Official UK procurement notice
653F_27 Managed Services for Temporary Agency Resources (MSTAR5)
Authority: Leicestershire County Council, trading as ESPO (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionESPO have been conducting preliminary market engagement with the intention of establishing a national framework for the appointment of a Managed Service Provider to manage a supply chain of agencies to fulfil a customer's staffing needs. Services available include Neutral/Master Vendor, Vendor Management System (VMS), Talent Pool Technology and Statement of Works (Project Delivery).
Please note this is not a call for competition, the tender documentation is not yet available.
CPV: Recruitment services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 2 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 11 Apr 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “653F_27 Managed Services for Temporary Agency Resources (MSTAR5)” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Leicestershire County Council, trading as ESPO buys Recruitment services (CPV 7960), and who usually turns up
Leicestershire County Council, trading as ESPO’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Recruitment services (CPV 7960) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in the delivery region.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 66 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid0%
2–30%
4–60%
7+100%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 7960Published estimate£3.3bn
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 154 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid1%
2–34%
4–612%
7+82%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 15 Apr 2026, 10:30 BST
- Last source update
- 28 Aug 2026, 10:29 BST
- Authority reference
653F_27- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-082070- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0682a3Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
15 Apr 2026 → 11 Apr 2027 · 5 dates- Planning notice published190 days ago15 Apr 2026, 10:30 BST
- Latest notice published55 days ago28 Aug 2026, 10:29 BST
- Tender notice expected20 days ago2 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 8 days30 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
Suppliers are required to register and complete the relevant stages on the Central Digital Platform if they wish to participate in or bid for this framework.
Engagement has already been undertaken via a Request for Information (RFI) questionnaire, with details being captured on the EastMidsTenders eProcurement Portal (www.eastmidstenders.org ↗). The deadline for responding to the RFI was 17:00 (5pm) on 08 May 2026 (THIS DEADLINE HAS NOW PASSED).
Suppliers may however still express an interest if they wish as follows (this option remains open up until the Engagement deadline captured in this notice):
(a) Go to www.eastmidstenders.org ↗; (b) Register (if not already registered on ProContract); (c) Search for opportunity '653F_27' (via "View Opportunities" from the EastMidsTenders Portal); d) Express an interest.
In case of any questions or clarifications, these should be submitted to ESPO as a message on the eProcurement Portal.
As a follow on to the RFI, 1-2-1 preliminary market engagement sessions are taking place (with all remaining market engagement now expected to be completed during October). These are limited in number (undertaken via in-person or Teams meeting, invites to be issued out by ESPO for these). Meetings are based on ESPO seeking further information on points raised within the Supplier's RFI already submitted, with these meetings seeking to involve a sample of market leaders, incumbents, SMEs and new entrants to the market, to capture a variety of views and ensure our sample of suppliers reflects the diverse range of MSPs within the staffing solutions market.
For those not selected to participate in 1-2-1 sessions, outcomes of the engagement piece will be published within the Invitation To Tender Document, access to which will be published via the Tender Notice at a later date. Those that did not wish to participate in engagement or are not chosen for 1-2-1 sessions will not be at an unfair disadvantage when bidding for this framework. For the avoidance of doubt those not participating in the engagement piece will not be impacted in being able to participate in any resulting tender exercise, and will not be excluded from tendering.
- Contract startsin 170 days11 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
5 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 15 Apr 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published15 Apr 2026, 10:30 BSTUK2
- Pipeline notice published7 May 2026, 15:12 BSTUK1
- Status changed to planned7 May 2026, 15:12 BST
- Preliminary market engagement notice published28 Jul 2026, 14:04 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published28 Aug 2026, 10:29 BSTUK2
Published amendments (2)
Extension to the Engagement deadline as market engagement is now expected to be completed in August (not July as originally estimated). Please note that the deadline for RFI responses has now passed, meaning new responses (of the RFI) can no longer be considered as part of this market engagement exercise (with all remaining activity focusing on those responses already received).
Extension to the Engagement deadline as market engagement is now expected to be completed in October (not August as originally estimated). Please note that the deadline for RFI responses has passed, meaning new responses (of the RFI) can no longer be considered as part of this market engagement exercise (with all remaining activity focusing on those responses already received).
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-04: 1 release · 15 Apr 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender