Procurement at NDA
Information for those looking to become a supplier to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Tendering for contracts and transparency
To comply with government regulations we use an approach based on the value of the contract, and whether a public-sector contract already exists that can be used:
We use 3 systems to advertise and to manage our contracts:
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Framework Contracts awarded by Crown Commercial Services or other procurement hubs for utilisation by the wider public sector Government Procurement Service website
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New procurement opportunities with a cumulative value of over £10,000 Contracts Finder website
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New higher-value procurement opportunities with a cumulative total over the current EU threshold Tender Electronic Daily website
All public-sector procurements are subject to European Commission (EC) Treaty principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment and transparency.
NDA will publish all contract awards over £20,000 on Contracts Finder website.
To register and place bids for live procurements please visit the Atamis eProcurement system.
General terms and conditions of contract
All suppliers of goods and services to the NDA should familiarise themselves with our Terms and Conditions.
For our own NDA operations (not Tier 1, 2 and 3 contracts), we operate a strict “no purchase order, no pay” policy. You’ll need to reference your Purchase Order number. Your primary procurement contact should be able to supply this if you do not already have it.
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Revisions to payment terms
NDA recognises that prompt payment is a key issue for suppliers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The NDA Estate SME Steering Groups raised concerns about certain common commercial issues and barriers. They identified payment terms as one of the issues that needed to be tackled. The issue arises not with the Site Licence Companies (SLCs) per se, but further down the supply chain, where there are examples of 90-day or 120-day payment terms being demanded.
Such long payment terms are not acceptable. Terms such as ‘pay when paid’ are also not acceptable. NDA has decided therefore to introduce a mandatory payment flowdown to the SLCs’ terms and conditions, applicable to all new sub-contracts and sub-sub contracts through the supply chain, including new call-off from existing frameworks.
Site Licence Company (SLC) payment terms are generally nett monthly – the payment flowdown will therefore require that this is the maximum payment term allowable, but does not prevent shorter terms being agreed.
SME action plan
The NDA group exists in some of the most geographically remote locations across England, Scotland, and Wales, and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are delivering critical goods and services at the heart of our supply chain whilst supporting local economies and communities.
We strive to continue to achieve £1 in every £3 of our annual supply chain spend with SMEs, and the SME agenda for us is more than just a target. It’s about us being the best client we can be by successfully delivering challenging projects which directly affect this and future generations and being as easy as possible to do business with.
We also encourage our larger suppliers to consider SMEs within their sub-contracting opportunities directly and indirectly through the supply chain. All Government Departments have an SME action plan to support this aspiration. Our action plan aims to reduce barriers to SMEs and encourage SMEs to work with us.
Supply chain charter
The Supply Chain Charter for nuclear decommissioning sites aims to foster good working relations across the NDA group’s supply chain.
More information on how to sign up to NDA’s Supply Chain Charter
Supply chain event
In conjunction with NDA businesses, we host an annual event for suppliers in the nuclear decommissioning supply chain.
16 January 2025 The International Centre, Telford