UK Digital Procurement Roundup: July 2026 – Contracts, frameworks and market moves

Scottish Water selects BT for network and security transformation

Scottish Water has selected BT to deliver a new integrated network and security service as part of a wider £130 million investment programme.

Announced on July 21, the multi-million-pound agreement will see BT take end-to-end responsibility for Scottish Water’s connectivity and security estate across both information technology and operational technology environments.

BT will manage approximately 7,000 network connections spanning broadband, MPLS, satellite and internet services, alongside the operational technology network that supports the delivery of essential water services across Scotland.

The agreement marks a move away from Scottish Water’s previous multi-supplier model towards a single integrated service. BT’s solution combines network monitoring and cybersecurity through a converged Network Operations Centre and Security Operations Centre, providing greater visibility across the organisation’s infrastructure.

Scottish Water supplies around 2.6 million households and 150,000 business properties, serving a population of more than five million people.

“This strategic partnership between Scottish Water and BT is an important step in our digital journey,” said Chris Toop, director of digital and innovation at Scottish Water.

“By working with BT, we are strengthening the technology foundations that support every part of our business. Together, we’ll deliver more resilient, secure and efficient digital services that enable us to better serve our customers, support our colleagues and meet the challenges of the future.”

Natural Resources Wales awards £60 million DDaT services framework

Natural Resources Wales has completed the procurement of a new Digital, Data and Technology Services Open Framework worth up to £60 million excluding VAT.

The contract award notice, published on July 10, establishes a framework through which the environmental body can procure specialist capabilities including digital service design, software engineering, cloud infrastructure, data and artificial intelligence, DevOps, systems integration and technical consultancy.

The framework has an initial three-year term, with provision for extension, and will be used exclusively by Natural Resources Wales to support technology-enabled programmes and the ongoing development of digital services.

The procurement is intended to give the organisation greater flexibility in sourcing specialist digital expertise as transformation projects progress.

BlueLight Commercial awards national digital forensics framework

BlueLight Commercial has awarded a national framework covering digital forensic software and tools for police forces and other public sector organisations.

Published on July 2, the contract award notice establishes a compliant route for organisations to procure specialist software used to acquire, examine and analyse digital evidence, supporting investigations involving computers, mobile devices and other digital media.

The framework is also intended to help police forces and other users meet the requirements of the Forensic Science Regulator’s Code of Practice by providing access to validated digital forensic technologies through a nationally procured agreement.

Government publishes AI tutoring programme contract awards

Contract award notices for the government’s AI Tutoring Tools Pioneer Programme were published during the first week of July.

The procurement covers up to eight research and development contracts, each worth up to £300,000 excluding VAT, supporting the design, development and evaluation of AI tutoring technologies.

Rather than procuring finished products for deployment across schools, the programme is intended to develop evidence, technical standards and early-stage prototypes that could inform future adoption of AI tutoring tools within education.

According to the procurement documentation, participating suppliers will work with government and schools to help establish best practice for safe and effective AI tutoring technologies, with research outputs being made available through the Department for Education’s content store.

Procurement watch

July’s announcements point to public sector technology procurement extending beyond major outsourcing deals. Alongside Scottish Water’s large-scale network transformation, organisations continued to use frameworks to secure specialist digital expertise, while smaller research contracts explored how emerging technologies such as AI could be applied safely before wider deployment.