UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

The overarching objective of this ITT is to support the OEP in developing an independent view of the effectiveness of the current legislation and its implementation in relation to the designation and management of protected sites for wildlife in England and Northern Ireland. We would like the following to be delivered, as described further in the ITT. A. A literature review of publications relating to the designation and management of protected sites in England and Northern Ireland. B. A comparison of the effectiveness of the current legislation and its implementation in England and Northern Ireland to examples elsewhere in the world. Full details of the project requirements and how to submit a tender are provided in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) attached to this contract notice. If you have any queries about this procurement email: procurement@theoep.org.uk In the subject line state: CRO043-01 Protected Sites - ITT Query - YOUR COMPANY NAME Queries received by any other method will not be responded to. We will publish our responses to queries by attaching them to this Contract Notice. Please check this Notice regularly for these updates as we cannot contact you directly.

The aim of this project is to contribute to the OEP's understanding of waste management and illegal waste disposal in Northern Ireland, and associated impacts on the natural environment and public health. We are specifically interested in a baseline evidence assessment of monitoring and reporting on such matters to support our scrutiny function within Northern Ireland. Through this study we are looking to identify: the intended outcome/s (e.g. targets) of relevant legal and policy frameworks; regulatory and monitoring programmes including the availability of data and information supporting these; and the environmental and public health impacts of waste management and illegal disposal

The objective of this procurement is to provide the OEP with a user-friendly, flexible, web hosted and secure end-to-end e-procurement system that supports OEP buyers with making the right procurement choices and managing their contracts, efficiently and robustly.

The objective of this work is to provide a critical appraisal of the current regulatory and governance frameworks and non-government schemes supporting the sustainable management of agricultural soils in England

3.1 This project aims to support the OEP in developing an independent view on the trajectory to achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) for UK marine waters. It will support us to gather and analyse the views of the stakeholder community on the drivers, and pressures in the marine environment. It will also seek views on the current state of the evidence base. 3.2 The marine environment is a priority for the OEP, and our corporate plan is that this year we will review available evidence of the condition of the marine environment and identify any gaps in this evidence that should be addressed by the UK Government. This project is a key part of delivering this commitment and will shape the future of the OEP's marine programme. 3.3 We are seeking to understand the drivers and pressures adversely affecting the marine environment; the steps that are yet to be taken to achieve GES; the barriers preventing those steps being taken; and the evidence needed to enable those steps to be implemented and effectively monitored. By drivers and pressures, we mean: • Drivers: Social, economic and demographic influences (e.g. dredging & extraction, fisheries, offshore infrastructure and industrial activities) and natural conditions that impact upon the environment. These include direct and indirect drivers. • Pressures: The stresses, arising from a driver, that cause a deterioration in the natural environment (e.g. gaseous emissions, noise pollution, damage to seabed).

3.1 We recognise the successful delivery of government environmental goals will require a significant uplift in the levels of both public and private investment, and involve the mobilisation of private finance, more broadly, in supporting these goals. We plan to monitor and hold HM government to account in realising their plans for mobilising green finance, as outlined in the recently published Green Finance Strategy and Nature Markets Framework. 3.2 This foundational project should help us to develop our understanding of themes and issues relevant to green finance. Our focus is how green finance can best be mobilised at scale and pace to support the delivery of the government's Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP). 3.3 Specifically, we're interested in the mobilisation of private finance through supporting efforts to integrate environmental factors into core decision making and markets (e.g. environmental disclosure, creating nature markets). We're also interested in where the private investment flows are going (e.g. sector, activity, environmental outcome). 3.4 Our remit is to assess progress across all 10 goal areas of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP). Within the broad scope of the EIP, we are currently most focused on improving nature at sea and on land, specifically targets relating to halting the decline in biodiversity (species abundance) by 2030 and reversing this decline by 2042, and water quality, specifically achieving good ecological status, and reducing diffuse agricultural pollution

