Northern Ireland Prison Service prisoner telephone system: pending £6.48m award

Tender information last checkedLast checked 15 Oct 2026, 13:26.

Opportunity overview

The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) is an executive agency of the Department of Justice, Northern Ireland. The current prisoner population is 1,884 (as of 26/03/26) with Hydebank Wood College and Women’s Prison holding 55 males and 111 female prisoners, 1,246 prisoners at HMP Maghaberry Prison and 472 at HMP Magilligan Prison. This Requirement is to cover the supply of telephone equipment and/or services capable of providing a telephone system for prisoners at Maghaberry and Magilligan Prisons and Hydebank Wood Secure College and Woman’s Prison. The contract will commence upon the Award Date or a date as stimulated within the Letter of Award and it is anticipated that the solution Go Live Date will be 01 April 2027. The contract will have an initial operational core term of five years from the Go Live Date. In addition the contract will also include two optional 24-month extension periods, if required by the NIPS.

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.

‘Withheld Section94 supplier’

Match pending…

Published award value: £6.5m
Awarded: 14 Oct 2026
Award ID: 1
Status: pending
Identifier: GB-PPON PBXY-3232-WNHZ
Location: Withheld, UKN06, BT3 9ED, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Contract award notice on Find a TenderOpen source ↗

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: ID 6564562
Status: complete
Procurement Method: selective
Procurement Method Details: Competitive flexible procedure

Legal basis

Id: 2023/54
Scheme: UKPGA
Uri: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ↗

Special regime

concession

Lots and requirements

Entry 1

Id: 1
Status: complete

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1

Name: Northern Ireland Prison Service
Id: GB-PPON-PRMX-2692-MXQX

Identifier

Scheme: GB-PPON
Id: PRMX-2692-MXQX

Address

Street Address: Castle Buildings
Locality: Belfast
Postal Code: BT4 3SQ
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom
Region: UKN06

Contact

Email: Justice.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1

Scheme: UK_CA_TYPE
Id: publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Description: Public authority - central government

Entry 2

Scheme: UK_CA_DEVOLVED_REGULATIONS
Id: GB-NIR
Description: Northern Irish devolved regulations apply

Organisation 2

Name: CPD - Supplies and Services Division
Id: GB-PPON-PVWG-8426-YWXV
Role Details: Construction and Procurement Delivery – Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland

Identifier

Scheme: GB-PPON
Id: PVWG-8426-YWXV

Address

Street Address: Clare House 303 Airport Road West
Locality: Belfast
Postal Code: BT3 9ED
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom
Region: UKN06

Contact

Email: Justice.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk

Roles

procuringEntity

processContactPoint

Organisation 3

Name: ‘Withheld Section94 supplier’
Id: GB-PPON-PBXY-3232-WNHZ

Identifier

Scheme: GB-PPON
Id: PBXY-3232-WNHZ

Address

Street Address: Withheld address line 1
Locality: Withheld
Postal Code: BT3 9ED
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom
Region: UKN06

Contact

Email: Justice.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk

Roles

supplier

tenderer

Details

Scale: sme
Vcse: No
Public Service Mission Organization: No
Sheltered Workshop: No

Organisation 4

Name: Withheld Section94 supplier - 2nd supplier
Id: GB-PPON-PGYY-2165-QXNQ

Identifier

Scheme: GB-PPON
Id: PGYY-2165-QXNQ

Address

Street Address: Withheld
Locality: Withheld
Postal Code: BT3 9ED
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom
Region: UKN06

Roles

tenderer

Details

Scale: sme
Vcse: No

Award information

Award 1

Id: 1
Title: ID 6564562 DoJ - Northern Ireland Prison Service - Prisoner Telephone System
Status: pending
Date: 15 Oct 2026, 00:00
Main Procurement Category: services
Above Threshold: Yes
Has Renewal: Yes
Has Options: Yes
Assessment Summaries Date Sent: 15 Oct 2026, 00:00

Items

Item 1

Id: 1
Related Lot: 1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1

Scheme: CPV
Id: 64200000
Description: Telecommunications services

Entry 2

Scheme: CPV
Id: 32000000
Description: Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

Entry 3

Scheme: CPV
Id: 32500000
Description: Telecommunications equipment and supplies

Entry 4

Scheme: CPV
Id: 32540000
Description: Switchboards

Entry 5

Scheme: CPV
Id: 32550000
Description: Telephone equipment

Entry 6

Scheme: CPV
Id: 64000000
Description: Postal and telecommunications services

Entry 7

Scheme: CPV
Id: 64210000
Description: Telephone and data transmission services

Entry 8

Scheme: CPV
Id: 72000000
Description: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Delivery locations

Entry 1

Region: UKN
Country: GB
Country Name: United Kingdom

Value

Including VAT: 7,776,000
Amount: 6,480,000
Currency: GBP

Suppliers

Supplier 1

Id: GB-PPON-PBXY-3232-WNHZ
Name: ‘Withheld Section94 supplier’

Standstill Period

Ends: 26 Oct 2026, 23:59

Contract period

Starts: 27 Oct 2026, 00:00
Ends: 31 Mar 2032, 23:59
Max Extent Date: 31 Mar 2036, 23:59

Renewal

Description: There are two optional extension periods of up to two years on each ocassion.

Options

Description: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. The contract may continue to be extended on an annual basis following the uptake of all optional extension periods where the solution is still fit for purpose meets the organisation’s needs and business funding is available and approved. Should updated technology be available to support the contract more efficiently there may be an option to include this.

Related lots

Documents

Entry 1

Id: 097429-2026
Document Type: awardNotice
Notice Type: UK6
Description: Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Url: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097429-2026 ↗
Published: 15 Oct 2026, 12:16
Format: text/html

Milestones

Entry 1

Id: 1
Type: futureSignatureDate
Due: 26 Oct 2026, 23:59
Status: scheduled

Recorded locations

Buyer location · Belfast · UKN06 · BT4 3SQ · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

2 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

2 VERSIONS

053081-2026Tender notice on Find a Tender · 4 Jun 2026, 18:28
097429-2026Contract award notice on Find a Tender · 15 Oct 2026, 12:16

PROCURAAXIS AWARD ANALYSIS

Award outcome intelligence

Evidence-bound analysis of the published award appears below the official tender and award information.

ANALYSIS PREVIEW

Award intelligence at a glance

Northern Ireland Prison Service has published a pending award for a prisoner telephone system covering three Northern Ireland prison sites. The named awardee is anonymised in the notice under Section 94, so the supplier’s legal identity is not published.

Published outcome signals

Notice statusContract award notice published; award status is pendingEvidence: Award status is "pending"; award notice document published 15 October 2026.
Award decision date15 October 2026Evidence: Award 1 date: 2026-10-15.
Standstill / future signature milestone26 October 2026Evidence: Standstill end date and scheduled futureSignatureDate are both 26 October 2026.

94% approved-analysis confidence1 supplier record analysed4 source limitations

SOURCE AND FRESHNESS

Traceable procurement data

Source: Find a Tender
Notice reference: 097429-2026
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06ae24
First published: 4 Jun 2026
Last checked: 15 Oct 2026, 13:26
Notice versions reviewed: 2

View Find a Tender notice ↗

HOW THIS WAS PREPARED

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

ProcuraAxis structures information found in published procurement records, checks the result for consistency and publishes only approved analysis. Confidence describes the completeness and consistency of the available source information; it is not a guarantee of eligibility or contract award.

Analysis status: Approved for publication
Analysed: 15 Oct 2026

Read the analysis methodology →

AWARD OUTCOME

What happened

Published outcome

Award decision announced, but the award remains pending. The notice schedules signature/standstill completion for 26 October 2026; it does not evidence a signed or active contract.

Market significance

The award covers telecommunications equipment and services for Maghaberry, Magilligan and Hydebank Wood, with a published net award value of £6.48m and a potential operational term running to March 2036 under the stated maximum extent date.

AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS

1 supplier record analysed

Withheld Section94 supplier (identity withheld)

98% confidence

Award 1 · Lots 1 · 6480000 GBP · Pending award

View supporting evidence

Award 1 identifies source supplier name “Withheld Section94 supplier” and has pending status. The published supplier identity is withheld.

LIFECYCLE

Award or contract stage

Notice status

99% confidence

Contract award notice published; award status is pending

View supporting evidence

Award status is "pending"; award notice document published 15 October 2026.

Award decision date

98% confidence

15 October 2026

View supporting evidence

Award 1 date: 2026-10-15.

Standstill / future signature milestone

98% confidence

26 October 2026

View supporting evidence

Standstill end date and scheduled futureSignatureDate are both 26 October 2026.

Contract status

99% confidence

Not evidenced as signed or active

View supporting evidence

The award is pending and the future signature milestone is scheduled.

VALUES

Published values explained

Published award value (net)

99% confidence

£6,480,000

View supporting evidence

Award 1 value amount: 6,480,000 GBP.

Published award value (gross)

99% confidence

£7,776,000

View supporting evidence

Award 1 value amountGross: 7,776,000 GBP.

Value attribution

96% confidence

Award-level value for award 1

View supporting evidence

The notice provides a value for award 1; no separate lot-level value is published.

TIMELINE

Procurement timeline

Tender notice published

98% confidence

4 June 2026

View supporting evidence

Release history records tender notice 053081-2026 on 2026-06-04.

Tender deadline

98% confidence

1 July 2026, 23:59:59 BST

View supporting evidence

Process submission deadline: 2026-07-01T23:59:59+01:00.

Award notice published

99% confidence

15 October 2026

View supporting evidence

Award notice 097429-2026 datePublished: 2026-10-15.

Anticipated go-live

93% confidence

1 April 2027

View supporting evidence

Tender description states that the solution Go Live Date is anticipated to be 01 April 2027.

Stated core-period end

98% confidence

31 March 2032

View supporting evidence

Award contractPeriod endDate: 2032-03-31.

Stated maximum extent end

98% confidence

31 March 2036

View supporting evidence

Award contractPeriod maxExtentDate: 2036-03-31.

SCOPE

What was awarded

Requirement

99% confidence

Prisoner telephone equipment and/or services

View supporting evidence

Tender description specifies a telephone system for prisoners.

Delivery sites

98% confidence

HMP Maghaberry, HMP Magilligan, and Hydebank Wood Secure College and Women’s Prison

View supporting evidence

Tender description names the three sites; award delivery region is UKN.

Lot structure

98% confidence

One lot; no published lot title or separate description

View supporting evidence

Tender and award both refer to lot 1; supplied lot record has no title or description.

Relevant categories

97% confidence

Telecommunications services, telephone equipment, switchboards and IT support services

View supporting evidence

Award classifications include CPV 64200000, 32550000, 32540000 and 72000000.

PROCEDURE

Procedure and competition

Procedure

99% confidence

Selective, competitive flexible procedure

View supporting evidence

Tender procurementMethod is "selective" and procurementMethodDetails is "Competitive flexible procedure".

Legal framework

97% confidence

Procurement Act 2023; Northern Irish devolved regulations apply

View supporting evidence

Tender legal basis is 2023/54 and buyer details state GB-NIR devolved regulations.

Competition information

99% confidence

Bid count and evaluation results not supplied

View supporting evidence

No bidder count, scoring, ranking or evaluation detail is included in the supplied notice data.

CONTRACT TERMS

Published contract terms

Proposed operational core term

96% confidence

Five years from go-live

View supporting evidence

Tender description states an initial operational core term of five years from the Go Live Date.

Published contract period

98% confidence

27 October 2026 to 31 March 2032

View supporting evidence

Award contractPeriod startDate is 2026-10-27 and endDate is 2032-03-31.

Extension provisions

97% confidence

Two optional extensions of up to 24 months each

View supporting evidence

Award renewal description states two optional extension periods of up to two years each.

Additional options

94% confidence

Notice describes possible additional purchases and possible annual extensions after the optional periods, subject to stated conditions

View supporting evidence

Award options description refers to additional purchases and annual extensions where the solution remains fit for purpose and funding is approved.

COMMERCIAL VIEW

Commercial observations

Commercial structure

93% confidence

Single published award for an integrated prisoner telephony requirement

View supporting evidence

One award is linked to the sole published lot and covers equipment and/or services across three sites.

Technology flexibility

93% confidence

The buyer reserves a stated option to include updated technology where it could support the contract more efficiently

View supporting evidence

Award options description expressly refers to updated technology.

ANALYSIS QUALITY

94%overall confidence

Confidence reflects the completeness and consistency of the published award data.

Reference: ocds-h6vhtk-06ae24
Analysed: 15 Oct 2026

APPROVED AWARD ANALYSIS

BUYER CONTEXT

Buyer context

Buyer

99% confidence

Northern Ireland Prison Service

View supporting evidence

Process buyer_name and buyer party name are Northern Ireland Prison Service.

Buyer type

98% confidence

Central-government public authority

View supporting evidence

Buyer party classification: publicAuthorityCentralGovernment.

Procuring entity

98% confidence

CPD – Supplies and Services Division

View supporting evidence

Party is identified as procuringEntity and describes its central procurement role for Northern Ireland central government.

SUPPLIER CONTEXT

Supplier context

Published supplier identity

99% confidence

Withheld under Section 94

View supporting evidence

The supplier party and award supplier are labelled “Withheld Section94 supplier”.

Published supplier characteristics

96% confidence

SME recorded; not VCSE

View supporting evidence

Supplier party details list scale "sme" and vcse "false".

Legal-entity verification

98% confidence

Not applicable because the notice withholds the supplier identity

View supporting evidence

Supplier verification status is "not_applicable" and no verified company name or number is supplied.

RENEWAL OUTLOOK

Renewal outlook

Estimated decision point for stated extensions

84% confidence

Around the core-period end of 31 March 2032

View supporting evidence

The notice gives a 31 March 2032 contract end date and two optional extension periods. This is an estimate of a contractual decision point, not a procurement forecast.

Maximum stated extent

98% confidence

31 March 2036

View supporting evidence

Award contractPeriod maxExtentDate is 31 March 2036.

DATA QUALITY

Gaps and source limitations

Pending award is not a concluded contract

99% confidence

The notice is a contract award notice, but award 1 remains pending and signature is only scheduled.

View supporting evidence

Award status is pending; milestone futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 26 October 2026.

Supplier name withheld

99% confidence

The source value is an anonymisation label rather than a published legal supplier name.

View supporting evidence

Source supplier name is “Withheld Section94 supplier”; no legal or verified company name is supplied.

Term-date ambiguity

98% confidence

The published contract-period start precedes the anticipated 1 April 2027 go-live date; the notice does not explain the distinction.

View supporting evidence

contractPeriod startDate is 27 October 2026, while the description anticipates go-live on 1 April 2027.

Extension wording ambiguity

96% confidence

The notice specifies two 24-month extensions and a 31 March 2036 maximum extent date, while also describing possible annual extensions after all optional periods.

View supporting evidence

Renewal and options descriptions differ in their extension wording.

Information not supplied in the published notice

99% confidence

No lot title, lot value, bid count, evaluation results, pricing breakdown or signed-contract evidence is supplied.

View supporting evidence

These fields are absent from the supplied data.

SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS

Information not supplied in the published notice

The award is pending, so it must not be presented as a signed, concluded or active contract.
The supplier’s legal identity is withheld under Section 94; no verified company identity is available.
The notice does not publish lot-level value allocation, bidder numbers, evaluation outcomes, pricing detail or contract signature evidence.
The published operational/go-live and contract-period dates are not fully aligned, and extension wording is broader than the stated maximum extent date.

MARKET THEMES

Relevant award themes

COMMON QUESTIONS

About this award

Has the prisoner telephone system contract been signed?

No signed contract is evidenced. The published award remains pending and records a scheduled signature milestone of 26 October 2026.

Who won the Northern Ireland Prison Service prisoner telephone award?

The notice identifies the awardee only as a supplier withheld under Section 94; no legal company name is published.

What is the published award value?

The award value is £6.48m net, with a gross value of £7.776m.

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.

ID 6564562 DoJ - Northern Ireland Prison Service - Prisoner Telephone System

Opportunity overview

Awarded to

‘Withheld Section94 supplier’

Classification

Lots

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Scope, procedure and submissions

Legal basis

Special regime

Lots and requirements

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Identifier

Address

Contact

Roles

Details

Classifications

Identifier

Address

Contact

Roles

Identifier

Address

Contact

Roles

Details

Identifier

Address

Roles

Details

Award information

Items

Additional Classifications

Delivery locations

Value

Suppliers

Standstill Period

Contract period

Renewal

Options

Related lots

Documents

Milestones

Recorded locations

Notice and amendment history

Award intelligence at a glance

Published outcome signals

Traceable procurement data

Approved, evidence-bound analysis

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