AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Natural England has concluded a direct, below-threshold contract with GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST to deliver the BASIS Certificate in Gamebird Management for 20 staff. The published contract is signed and scheduled for delivery from 13 to 15 January 2027.
Published outcomeOne supplier, GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST, is named on the active award and contract for lot 1.
Market significanceThe notice describes the course as the only accredited programme of its kind available in England and identifies the supplier as its sole provider; this was therefore a non-competitive direct procurement.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST
98% confidenceAward 2 · Lots 1 · GBP 13,652 net; GBP 16,382.40 gross GBP · Active contract
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Contract ID 2, linked to award ID 2, names the supplier through the award and records amount GBP 13,652 and amountGross GBP 16,382.40. The verified legal name supplied is GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST (company number 05579632).
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published contract status
98% confidenceActive
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The OCDS contract record ID 2 has status "active"; award ID 2 also has status "active".
Contract signature
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Contract ID 2 records dateSigned as 2026-10-15.
Delivery period
99% confidence13 January 2027 to 15 January 2027
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Contract ID 2 period startDate is 2027-01-13 and endDate is 2027-01-15.
Earlier award record
92% confidencePending record present
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The supplied awards table includes award ID 1 with status "pending" and a value of GBP 13,652, while the OCDS award and contract linkage uses ID 2.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value excluding VAT
99% confidenceGBP 13,652
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Contract ID 2 value.amount is 13652 GBP.
Contract value including VAT
99% confidenceGBP 16,382.40
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Contract ID 2 value.amountGross is 16382.4 GBP.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Transparency notice published
98% confidence8 October 2026
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Release history lists notice 095186-2026, a Transparency notice, published 2026-10-08.
Contract signed
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Contract ID 2 dateSigned is 2026-10-15.
Contract details notice published
99% confidence15 October 2026
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Release history and contract document 097430-2026 record publication on 2026-10-15.
Scheduled delivery start
99% confidence13 January 2027
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Contract ID 2 period.startDate is 2027-01-13.
Scheduled delivery end
99% confidence15 January 2027
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Contract ID 2 period.endDate is 2027-01-15.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceDesign and deliver a training course and BASIS accreditation in gamebird management for 20 Natural England staff.
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Published tender description.
Operational purpose
98% confidenceSupport the Enforcement and Appeals Team's gamebird-licensing compliance-monitoring reform work.
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Published tender description.
Procurement category
99% confidenceServices — management training services (CPV 80532000).
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Award item additional classification is CPV 80532000, described as Management training services.
Lot structure
96% confidenceOne published lot (lot 1); no lot title or separate lot value supplied.
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Tender and award data reference lot 1; the supplied lot record has no title, description or value.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect procurement, below threshold, without competition.
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Tender procurementMethod is "direct" and procurementMethodDetails is "Below threshold - without competition".
Published sole-supplier rationale
96% confidenceThe notice states that the supplier is the sole provider of the BASIS Certificate in Gamebird Management (Lowland), with no other providers of that accredited programme.
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Published tender description.
Internal checks described
94% confidenceNatural England states that its Learning and Development application and scrutiny process, Government Campus and Civil Service Learning checks confirmed no other programmes existed.
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Published tender description.
Bid and evaluation data
99% confidenceNot supplied in the published notice.
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No bid count, tender responses, scoring or evaluation results are included in the supplied data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Signed contract period
99% confidence3 calendar days, 13–15 January 2027.
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Contract ID 2 records the start and end dates.
Contract status
98% confidenceActive in the published contract record.
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Contract ID 2 status is "active".
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceNo — recorded as below threshold.
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Contract ID 2 aboveThreshold is false; tender procedure details also say below threshold.
Extension or options
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No extension, option or renewal terms are present in the supplied contract data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial model
96% confidenceA short, fixed-period training and accreditation engagement for 20 staff.
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The description specifies training and BASIS accreditation for 20 staff; the signed contract period is 13–15 January 2027.
Value-for-money statement
94% confidenceThe buyer states that the quoted price represented good value compared with BASIS-registered courses for similar topics at the same academic level.
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Published tender description; this is the buyer's statement rather than independently published price benchmarking.
Market access observation
95% confidenceThe published rationale indicates a specialist accredited training market with a stated sole provider for this programme.
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Published tender description says the supplier is the sole provider and that no other providers offer the accredited programme.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Award-record inconsistency
94% confidenceA pending award ID 1 records GBP 13,652, whereas the active OCDS award is ID 2 and the signed contract is linked to ID 2. The value is reported only from the signed contract and is not attributed to the pending award.
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Supplied awards table and OCDS contract linkage.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 is identified but has no published title, description or individual lot value.
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Supplied lots record for lot 1 contains null title, description and value.
Competition and evaluation detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice beyond the buyer's sole-provider rationale and stated checks.
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No bid, scoring or evaluation data are included in the supplied records.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The supplied records contain a pending award ID 1 with a stated GBP 13,652 value alongside active award ID 2 and contract ID 2; the source does not explain the differing award-record status.
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
- Information on bids, bid prices, evaluation scores, award criteria, pricing breakdown and detailed delivery arrangements was not supplied.
- No extension, option or renewal terms were supplied.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Natural EnglandGAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUSTBASIS Certificate in Gamebird Managementgamebird management trainingdirect procurementFind a Tender
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Natural England gamebird management training contract?
GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST is named as the supplier on the active award and signed contract.
What is the contract value?
The signed contract records GBP 13,652 excluding VAT and GBP 16,382.40 including VAT.
Why was the procurement non-competitive?
Natural England states that the supplier is the sole provider of the accredited BASIS Certificate in Gamebird Management (Lowland), and the procurement was below threshold without competition.
When will the training be delivered?
The published signed contract period runs from 13 to 15 January 2027.
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.