Awarded contract

Consumer confidence in drinking water

Details

Buyer: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
Supplier(s): ICF CONSULTING SERVICES LIMITED (Primary)
Value: £51,675
Duration: 1 year
Topic: Research and development consultancy services
Published: 27 November 2025
Source: uk:find_a_tender

Tender description

Research aims One of DWI’s core objectives is to protect and promote public confidence in the quality and safety of drinking water. Recent political, media and environmental pressures have highlighted the need for a robust evidence base to better understand what drives public perception in this space and what DWI’s role should be in communicating risk and assurance. This research will investigate the factors influencing consumer confidence in drinking water in England and Wales, and how DWI’s communications strategy might evolve to effectively support its statutory and non-statutory responsibilities. It will help answer questions such as: • What are the public’s current views on drinking water quality? • What drives or reduces trust in drinking water specifically, independent of broader industry issues? • What role can or should DWI play in informing, reassuring and correcting public narratives? Background Surveys by Ofwat and ## Contract award Title: Consumer confidence in drinking water ## Contract award

Timeline

Completed: Award date26 November 2025
Completed: Award published27 November 2025
Current notice
Next: Contract expiry date8 December 2026in 2 months

About the buyer

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is a ministerial department that also buys through agencies such as the Environment Agency, the Rural Payments Agency and the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Suppliers register on the DEFRA eCommercial website, Atamis, to compete for contract opportunities across the department. Larger opportunities are advertised through the Find a Tender service under the Procurement Act 2023, in force since February 2025. DEFRA also procures goods and services through the Crown Commercial Service. Existing contracts and frameworks set up under the previous procurement regulations remain valid until they expire.

Procurement spend from central entities makes up 66% of overall UK public spend.

Over the past 5 years, most of DEFRA's contract awards have been in research and development, construction work and business services.

Relevant CPV codes

73200000 · Research and development consultancy services

Decision makers

Connect with the people behind this procurement.

Job title	Phone number	Work email
Head of Procurement	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Commercial Director	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Procurement Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Category Lead	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Senior Buyer	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov
Contracts Manager	+44 •••• ••••••	••••••••@department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs-defra.gov