Official UK procurement notice
Appropriate Adult Service. — UK public procurement notice
Authority: Durham County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDurham County Council has a requirement for an Appropriate Adult Service. An Appropriate Adult (AA) service is a safeguarding service used in the criminal justice system to protect the rights and welfare of vulnerable people when they are involved with the police. It exists because some people may not fully understand police procedures or be able to communicate effectively without support.
The Service is delivered from a central custody suite in Spennymoor, County Durham, however on occasions Appropriate Adults may be required to attend alternative locations when a voluntary attendance interview is undertaken.
The AA service currently assists custody for vulnerable adults and children on a call out basis as and when required. For adults this service is 24/7 and for children this is out of hours including bank holidays.
CPV: Health and social work services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Lot 1RenewalPublished value£435,287
- Value
- £435,287 exc. VAT · £522,344 inc. VAT
- Extensions
At the Council's discretion, should the Council acquire further funding, including from different sources, additional services may be required and may differ to that detailed in the Specification but will fall under the remit or compliment delivery of an Appropriate Adult service. The Council reserves the right to modify the contract specification if new legislation and/or guidance regarding Appropriate Adults is more…
published by the Government and or Governing Bodies. · The contract will include the option to extend for two further period of up to 12 months each, subject to performance, funding and commissioner approval.
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).
Contract will be awarded using an evaluation weighting of 10% social value and 90% quality, subject to all essential criteria being met.
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Durham County Council buys Health and social work services (CPV 85) — and who usually turns up
Durham County Council’s own published record, next to the North East 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
Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.
Durham County Council
contract notices in 36 months: 51 in division 85 (7 without competition · 13 route not published) · 156 in all categories (24 without competition · 40 route not published)
i
How many companies usually bid for work like this.
Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 24 lots. 12 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3.5) and 12 from older notices (bids received, middle 4.5).
Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.
i
How often only one company bid.
Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 24 lots.
High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.
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Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.
Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 10 pairs.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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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.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 8 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
i
How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.
Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 399 notices.
i
How often this buyer awards without a competition.
Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.
Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 38 notices.
North East England · Health and social work services (CPV 85)
contract notices delivered in North East England in 36 months: 1,926 in division 85 (379 competed, 211 route not published)
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How many companies usually bid for work like this.
Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 265 lots. 124 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3) and 141 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).
Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.
i
How often only one company bid.
Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.
Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 265 lots.
High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.
i
Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.
Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.
Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 126 pairs.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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.
Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 122 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
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How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.
SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.
Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 164 lots.
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How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.
Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.
Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 2,351 awards.
Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.
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Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.
We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.
Based on this buyer’s own usual movement over 10 lots (division 85), applied to the £435,287 estimate on this notice.
A benchmark, not a price to bid.
Who you are likely to meet i
Who you may be up against.
Suppliers on this buyer’s earlier similar contracts, and suppliers whose record fits this tender.
A guess from the record. Buyers do not publish who is bidding.
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Who you may be up against.
Suppliers on this buyer’s earlier similar contracts, and suppliers whose record fits this tender.
A guess from the record. Buyers do not publish who is bidding.
Suppliers on this authority’s earlier similar contracts, then suppliers with a matching track record — from published award history, not a bid list
Suppliers with a similar track record — and how they price i
Suppliers with a similar track record, and how they price.
Suppliers matched on wins in this category, history with this buyer, location and size. Their award vs estimate is from their own past wins.
A guess from the record, not a bidder list.
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Suppliers with a similar track record, and how they price.
Suppliers matched on wins in this category, history with this buyer, location and size. Their award vs estimate is from their own past wins.
A guess from the record, not a bidder list.
| Supplier | Evidence | Last award | Their award vs estimate | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHAFTESBURY CARE GRP Ltd SME | 6 class wins · 6 lots for this buyer | 14 months ago | no comparable pairs | 78% |
| TAMARIS HEALTHCARE (ENGLAND) LIMITED SME | 8 class wins · 7 lots for this buyer | 4 months ago | no comparable pairs | 76% |
| MARTON CARE HOMES LTD | 12 class wins · 4 lots for this buyer | 6 months ago | no comparable pairs | 76% |
| THE CARE AND SUPPORT GROUP LTD SME | 9 class wins · 4 lots for this buyer | 2 months ago | no comparable pairs | 75% |
| AKARI CARE LIMITED SME | 15 class wins · 6 lots for this buyer | 3 months ago | no comparable pairs | 74% |
Matched by the nightly worker on class wins, buyer history, delivery geography, scale and notice text; relevance is a 0–100% heuristic score, not a probability of bidding. “Their award vs estimate” is that supplier’s median on its own comparable single-supplier wins. Nobody here is known to be bidding.
Coverage and what to read with care
- Each tile 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 columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
- Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
- “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. 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- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 22 Sept 2026, 15:58 BST
- Last source update
- 22 Sept 2026, 15:58 BST
- Authority reference
003756/ OPEN 20261557- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06966eFind a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via OPEN-UK- Expression of interest (EOI)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 20 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 12 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
Timeline
7 published dates · Europe/London- Planning notice published134 days ago12 May 2026, 10:34 BST
- Market engagement120 days ago26 May 2026, 23:59 BSTA preliminary market engagement questionnaire has been published at www.open.org-uk ↗ and documents can be accessed free of charge using reference OPEN20261027
- Next notice expected114 days ago1 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published1 day ago22 Sept 2026, 15:58 BST
- Clarification questions byin 19 days12 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadlinein 27 days20 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract startsin 68 days1 Dec 2026, 00:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
6 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 May 2026- Tender notice published22 Sept 2026, 15:58 BSTUK4
- Published value published: £435,28722 Sept 2026, 15:58 BST
- Status changed to active22 Sept 2026, 15:58 BST
- Procurement method changed22 Sept 2026, 15:58 BST
- Deadline published: 20 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST22 Sept 2026, 15:58 BST
- Preliminary market engagement notice published12 May 2026, 10:34 BSTUK2
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender