What to Include in a Security Tender: Specification, KPIs, TUPE and Pricing

It should describe what the client needs, not how a particular provider happens to work. Cover:

• Outcomes. For example, “all visitors are identified and recorded” or “all alarm activations are attended within the agreed response time”.
• Posts and hours. Each post, its location, its hours and days, including bank holidays and seasonal changes.
• Tasks. Access control, patrols, CCTV monitoring, key control, lock-up checks, fire alarm duties, contractor supervision.
• Standards. SIA licensing for licensable roles, screening expectations, uniform, training and any British Standards the client wishes bidders to explain their approach to.
• Systems. Access control, CCTV, radios, alarm panels and any reporting platform the provider must use or integrate with.
• Management. Supervisor visits, account management, out-of-hours escalation and control room support.
• Reporting. Daily logs, incident reports, patrol records and monthly reports, with timescales.

Avoid copying a previous specification without review. Sites change, and an outdated specification leads to bids that price the wrong service.

Including draft instructions, or a detailed template, helps bidders understand the real workload. They typically cover:

1. site description, contacts and emergency numbers;
2. post duties by time of day;
3. patrol routes and checkpoints;
4. access control and visitor procedures;
5. key and alarm code procedures;
6. incident, fire, medical and bomb threat procedures;
7. escalation and reporting lines;
8. health and safety, including lone working arrangements.

The successful provider should finalise the instructions during mobilisation, and the client should sign them off before the start date.

Typical security KPIs include:

Do not set response time targets without discussing them with the market, because realistic times depend on geography and the service model.

For public contracts under the Procurement Act 2023, section 52 requires a contracting authority to set at least three KPIs for a public contract with an estimated value of more than £5 million and to publish them, unless it considers that performance could not appropriately be assessed by KPIs. The section does not apply to light touch contracts, frameworks and certain other contract types. Cabinet Office guidance lists investigation and security services among light touch services, so authorities should check how the rules apply to their specific procurement. Even where the statutory duty does not apply, KPIs are good practice.

GOV.UK explains that a service provision change includes a contract ending and being awarded to a new contractor. Under regulation 11, the outgoing employer must provide employee liability information to the incoming employer not less than 28 days before the transfer, unless special circumstances make that not reasonably practicable.

For tendering, the client should ask the incumbent for anonymised workforce information early, so bidders can price accurately. This usually includes the number of assigned officers, roles, hours, pay rates, length of service, contractual entitlements such as holiday and sick pay, and any pension arrangements. The tender should make clear that bidders must price on the basis of this information and state any assumptions.

Require bidders to show, for each post and time band:

• officer hourly pay rate, and how it compares with the National Living Wage (£12.71 per hour for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026);
• premiums for nights, weekends and bank holidays;
• holiday pay, employer’s National Insurance and pension costs;
• supervision, management and control room costs;
• training, licensing support, uniform and equipment;
• overheads and margin;
• rates for additional ad hoc hours and short-notice cover;
• proposed approach to annual price review, such as linkage to National Living Wage changes.

Ask bidders to list every assumption. Unstated assumptions are a common source of disputes after award. Our guide to security guard costs in the UK explains the cost drivers in more detail.

Good questions ask bidders to describe:

• their mobilisation plan, with milestones and named roles;
• how they recruit, screen, train and retain officers for this site;
• how they provide relief cover and manage no-shows;
• their supervision model and out-of-hours escalation;
• how patrols and incidents are recorded and reported;
• whether any element will be subcontracted, and how it would be managed;
• how they manage health and safety, including lone working.

Set word limits and a scoring scale that explains what a high score looks like.

Questions should ask for specific, measurable commitments that are relevant to the contract.

For public bodies, the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 is relevant. Central government bodies in scope must also apply the Social Value Model in Procurement Policy Note 002, which became mandatory from 1 October 2025. Commitments made at tender should become contractual obligations, with KPIs where appropriate.

Key points for security procurement include:

• authorities must have regard to the National Procurement Policy Statement;
• procurements are run through procedures set out in the Act, with notices published on the central digital platform;
• light touch services benefit from additional flexibility in how procedures are designed;
• suppliers can be excluded or debarred on specified grounds, so bidders should expect checks on their history.

Devolved Scottish contracting authorities follow Scottish procurement legislation rather than the Procurement Act 2023, and buyers should take advice on the regime that applies to them.

State any minimum quality thresholds, such as a minimum score on mobilisation. In the contract, make sure the terms cover the term and extension options, insurance levels, liability caps, data protection roles, confidentiality, subcontracting approval, TUPE at exit and termination rights. Consider requiring the provider to share its SIA approved contractor status and to notify the client of any change in it.

To include Seccuro in your next process, visit our facilities management security page, review our compliance and standards, or request a quote.