Official UK procurement notice
South Midlands Connect to Work Programme (West Northants area)
Authority: West Northamptonshire Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionWest Northamptonshire Council (WNC) sought experienced delivery partners to implement the South Midlands Connect to Work Programme in West Northamptonshire.
Information on the Connect to Work Grant Guidance for England can be found here - www.gov.uk/government/publicati… ↗
Connect to Work is a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) initiative supporting people with disabilities or long-term health conditions to find and sustain employment. It forms part of the UK Government’s Get Britain Working strategy to reduce economic inactivity and promote inclusive growth.
The Connect to Work programme aims to support 1565 economically inactive residents in West Northamptonshire over the next five years by delivering personalised support, including employability training, confidence building, and workplace adjustment advice, increasing awareness and access to local job opportunities, identifying and addressing barriers to employment for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions, reducing economic inactivity and reliance on other services through sustained employment, promoting diversity and inclusion among local employers and working collaboratively with other South Midlands local authorities.
This funding is allocated to the South Midlands Partnership region. WNC is the accountable body for Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, North Northamptonshire, and West Northamptonshire. This tender relates specifically to West Northamptonshire.
CPV: Education and training services · Health and social work services · Job search services · Other community, social and personal services · Recruitment services · Services furnished by business, professional and specialist organisations · Training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedWhat 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).
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality: Scoring criteria is detailed within the Tender documents.
- Social Value: Scoring criteria is detailed within the Tender documents.
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
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 12 Dec 2025, 15:08 GMT
- Last source update
- 29 Apr 2026, 11:37 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 25 Feb 2026
- Authority reference
WNC00000569- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-082577- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f50eFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 23 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
12 Dec 2025 → 29 Apr 2026 · 7 dates- Tender notice published308 days ago12 Dec 2025, 15:08 GMT
- Submission deadline266 days ago23 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by233 days ago25 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent233 days ago26 Feb 2026
- Standstill ends220 days ago10 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts199 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published170 days ago29 Apr 2026, 11:37 BST
Notice history
6 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 Dec 2025- Tender notice published12 Dec 2025, 15:08 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published26 Feb 2026, 17:39 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete26 Feb 2026, 17:39 GMT
- Contract award notice published2 Mar 2026, 10:31 GMTUK6
- Contract signature expected31 Mar 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published29 Apr 2026, 11:37 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-12: 1 release · 12 Dec 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACORN TRAINING LTDSME1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2030 | £1,422,033 | 26 Feb 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Agreement for Services in Relation to Funding from the Department for Work and Pensions for the "Connect to Work" Programme · ACORN TRAINING LTDSME
- Signed
- 21 Apr 2026
- Value
- £1,422,033
- Period
- 21 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2030
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2final-stage tenders · 3 at stage one | 2 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Acorn Training LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender