Key Points
- The London Borough of Ealing has awarded Preston-based consultants XAIS-PTS a £33m contract for road condition monitoring services under Lot 2 of its Highways and Transport Services Framework.
- The contract is valued at £33m excluding VAT and £39.6m including VAT, and was signed on 1 April to run until 31 March 2030.find-tender.
- The framework is open to Ealing and, through access agreements, all London local authorities and the City of London Corporation.
- Lot 2 covers annual inspections of footways and carriageways, with condition ratings based on 2024 data as the baseline.
- The work will support annual and four-year maintenance programmes and a highways infrastructure asset management strategy.
- Services will be delivered through a call-off arrangement, and the framework can award contracts with or without competition.
- Appointed consultants must provide a 2% volume discount, or rebate, on total fees generated across participating authorities each financial year, payable to Ealing.
Ealing (West London News) July 23, 2026 has confirmed the appointment of XAIS-PTS to Lot 2 of its Highways and Transport Services Framework, a package focused on road condition monitoring across the borough. The contract is part of a wider four-lot framework designed to provide highways and transport consultancy support to the council and, via access agreements, other London authorities. As reported in the tender notice, the framework is structured to allow work to be commissioned flexibly as and when required.
How much is the contract worth?
The Lot 2 contract is worth £33m excluding VAT and £39.6m including VAT. The wider Ealing framework has been described by trade coverage as a large package of highways and transport services, with Lot 2 sitting alongside structure inspections, general engineering and flood management.
The contract award notice shows the framework award notice was published on 2 March 2026, while the tender notice was originally published on 31 July 2025.find-tender.
Why does the framework matter to London authorities?
The framework is available not only to Ealing but also to other London local government authorities through access agreements, which broadens its potential use beyond a single borough.
That means the same contract structure can support a wider pool of councils needing highways expertise, condition surveys and related consultancy.
The tender notice says all lots are delivered through call-off arrangements, giving participating authorities a flexible procurement route.
What will XAIS-PTS do under Lot 2?
Under Lot 2, XAIS-PTS will carry out annual inspections of footways and carriageways and provide condition ratings using 2024 data as the baseline.
The survey results will feed into annual and four-year programmes for structural maintenance. The firm will also develop a highways infrastructure asset management strategy to help Ealing plan and prioritise future works.
Who else is involved in the wider framework?
Trade reporting says Lot 2 is the only lot with a single supplier, while Lot 3 has five appointed suppliers and Lot 4 has two.
The list published by Highways Magazine names the Lot 2 supplier as XAIS-PTS, while Project Centre appears across multiple lots.
The framework as a whole covers bridge inspections, condition surveys, general engineering and flood management.find-tender.
How will the contract be delivered?
The contract will be delivered through a call-off arrangement, meaning commissions can be made on a flexible basis instead of work being fixed in advance.
The framework also permits contracts to be awarded either with or without competition, depending on the lot and the specific call-off.
Ealing has also built in a reporting mechanism, with borough satisfaction measured as a key performance indicator every six months.
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What did the tender documents say?
The Find a Tender notice states that Ealing’s framework will provide highways and transport-related consultancy support to the London Borough of Ealing and other interested London local authorities via access agreement.
It also confirms the four lots, the use of call-off delivery, and the publication dates for the tender and award notices. Highways Magazine’s report adds that Lot 2’s estimated value is £39.6m and that the inspections will use 2024 as the baseline for ratings.find-tender.
Background of the development
Ealing has been building a broader highways and transport consultancy framework to cover multiple service areas rather than commissioning each need separately.
The framework sits within a wider local authority procurement model that lets participating London councils draw on the same supplier base through access agreements.
In practical terms, Lot 2 is the part focused specifically on road condition monitoring, which helps councils assess the state of carriageways and footways before planning maintenance.
Prediction
For Ealing residents and businesses, the immediate effect is likely to be more structured planning of road maintenance rather than reactive repairs alone.
For other London authorities using the framework, the contract may offer a quicker route to obtain condition surveys and asset management support without setting up separate procurement exercises.
Over time, that could mean more consistent monitoring of roads and footways, but the actual benefit will depend on how often authorities use the framework and how quickly they act on the survey findings.
