Official UK procurement notice
All Age Carers Service — UK public procurement notice
Authority: Cheshire West and Chester Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionUnpaid Carers in Cheshire West and Chester
Unpaid carers make a vital contribution to families, communities and the wider health and care system across Cheshire West and Chester. Census 2021 recorded 32,638 unpaid carers aged five and over, representing 9.5% of the borough's population, which is higher than the England average of 8.9%. Around 10,000 carers provide more than 50 hours of care each week, highlighting the significant contribution unpaid carers make to supporting people to remain independent and reducing demand on formal health and care services.
Demographic Profile
Unpaid carers in Cheshire West and Chester are a diverse population with varying needs and experiences. Census data shows that carers are more likely to be aged 50 and over, with women accounting for around 59% of carers. More than half of carers aged 16+ are in employment, balancing caring responsibilities alongside work, while around 28% identify as disabled themselves. Caring is experienced across all communities and age groups, including young carers, working-age adults and older carers, although higher levels of caring and caring intensity are evident in some of the borough's more deprived communities. The caring population is also expected to grow as the population ages and demand for informal care increases.
Current Unpaid Carer Services
Cheshire West and Chester council currently commissions separate services for adult carers, parent carers and young carers, alongside a wider network of statutory, voluntary, community and health services that support unpaid carers. As of June 2026, over 9,600 adult carers were registered with the commissioned adult carers service and 1,695 young carers were registered with the commissioned young carers service. Support is delivered through a range of services including information and advice, carer identification, assessments, wellbeing support, carers' breaks, peer support, training, community-based provision and specialist support. The current model also works closely with local partners to help carers access wider support available across the health, care and voluntary sector.
Service Aims
The Council is seeking a community-led, preventative and inclusive All-Age Carers Service that supports carers of all ages to be recognised, valued and supported.
The service will focus on:
• Earlier identification and support for carers.
• Improving wellbeing, resilience and independence.
• Empowering carers through information, advice and support.
• Strengthening community and peer support networks.
• Delivering accessible support through digital, community and face-to-face approaches.
• Working collaboratively with partners to improve outcomes for carers.
Outcomes
The service will help ensure that:
• Unpaid carers are recognised, valued and supported.
• Earlier access to information, advice and support enables carers to understand their rights and available options.
• Carers are empowered to navigate services and make informed choices.
• Health, wellbeing and quality of life are improved or maintained.
• Loneliness and social isolation are reduced through stronger community and peer connections.
• Carers are better able to balance caring responsibilities with other aspects of their lives
• Improved coordination across services, resulting in more seamless and person-centred support.
• Prevention and community-based support help reduce escalating need and reliance on crisis interventions.
High-Level Contract Information
The Council is seeking a provider to deliver a single integrated All-Age Carers Service across Cheshire West and Chester.
The service is expected to provide:
• A single point of access for carers.
• Information, advice, guidance and support.
• Early identification, outreach and engagement.
• Support to access carers' rights, assessments and available services.
• Wellbeing support, peer support and opportunities for breaks from caring.
• A blended digital, community-based and face-to-face offer.
• Strong partnership working across social care, education, health, community and voluntary sector organisations.
• Coordination of support pathways, community assets and specialist provision.
• A focus on co-production, continuous improvement and measurable outcomes.
Market Engagement Focus
We are keen to explore approaches that:
• Build on community strengths, local assets and support networks.
• Proactively identify and reach carers.
• Demonstrate strong collaborative partnership working across the area.
• Provide digitally enabled, accessible and inclusive support.
• Deliver innovative, flexible and responsive services.
• Demonstrate measurable impact and improved outcomes for carers of all ages.
• Provide inclusive and preventative support that reflects the diverse needs, circumstances and caring roles of unpaid carers.
• Delivery model, route to market and pricing
CPV: Health and social work services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
- Extensions
- Extension options published
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Cheshire West and Chester Council buys Health and social work services (CPV 85) — and who usually turns up
Cheshire West and Chester Council’s own published record, next to the North West England market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Health and social work services (CPV 85) →
How the contest usually goes
This buyer’s published record next to the market where the work is delivered — contested contracts only, counted per lot
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 North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North West 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 54 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.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
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% / 19%
2–37% / 37%
4–650% / 26%
7+43% / 18%
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.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate17% / 26%
Within ±2%58% / 65%
Above estimate25% / 9%
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 #1Published estimate£3,150,000
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 480 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid19%
2–337%
4–626%
7+18%
i
Where the winning 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 guide, 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 | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ||||
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ||||
Coverage and what to read with care
- Each figure explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two sides are never blended. A lot’s own market is read at its delivery region where the lot names one; where it names several, or none that can be resolved, the chart falls back to the UK-wide record for the same category and says so under the bar. An empty cell means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
- When we call out a difference. A buyer figure is only flagged against the market when the sample is large enough that the gap is unlikely to be chance; at most two callouts appear, always phrased as a comparison with both numbers and the sample size.
- Coverage (re-measured 5 Oct on the live record, 94,497 awarded procedures of the last three years). 51 % publish a bid count and 72 % a delivery region, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice names none, labelled. Of the 17,687 award-vs-estimate pairs, 34 % sit exactly on the estimate — the buyer published the award at the figure it advertised. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden, and a distribution is not drawn as percentages below ten observations.
- “Match”, text similarity, the expected-bid figure and the distribution drawn beneath it are model outputs, not published facts or win probabilities. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
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
- 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
- 8 Oct 2026, 16:41 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Oct 2026, 16:41 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-095399- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07841bFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
4 published dates · Europe/London- Planning notice publishedearlier today8 Oct 2026, 15:58 BST
- Market engagementin 357 days1 Oct 2027, 00:59 BSTThere are 2 face to face events - potential bidders need only attend one. These will be held 2nd November in Chester and 30th November in Northwich. To register a place and obtain further timings and details please email - [email protected] The format of the event will include table-based activities designed to encourage joint discussion and the sharing of ideas relating to the service aims and intended outcomes. We will also provide a feedback survey for attendees who may wish to share ideas they did not have the opportunity to raise during the event, express an interest in a follow-up conversation, or submit any additional questions. The activities will provide opportunities for providers to share best practice, discuss service models and lessons learned, as well as network with other organisations and partners. We are keen to explore approaches that: • Build on community strengths, local assets and support networks. • Proactively identify and reach carers. • Demonstrate strong collaborative partnership working across the area. • Provide digitally enabled, accessible and inclusive support. • Deliver innovative, flexible and responsive services. • Demonstrate measurable impact and improved outcomes for carers of all ages. • Provide inclusive and preventative support that reflects the diverse needs, circumstances and caring roles of unpaid carers. • Delivery model, route to market and pricing
- Tender notice expected1 Dec 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts1 Jul 2028
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
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 Oct 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published8 Oct 2026, 16:41 BSTUK2
- Published value updated8 Oct 2026, 16:41 BSTwas £3,150,000
- Pipeline notice published8 Oct 2026, 15:58 BSTUK1
- First planning notice published8 Oct 2026, 15:58 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender