Official UK procurement notice
Always-on’ partnership with UCAS 26/27
Authority: NHS England (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNHS England intends to award a 12 month contract to UCAS for the delivery of targeted marketing and recruitment support services to increase awareness of NHS careers and encourage applications and acceptances to nursing and allied health profession (AHP) degree programmes for the 2026/27 recruitment cycle. The contract includes targeted communications, management of NHS health careers webpages, audience segmentation, admissions data insights, and campaign reporting. The award is being made via a Direct Award under Schedule 5, Paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023, as UCAS is uniquely placed to deliver these services through its national higher education admissions platform and is the only supplier with direct access to higher education applicant data.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Awarded
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 8 Aug 2026, 16:28 BST
- Last source update
- 8 Aug 2026, 17:11 BST
- Authority reference
C463854- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-075491- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06df8fFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
- Published justification
The direct award is permitted under Schedule 5, Paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023, as both statutory conditions applicable to the contract have been met,
- Risks
Not applicable.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
8 Aug 2026 → 19 Aug 2026 · 2 dates- Notice published74 days ago8 Aug 2026, 17:11 BST
- Standstill ends63 days ago19 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 Aug 2026- Transparency notice published8 Aug 2026, 16:28 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published8 Aug 2026, 17:11 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected20 Aug 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCAS Media LtdSME20 Aug 2026 – 19 Aug 2027 | £533,409 | 6 Aug 2026standstill to 19 Aug 2026 | Standstill |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- UCAS Media LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender