Official UK procurement notice
Residential and Nursing Care Framework
Authority: Southend-on-Sea City Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSouthend-on-Sea City Council is preparing to procure a new Residential and Nursing Care Framework to support adults with a range of care and support needs, including older people, people living with dementia, adults with learning disabilities, people with mental health needs and individuals requiring nursing care.
The Council is seeking to develop a more transparent, consistent and sustainable approach to residential and nursing care, with a stronger relationship between individuals' assessed needs, the complexity of support required, provider capabilities and the fees paid for care.
The proposed framework will support improved placement decision-making, greater consistency in funding arrangements and a stronger understanding of the capacity and capabilities available within the local care market.
The Council currently intends to establish a framework under the light-touch provisions of the Procurement Act 2023, with an estimated value of £296 million over the proposed maximum eight-year period. The proposed initial term is five years, with options to extend for up to three additional years in 12-month increments. The final procurement structure remains subject to confirmation.
The formal Invitation to Tender and associated tender notice are expected to be published by the end of 2026.
Before commencing procurement, the Council wishes to engage with providers to test its proposed approach and ensure that the future framework reflects the needs of residents, the capabilities of the market and the practical considerations of delivering sustainable, high-quality care.
CPV: Residential nursing care services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 5 yrs · up to 8 yrs from 1 Oct 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).
- “Residential and Nursing Care Framework” 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 Southend-on-Sea City Council buys Miscellaneous health services (CPV 8514), and who usually turns up
Southend-on-Sea City Council’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: Miscellaneous health services (CPV 8514) →
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.
Here, local means registered in East of England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in East of England.
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 60 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.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
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% / 4%
2–30% / 12%
4–60% / 15%
7+100% / 69%
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 8514Published estimate£296m
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 118 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid12%
2–37%
4–615%
7+66%
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher's Cottage - SEN TRUST SOUTHENDEarlier contract | Childrens Residential Careended Mar 2026 | — | £427k | Matched as the earlier contract |
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- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- 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
- 5 May 2026, 16:57 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Oct 2026, 13:50 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-097496- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0691daFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
5 May 2026 → 1 Oct 2027 · 5 dates- Planning notice published168 days ago5 May 2026, 16:57 BST
- Latest notice published5 days ago15 Oct 2026, 13:50 BST
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 23 days12 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
The Council will hold two online market engagement sessions via Microsoft Teams.
These sessions will provide an opportunity for providers to understand the proposed framework and contribute to its development. We are particularly interested in views on:
Complexity and needs-based care: How different levels of care and complexity should be defined and how these relate to provider capability.
Fee structures: The proposed relationship between assessed need, care complexity and fee arrangements, including nursing care requirements.
Placement matching: How the Council and providers can improve the matching of individuals to appropriate residential and nursing placements.
Market capacity and sustainability: Current and future challenges, including workforce, specialist provision and increasing complexity of need.
Quality and outcomes: How the framework can promote quality, independence, wellbeing and person-centred support.
Framework operation: The proposed approach to provider participation, placement arrangements and ongoing market engagement.
Planned Engagement Sessions
Market Engagement Event 1: 27th October 2026 from 11-12.30
Market Engagement Event 2: 12th November 2026 from 11-12.30
A further provider workshop may be arranged to explore particular elements of the proposed model following the initial engagement sessions.
Who Should Attend?
We welcome participation from providers based in the Mid and South Essex areas:
- Residential Care Providers
- Nursing Care Providers
- Specialist Care Providers
- Existing Framework Providers
- Providers not currently contracted with the Council who may be interested in future opportunities
- Sector Representative Organisations
Register Your Interest:
Providers interested in attending a market engagement event or receiving updates regarding the forthcoming procurement are encouraged to register their interest by contacting:
- Tender notice expectedin 41 days30 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 345 days1 Oct 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 5 May 2026- Pipeline notice published5 May 2026, 16:57 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published15 Oct 2026, 13:46 BSTUK2
- Published value updated15 Oct 2026, 13:46 BST
- Preliminary market engagement notice published15 Oct 2026, 13:50 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)
Addition of timings to the market engagement events.
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 (3)
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