The objective of this project is to provide evidence and analysis that will enable us to influence the development of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), to maximise their ability to contribute to achieving the UK Government's legally-binding targets of halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and increasing species abundance by 2042 in particular and, more broadly, the goal of achieving 'thriving plants and wildlife' by January 2043. The project is structured into two inter-dependent workstreams: A. Evidence gathering and LNRS assessment B. Stakeholder engagement The detailed scope and requirements for the work, and instructions for how to submit a tender, are provided in the Invitation to Tender. Additional information: PROJECT SUMMARY The objective of this project is to provide evidence and analysis that will enable us to influence the development of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), to maximise their ability to contribute to achieving the UK Government's legally-binding targets of halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and increasing species abundance by 2042 in particular and, more broadly, the goal of achieving 'thriving plants and wildlife' by January 2043. The project is structured into two inter-dependent workstreams: A. Evidence gathering and LNRS assessment B. Stakeholder engagement The detailed scope and requirements for the work, and instructions for how to submit a tender, are provided in the Invitation to Tender. TENDERING INSTRUCTIONS The OEP now undertakes all of its procurement through the Panacea e-procurement portal. https://app.panacea-software.com/oep To obtain the Invitation to Tender, ask clarification questions, and to submit a tender you must log in to Panacea then go to this project. Tenders will ONLY be accepted through Panacea. Tenders submitted by any other route, including email, will not be accepted. Ensure you allow sufficient time before the deadline to upload and submit all of your tender information and documents. You will not be able to submit tenders late or incomplete. If you do not have an existing Panacea supplier account, on the login page click on 'Request a new account'. Registering on and using Panacea as a supplier to the OEP is free of charge. If you require assistance, please contact the Panacea Helpline: Email: support@panacea-software.com Telephone: 0207 976 0116

The objective of this project is to provide evidence and analysis that will enable us to influence the development of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), to maximise their ability to contribute to achieving the UK Government's legally-binding targets of halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and increasing species abundance by 2042 in particular and, more broadly, the goal of achieving 'thriving plants and wildlife' by January 2043. The project is structured into two inter-dependent workstreams: A. Evidence gathering and LNRS assessment B. Stakeholder engagement The detailed scope and requirements for the work, and instructions for how to submit a tender, are provided in the Invitation to Tender. Additional information: PROJECT SUMMARY The objective of this project is to provide evidence and analysis that will enable us to influence the development of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS), to maximise their ability to contribute to achieving the UK Government's legally-binding targets of halting the decline in species abundance by 2030 and increasing species abundance by 2042 in particular and, more broadly, the goal of achieving 'thriving plants and wildlife' by January 2043. The project is structured into two inter-dependent workstreams: A. Evidence gathering and LNRS assessment B. Stakeholder engagement The detailed scope and requirements for the work, and instructions for how to submit a tender, are provided in the Invitation to Tender. TENDERING INSTRUCTIONS The OEP now undertakes all of its procurement through the Panacea e-procurement portal. https://app.panacea-software.com/oep To obtain the Invitation to Tender, ask clarification questions, and to submit a tender you must log in to Panacea then go to this project. Tenders will ONLY be accepted through Panacea. Tenders submitted by any other route, including email, will not be accepted. Ensure you allow sufficient time before the deadline to upload and submit all of your tender information and documents. You will not be able to submit tenders late or incomplete. If you do not have an existing Panacea supplier account, on the login page click on 'Request a new account'. Registering on and using Panacea as a supplier to the OEP is free of charge. If you require assistance, please contact the Panacea Helpline: Email: support@panacea-software.com Telephone: 0207 976 0116

ABOUT THE PROJECT The overarching objective of this work is to provide a critical appraisal of the capacity of England's new agri-environment schemes (AES) to support the achievement of long-term biodiversity targets. The OEP intends to use this appraisal to inform its reporting on Government's progress in delivering its Environmental Improvement Plan and achieving Environment Act 2021 targets. The critical appraisal will be achieved through delivery of the following project elements, as described further in in the Invitation to Tender: A. Assess the relevance and efficacy of all actions included in Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship, identifying the priority actions for achieving biodiversity targets and any evidence about their uptake and implementation. B. Assess the coverage of specific species and habitats - and all relevant indicators for the biodiversity targets - provided by the priority actions identified in task A. C. A technical report synthesising the analysis. The detailed scope and requirements for the work, and instructions for how to submit a tender, are provided in the Invitation to Tender. TENDERING INSTRUCTIONS The OEP now undertakes all of its procurement through the Panacea e-procurement portal. https://app.panacea-software.com/oep To obtain the Invitation to Tender, ask clarification questions, and to submit a tender you must log in to Panacea then go to this project. Tenders will ONLY be accepted through Panacea. Tenders submitted by any other route, including email, will not be accepted. Ensure you allow sufficient time before the deadline to upload and submit all of your tender information and documents. You will not be able to submit tenders late or incomplete. If you do not have an existing Panacea supplier account, on the login page click on 'Request a new account'. Registering on and using Panacea as a supplier to the OEP is free of charge. If you require assistance, please contact the Panacea Helpline: Email: support@panacea-software.com Telephone: 0207 976 0116

The overarching objective of this project is to provide a critical appraisal of the current regulatory and policy frameworks for both monitoring and managing bycatch in UK marine waters. This is a crucial project required to inform the OEP's wider work on holding government to account for the achievement of Good Environmental Status (GES) under the UK Marine Strategy. For the purposes of this project, 'bycatch' will be taken to mean the "unintentional capture or entanglement of non-target species in fishing gear often resulting in serious injury or mortality"1. It should also encompass the unintentional capture of fish that are below minimum conservation reference size, so as to fully align with the 'bycatch objective' set out in the Joint Fisheries Statement. The overarching objective will be achieved through delivering the following elements: •Building on existing OEP analysis to clarify the degree to which bycatch affects the achievement of GES - specifically, to determine the contribution that delivering Government's bycatch commitments could make to relevant GES indicators, and the scale of action that may be required to realise those commitments. •Reviewing current regulatory and policy measures implemented in UK marine waters that impact on the management of bycatch - to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the regulatory system by examining the design and implementation of existing laws, policies and regulations, including compliance mechanisms and enforcement practices. •Reviewing the effectiveness of current approaches to monitoring bycatch - to evaluate the accuracy, reliability and coverage of existing monitoring programmes and potential knock-on effects for impactful regulation across different species and regions. •Identifying barriers and enablers for improved bycatch monitoring and regulation, with a particular focus on known mitigation options and best practice solutions where available - to inform recommendations which would ensure that actions taken to address bycatch the contribute to achieve GES, based on the analysis conducted under 'A'. The scope of this work will cover measures to monitor and address bycatch in England and Northern Ireland only, unless specifically designed to be UK-wide (e.g. UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative). In addition, we reserve the right to make direct awards of further contracts to the successful supplier for additional services (including consultancy and acting as an expert witness). Full details about our requirements for the work and how to submit a tender are provided in the Invitation to Tender.

The objective of this procurement is to provide the OEP with an integrated system comprising: • a user-friendly, flexible, web hosted HR software solution that supports all OEP staff and roles throughout the end-to-end HR lifecycle. • a fully-managed payroll service that ensures all OEP staff are paid accurately and on-time, with minimal intervention needed from the OEP HR and finance teams. The detailed scope and requirements, and instructions for how to submit a tender, are provided in the Invitation to Tender.

3.1 To carry out a review of the application of environmental assessments in the management of nutrient inputs to the environment in Northern Ireland. 3.2 This objective will be achieved through review and critical appraisal of the following areas, as described further in Section 5: a. Evaluate the degree to which the environmental assessments carried out for the Nutrient Action Programme (NAP) and Future Agricultural Policy (FAP) are appropriate in the context of the risks posed to the environment from nutrient inputs. b. Review the evidence underpinning the need for, and development of, an appropriate assessment of nutrient inputs to aquatic ecosystems. c. Evaluate the links between the application of Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) of nutrient inputs to aquatic protected sites and other regulations such as the NAP and Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations (UWWTR) d. Identify gaps in the application of environmental assessment for the management of nutrients and the risks nutrients pose directly and indirectly to protected sites. 3.3 The scope of this project will focus on the Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) and HRAs conducted for the Nutrient Action Programme and Future Agricultural Policy in Northern Ireland. This element of the project will consider nutrient emissions to both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, inside and outside of protected sites. 3.4 Separate to this, the project will also have a focus on the need for, and scientific evidence underpinning, the development of an appropriate assessment (as required under Article 6.3 of the Habitats Directive) of nutrient inputs to aquatic protected sites and how this links with the NAP and other regulations, such as the UWWTR.

To support the OEP in reaching a position on the issues, risks and opportunities posed by actual or potential regulatory divergence on environmental protection in Northern Ireland. Having set out the wider background, we then require a more detailed assessment of the issues that any such regulatory divergence could have for nutrient management in Northern Ireland. 3.2 This objective will be achieved through review and explanation of the following areas, as described further in section 5: A. Regulatory background impacting NI, with specific focus on the environment. B. Current understanding/position of regulatory divergence relevant to the environment. C. Regulation relevant to nutrient management, particularly agricultural and wastewater. D. Forward look at potential options and likely scenarios. E. Key risks and opportunities for environmental regulation, and particularly nutrient management, in Northern Ireland Additional information: To support the OEP in reaching a position on the issues, risks and opportunities posed by actual or potential regulatory divergence on environmental protection in Northern Ireland. Having set out the wider background, we then require a more detailed assessment of the issues that any such regulatory divergence could have for nutrient management in Northern Ireland. This objective will be achieved through review and explanation of the following areas, as described further in section 5: Regulatory background impacting NI, with specific focus on the environment. Current understanding/position of regulatory divergence relevant to the environment. Regulation relevant to nutrient management, particularly agricultural and wastewater. Forward look at potential options and likely scenarios. Key risks and opportunities for environmental regulation, and particularly nutrient management, in Northern Ireland 

To support the OEP in reaching a position on the issues, risks and opportunities posed by actual or potential regulatory divergence on environmental protection in Northern Ireland. Having set out the wider background, we then require a more detailed assessment of the issues that any such regulatory divergence could have for nutrient management in Northern Ireland. 3.2 This objective will be achieved through review and explanation of the following areas, as described further in section 5: A. Regulatory background impacting NI, with specific focus on the environment. B. Current understanding/position of regulatory divergence relevant to the environment. C. Regulation relevant to nutrient management, particularly agricultural and wastewater. D. Forward look at potential options and likely scenarios. E. Key risks and opportunities for environmental regulation, and particularly nutrient management, in Northern Ireland Additional information: Closing Date extended until the 17th November. To support the OEP in reaching a position on the issues, risks and opportunities posed by actual or potential regulatory divergence on environmental protection in Northern Ireland. Having set out the wider background, we then require a more detailed assessment of the issues that any such regulatory divergence could have for nutrient management in Northern Ireland. This objective will be achieved through review and explanation of the following areas, as described further in section 5: Regulatory background impacting NI, with specific focus on the environment. Current understanding/position of regulatory divergence relevant to the environment. Regulation relevant to nutrient management, particularly agricultural and wastewater. Forward look at potential options and likely scenarios. Key risks and opportunities for environmental regulation, and particularly nutrient management, in Northern Ireland 

The overarching aim of this project is to support the OEP in developing an independent view of the effectiveness of three regulations relating to agricultural diffuse pollution, namely: Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018, commonly known as the Farming Rules for Water (FRfW); Nitrate Pollutions Prevention Regulations 2015; and Storing Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oils (England) Regulations 2010. This will be achieved through delivering the following objectives: Undertake a review of research and evidence on the effectiveness of the regulations in reducing diffuse agricultural pollution Undertake interviews with expert practitioners and researchers. Provide an initial assessment from the overall review and provide options for systematic evidence reviews and assessments for the OEP to consider.

The overarching aim of this project is to support the OEP in developing an independent view of the effectiveness of three regulations relating to agricultural diffuse pollution, namely: Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018, commonly known as the Farming Rules for Water (FRfW); Nitrate Pollutions Prevention Regulations 2015; and Storing Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oils (England) Regulations 2010. This will be achieved through delivering the following objectives: Undertake a review of research and evidence on the effectiveness of the regulations in reducing diffuse agricultural pollution Undertake interviews with expert practitioners and researchers. Provide an initial assessment from the overall review and provide options for systematic evidence reviews and assessments for the OEP to consider.

Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of government plans to reduce the nutrient surplus in Northern Ireland. This objective will be achieved through review and critical appraisal of the following areas, as described further in Section 5: Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Nutrient Action Programme in reducing the nutrient surplus and its impact on the environment. Assessment of how other strategies and policies will impact the nutrient surplus and their effects on the environment. Development of indicators to monitor government progress in addressing the nutrient surplus over time. The scope of this project will focus on both nitrogen and phosphorus at the scale of the food system in Northern Ireland. We are interested in the overall national nutrient balances rather than those at farm, catchment or regional scale. For this project, we define the food system as the interconnected network of activities that link food production, processing, consumption, waste, and emissions to the environment. It will include the agriculture, wastewater, energy, and waste sectors, as well as any others that may impact the nutrient surplus. The project will evaluate scenarios of nutrient management within the food system and their impact on emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus to the air and water environment.