The Office for National Statistics ('ONS') had a requirement to procure Services related to COVID-19. ONS was commissioned in April 2020 to conduct the COVID-19 Infection Survey, collecting the data which informs HMG's policies and operational interventions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. CIS is a repeated cross-sectional household survey with additional serial sampling and longitudinal follow-up, which provides an estimate of the proportion and number of people living in private households who would have had COVID-19 in the last week based on trend modelling. The study is led by DHSC and ONS and draws on the world leading scientific expertise of the University of Oxford. CIS is the flagship surveillance study and the key source of COVID-19 infection data, incidence and antibody prevalence in UK communities.

ONS works with key stakeholder partners; PHE, PHS, PHW, the Joint Biosecurity Centre, Ministers, SAGE, and the wider UK Test & Trace programmes to inform required policy and operational interventions.

The Authority required a Provider as an Integrator to supply and manage an integrated service for the CIS to households in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to be made up of the Services listed below:

• Supply and integration of Study Workers to conduct fieldwork and their management, including the provision of trained phlebotomists

• The provision of data and Management Information

• Contact Centre

• Courier, Logistics and Warehousing