. INTRODUCTION The Coroners Service of Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent is currently preparing to initiate a procurement process to establish a contract with suppliers to provide to service of transportation and storage of community deceased patients. The potential scale and scope of this service is such that it offers a significant opportunity to bidders. Prior to initiating the procurement, the Coroners Service wishes to establish the level of market interest in participating in the procurement process. 2. BACKGROUND The Coroners Service of Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent wishes to establish a contract with supplier(s) to transport and store community deceased patients on behalf of HM Coroner whilst they are awaiting the outcome of the initial investigations and transport for a post mortem where necessary. This function is currently carried out by a number of Funeral Directors within the Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire area, however this needs to be reviewed to ensure best value and fair practice as per the Procurement Act 2023. The current contracts cover the following areas: Burton Cannock East Staffordshire Lichfield Newcastle-under-Lyme South Staffordshire Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stoke on Trent The current contracts are due to expire on 31.03.2026 and the Coroners Services wishes to explore the market to ensure the above is being offered. 3. SCALE SCOPE AND NATURE OF REQUIREMENT The Coroners Service of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, have a number of key performance indicators that must be met in order for a contract to be awarded, these are: 3.1 A deceased is required to be removed from the specified community area within a 60-minute response time, subject to already being engaged on an existing call. Should this be the case coroners call will be prioritised to the next pending call out. 3.2 On arrival to the scene the Funeral Director staff will be suitably attired in anonymous uniform and vehicles that carry fit for purpose equipment to perform task. 3.3 The Funeral Directors will be prohibited from any form of solicitation but should they be asked where the deceased is to be taken must be able to state the temporary location prior to coroner's mortuary. 3.4 The Funeral Directors will use purpose-built vehicles for the transportation of bodies to and from all locations. These vehicles will be un-liveried and clean. 3.5 All deceased will be placed in a single use cadaver bag and identification wristlet place on opposing ankle and wrist. ID details will be Name and Address. 3.6 Any next of kin, family and friends present at the time of removal will be provided with coroner's information guide by the Funeral Director. 3.7 All deceased transferred from the community must be transferred one deceased at a time, unless: a) Informed to transfer direct to mortuary. b) Collecting deceased from a 3rd party funeral director during business hours enroute to the mortuary as part of daily transfer. c) Multiple fatality. 3.8 Any deceased will automatically be transferred to the Funeral Directors until requested by the mortuary for transfer. 3.9 The Funeral Directors will then have a maximum of 48hrs to transfer deceased to the specified mortuary when contacted by the Public Mortuary or Coroners Service. If any case is required urgently then this information may be related verbally and the instruction will be prioritised for transfer as soon as possible. 4 Objectives of the Market Engagement Exercise The objectives of this exercise are to: • gain initial supplier awareness, engagement and opinion, • provide confidence around viability of concept; • gain insight to the market possibilities and potential innovative solutions; • understand risks and issues not previously considered; • inform the Outline Business Case; • inform the Procurement Strategy; To express your interest in participating in this market engagement exercise, please email sam.woodward@stoke.gov.uk by 02nd May 2025. A market engagement questionnaire will be issued during the week commencing 06th May 2025. The deadline for submitting completed questionnaires will be confirmed via email when questionnaire issued, and is expected to be either two or three weeks following distribution.

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-PPON-PDQZ-1442-RZTZ
Name
Stoke on Trent City Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKG23
Country
GB
Locality
Stoke-on-Trent
Postal Code
ST4 1HH
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Civic Centre, Glebe Street

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Identifier

Id
PDQZ-1442-RZTZ
Scheme
GB-PPON

Contact

Name
Dasa Kucharkova

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Status
cancelled
Status Details
The contracting authority previously published a UK2 Market Engagement Notice (Ref: Community Deceased Removals, ocds-h6vhtk-0500e4), published on 10 April 2025. Following completion of the market engagement exercise, the contracting authority has decided not to proceed with the procurement as originally planned.
Final Status Date
4 Dec 2025, 00:00

Related lots

1

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Stoke-on-Trent · UKG23 · ST4 1HH · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKC · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKD · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKE · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKF · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKG · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKH · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKI · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKJ · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKK · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-0500e4-2025-12-09T11:57:26ZPreliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·