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Published 15 Sept 2026, 16:48 BST

Official UK procurement notice

003325 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for a Pensions Administration System

Authority: Durham County Council (Local council)

GoodsAbove threshold
Sectors: Software Packages & ERP (48) Delivery: North East (UKC14)
Published estimate £1,600,000≈ £400k / year · £1,920,000 inc. VAT
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 4 yrsup to 8 yrs with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2028

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Durham County Council Pension Fund (the Fund) is exploring the market for a modern, secure and fully integrated Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administration solution to support the delivery of pension services to members and participating employers.

The Fund is seeking to understand the capabilities currently available within the market and how technology can support the administration of the LGPS, improve member and employer engagement, increase automation, enhance data quality and ensure ongoing compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements.

This Preliminary Market Engagement exercise is intended to inform the Fund's future procurement strategy and help shape detailed requirements for any subsequent procurement exercise. Suppliers are invited to provide information on their solutions, implementation approaches, innovation, product roadmaps and experience within the LGPS sector.

Interested providers can access the written response questions, free of charge, by registering on the Open Portal at www.open-uk.org

The deadline for completed responses is Friday 2nd October 2026 at 12 noon.

CPV: Industry specific software package

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Lot 1PlannedRenewal 4 yrs
Contract period: 1 Apr 2028 — 31 Mar 2032 (4 yrs) · up to 8 yrs with extensionsDelivery: North East
Extensions
Extension options published
48100000 Industry specific software package

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
15 Sept 2026, 16:48 BST
Last source update
15 Sept 2026, 16:48 BST
Authority reference
OPEN20261884
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Industry specific software package
Delivery area
North East (UKC14)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06fa8a

How it was run

Submission deadline
—

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice published5 days ago
    15 Sept 2026, 16:48 BST
  2. Market engagementin 12 days
    2 Oct 2026, 23:59 BSTInterested providers can access the written response questions, free of charge, by registering on the Open Portal at www.open-uk.org ↗ Deadline for written submissions, via the Open Portal, is Friday 2nd October 2026 at 12 noon.
  3. Contract starts
    1 Apr 2028, 00:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    15 Sept 2026, 16:48 BSTUK2

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Durham County Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PMPB-8772-VYWM Corten House, Dunholme Close, Durham, North East, DH1 5WB
View buyer profile →

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure