Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what changes have been made to his Department’s contractual arrangements for monitoring particulate matter, PM2.5 and PM10, on the Automatic Urban and Rural Monitoring Network since 1 January 2021; and on what dates those changes were made.

The awarding of Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) monitoring contracts are undertaken by the Environment Agency on behalf of Defra. Both PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 measurements form part of the AURN and the Automatic London Network. These contracts were competitively retendered, together with the ‘Central Management and Co-Ordination Unit’ and ‘Quality Assurance and Quality Control roles’ as a single tender and awarded as separate lots on 01/10/2021 for three years.

Details of the organisations awarded are provided below and can be obtained from the Government’s Contracts Finder at Search results - Contracts Finder.

1. Lot 1 Bureau Veritas UK Ltd - Automatic Urban and Rural Network Management (Central Management and Co-Ordination Unit (CMCU)) – Management of National AURN sites (Lot 1)
2. Lot 2 - Ricardo AEA Ltd - Automatic Urban and Rural Network Management (AURN) Lot 2 Quality Assurance and Quality Control of National AURN sites (QAQC of LOT 1 sites)
3. Lot 3 - Bureau Veritas UK Ltd - Automatic London Network (ALN) Central Management and Co-Ordination Unit (CMCU) for London and South East affiliated sites (Lot 3)
4. Lot 4 - National Physical Laboratory - Automatic Urban and Rural Network Management (Lot 4 - AURN - Quality Assurance and Quality Control of 16 ALN sites (QAQC of LOT 3 sites)
5. Lot 5 - Ricardo AEA Ltd - Lot 5 Ozone Audits only (6 monthly audit work)