Scope
Description
The Authority seeks to develop a planning tool that enables AI-augmented decision making for planning applications. The initial focus will be on householder developments (as defined in Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015) with a view to expand into further application types within the 'other*' category (those not classified as Major or Minor) which represent 69% of all planning applications.
*"Other applications" are: advertisements, change of use, householder developments, listed building consents and relevant demolition in a conservation area. Also available at "View PS2 data" and the drop down "Other" available at: https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMDQ1MmRlMjEtMThlMy00MWIxLThmNTEtMzU4M2I5ODNmYTJlIiwidCI6ImJmMzQ2ODEwLTljN2QtNDNkZS1hODcyLTI0YTJlZjM5OTVhOCJ9
The objective is to dramatically reduce planning application processing times initially targeting a reduction from upwards of 8 weeks to circa 4 weeks, with a long-term vision of near-instant decisions for straightforward applications. All reduction targets do not include elements that solutions cannot be expected to affect i.e. statutory 21-day consultation periods, site visits, neighbour notifications, external consultee responses, and committee scheduling.
Proposals will need to demonstrate understanding of the relevant parts of the planning process including administrative processes (e.g. policy research, citation generation, report generation) as well as analytical processes (e.g. material considerations identification, policy compliance assessment, planning balance evaluation, decision reasoning). Solutions should be designed to assist planning officers with the above processes and provide reasoned, verifiable recommendations for decisions. Solutions must be integrated with existing planning systems.
As part of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage, bidders will be required to participate in a two-week demo build (unpaid) to each develop a working prototype which will be evaluated at "Demo Day". This will take the form of a presentation of the prototype, and this will be evaluated in accordance with the process and award criteria set out in the ITT.
During the contract, the service recipients (i.e. those that will use the solution) may include:
DSIT
MHCLG
Local Planning Authorities (317 LPAs)
Planning Inspectorate
Devolved Administrations
Combined Authorities (mayoral authorities with planning powers)
National Parks Authorities (separate planning authorities)
Broads Authority (special planning authority)
Total value (estimated)
- £8,333,333.33 excluding VAT
- £10,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 16 January 2026 to 16 May 2028
- Possible extension to 16 May 2029
- 3 years, 4 months, 1 day
Description of possible extension:
Alpha Phase (Pilot) Duration: Estimated 3 months from contract signature
Beta & Scale Phase Duration (if activated): Estimated 12 months following successful Alpha Phase completion
Support & Grow Phase Duration: Estimated 12 months following Beta & Scale Phase
Optional Extension: Estimated 12 months following initial Support & Grow Phase
Total Potential Duration: Up to 39 months (including all phases)
Options
The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid.
Beta Phase & Scale Phase activation is at the Authority's sole discretion, depending on success of minimum viable product.
Support & Grow Phase at Authority's sole discretion, dependent on the success of Beta Phase
Extension to Support, Maintenance & Grow Phase at Authority's sole discretion
No automatic renewal provisions
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
Submission
Enquiry deadline
5 November 2025, 5:00pm
Submission type
Requests to participate
Deadline for requests to participate
21 November 2025, 5:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Suppliers to be invited to tender
Maximum 5 suppliers
Selection criteria:
A maximum of 5 bidders will be taken forward to Stage 2 (Invitation to Tender). If there are more than 5 bidders who pass the PSQ, bidders will be ranked in order of PSQ score (highest to lowest) and the five highest-scoring bidders will be short-listed, and admitted to Stage 2. In the event of a tie for 5th place, where two or more bidders, in addition to passing all pass/fail questions, have an identical score for those questions assigned a numerical score, the following ranking will be applied, wherein the first question will be used to select the 5th placed bidder from the tied bidders. If the scores for that question are also tied, the question ranked second will be used to select the 5th placed bidder, and so on:1st Response : Frontier AI & Technical Capability Question (40% weighting)2nd Response: Software Development & Integration Capability Questions (25% weighting)3rd Response: Team Capability Question (20% weighting)4th Response: Social Value Question (15% weighting)
Award decision date (estimated)
6 January 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demo Build Presentation | Bidders will be required to complete a Demo Build (a working prototype), followed by a live demonstration lasting 60 minutes. The presentation will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria which... |
Quality | 40% |
| Questionnaire | This will comprise a set of Technical Questions based on the requirements in order to test various aspects of the bidders' approach. These will be evaluated in accordance with the scoring matrices... |
Quality | 40% |
| Commercial | Bidders will be required to complete as part of their tender a Financial Response Template, which will be evaluated by the Authority in accordance with the process set out in the ITT. Costs will be... |
Price | 20% |
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Competitive flexible procedure description
This procurement is a competitive flexible procedure under Section 20 of the Procurement Act 2023. The process has been specifically designed to be carried out on an accelerated basis, and consists of two stages. The two stages are set out below.
How It Works:
Stage 1: Participation & Selection
Bidders will be issued with a PSQ including instructions and a set of questions which are to demonstrate bidders':
- Compliance
- Supply chain approach
- Financial capacity
- Legal capacity
- Security and Data Protection compliance
-Conflicts of Interest
-Technical ability
Responses to all questions will be evaluated against the evaluation criteria. The evaluation criteria are also provided within the PSQ document.
A maximum of 5 bidders will be taken forward to Stage 2 (Invitation to Tender). If there are more than 5 bidders who pass the PSQ, bidders will be ranked in order of PSQ score (highest to lowest) and the five highest-scoring bidders will be short-listed, and admitted to Stage 2. In the event of a tie for 5th place, where two or more bidders, in addition to passing all pass/fail questions, have an identical score for those questions assigned a numerical score, the following ranking will be applied, wherein the first question will be used to select the 5th placed bidder from the tied bidders. If the scores for that question are also tied, the question ranked second will be used to select the 5th placed bidder, and so on:
1st Response : Frontier AI & Technical Capability Question (40% weighting)
2nd Response: Software Development & Integration Capability Questions (25% weighting)
3rd Response: Team Capability Question (20% weighting)
4th Response: Social Value Question (15% weighting)
Stage 2: Invitation to Tender
Stage 2 will commence after the issuing of letters inviting bidders that have been successfully shortlisted at Stage 1 to participate in Stage 2, which is the submission of final tenders.
Final tenders must be submitted in accordance with the timetable and instructions set out in the Invitation to Tender document, which will be released shortly after publication of this Tender Notice. This stage will involve evaluating bidders based on a comprehensive assessment of both cost and non-cost factors. The evaluation criteria and weightings associated with the quality and price elements will be included in the Invitation to Tender document.
As part of Stage 2, bidders will be required to complete a Demo Build, followed by a presentation (as set out above). The presentation will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria which will be set out in the ITT, along with the bidders' tender responses.
Justification for not publishing a preliminary market engagement notice
No notice issued as no detailed input required from market. High level market engagement conducted to verify potential for solution. No material information disclosed that has not or will not be provided to all other bidders. Authority satisfied no unfair advantage conferred on any potential supplier.
Documents
Associated tender documents
AI-Augmented Planning Decisions - PSQ.pdf
Procurement Specific Questionnaire for AI-Augmented Planning Decisions Tender
Documents to be provided after the tender notice
PSQ submissions will be open on Jagger from 27th October 2025, this will include templates to provide responses to the questions in the PSQ.
Contracting authority
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVWZ-3216-PVQL
22 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2EG
United Kingdom
Email: cih@dsit.gov.uk
Region: UKI32 - Westminster
Organisation type: Public authority - central government
Other organisation
These organisations are carrying out the procurement, or part of it, on behalf of the contracting authorities.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Summary of their role in this procurement: MHCLG is the contracting authority for this procurement. In accordance with section 1(3)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023, MHCLG is carrying out this procurement through the Commercial Innovation Hub part of Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which is acting as its agent.
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PWCX-8281-CLPR
2 Marsham St
London
SW1P 4DF
United Kingdom
Email: cih@dsit.gov.uk
Region: UKI32 - Westminster