Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice

Published 16 Oct 2025, 15:43 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Connect to Work - Individual Placement Support Provider

Official notice

Authority: Stoke-on-Trent City Council (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdConcessionLight touch regimeSME suitableVCSE suitable

Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79)Health & Social Care (85) Delivery: West Midlands (UKG23)

Concession value (operator's revenue)£2,777,619operator revenue, not the authority's budget

Submissions closed 27 Nov 2025awarded 16 Jan 2026

Awarded to The Growth Company Limited

Contract term 5 yrsends 14 Dec 2030 · starts 15 Dec 2025

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Stoke on Trent City Council is seeking to appoint and Individual Placement Support provider as part of the Connect To Work programme. The appointed provider will help to establish a pathway back in to employment and help to sustain existing employment. Funded by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), this programme aims to support individuals with complex barriers to employment through tailored, person-centred interventions. Staffordshire County Council is acting as the accountable body for this programme, working in close collaboration with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

CPV: Counselling services · Job search services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1Awarded 5 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£2,777,619

Contract period: 15 Dec 2025 – 14 Dec 2030 (5 yrs)Value: £2,777,619 exc. VAT · £3,333,143 inc. VAT

Delivery: West MidlandsEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

79611000 Job search services 85312320 Counselling services

Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1

Economic & financial standing
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation.
Capacity conditions are included within the tender questionnaire
Technical ability conditions of participation.
Equivalent qualifications and standards are included within the tender questionnaire.

What it takes to win
i
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 more

How bids were scored

Quality: 75%Price: 25%

Published sub-criteria (10)

Service Delivery Model: 20%
Implementation Plan: 10%
Supported Employment Experience: 10%
Responsible Procurement: 10%
Performance Management: 5%
Financial Management: 5%
Stakeholder Engagement - Identifying Participants: 5%
Stakeholder Engagement - Employers: 5%
Stakeholder Engagement - Supporting Organisations: 5%
Price: 25%

Published award criteria (10)

Price
Service Delivery Model
Implementation Plan
Supported Employment Experience
Responsible Procurement
Performance Management
Financial Management
Stakeholder Engagement - Identifying Participants
Stakeholder Engagement - Employers
Stakeholder Engagement - Supporting Organisations

Conditions of participation1

Economic & financial standing
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation.
Capacity conditions are included within the tender questionnaire
Technical ability conditions of participation.
Equivalent qualifications and standards are included within the tender questionnaire.

What this means for your bid

Price carries 25 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

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: ConcessionLight 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: 16 Oct 2025, 15:43 BST
Last source update: 18 Feb 2026, 13:08 GMT
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 12 Dec 2025
Authority reference: CDO/2025/253
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-068892
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV): Counselling servicesJob search services
Delivery area: West Midlands (UKG23)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05ce32 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract

Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list

Submission deadline: 27 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/Index ↗

Timeline

16 Oct 2025 → 18 Feb 2026 · 9 dates

Planning notice published369 days ago
16 Oct 2025, 15:43 BST
Next notice expected362 days ago
22 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
Tender notice published357 days ago
28 Oct 2025, 11:37 GMT
Submission deadline327 days ago
27 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
Award decision expected by311 days ago
12 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
Contract starts309 days ago
15 Dec 2025
Assessment summaries sent277 days ago
16 Jan 2026
Standstill ends265 days ago
27 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
Latest notice published244 days ago
18 Feb 2026, 13:08 GMT

Notice history

9 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 16 Oct 2025

Planned procurement notice published
16 Oct 2025, 15:43 BST
UK3
Tender notice published
28 Oct 2025, 11:37 GMT
UK4
Status changed to active
28 Oct 2025, 11:37 GMT
Deadline moved to 27 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
28 Oct 2025, 11:37 GMT
+7 days · was 20 Nov 2025, 16:00 GMT
Tender notice published
29 Oct 2025, 09:47 GMT
UK4
Contract award notice published
16 Jan 2026, 12:31 GMT
UK6
Status changed to complete
16 Jan 2026, 12:31 GMT
Contract signature expected
28 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
scheduled
Contract details notice published
18 Feb 2026, 13:08 GMT
UK7

Routine re-releases (5)

2025-10: 2 releases · 16 Oct 2025, 28 Oct 2025

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £2,222,0951 award exc. VAT

Bids received 99 from SMEs

Contracts signed 1latest 17 Feb 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
The Growth Company LimitedVCSE28 Jan 2026 – 1 Mar 2030	£2,222,095	16 Jan 2026	Awarded

Contracts

Connect to Work - Individual Placement Support Provider · The Growth Company LimitedVCSE
Signed
17 Feb 2026
Value
£2,222,095
Period
18 Feb 2026 – 31 Mar 2030
Status
active
No agreed KPIs: No KPIs set

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
9final-stage tenders · 12 at stage one	9	0	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Stoke on Trent City Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PDQZ-1442-RZTZ Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands, ST4 1HHContact name, email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

THE GROWTH COMPANY LIMITEDAwarded supplierGB-COH: 02443911GB-PPON: PLRD-7665-DLPV Lee House, Manchester, North West, M1 5JWContact email

Official documents & specifications (6)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Signed contract contractSigned contractPDF

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender18 Feb 2026, 13:08 GMT
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender16 Jan 2026, 12:31 GMT
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender29 Oct 2025, 09:47 GMT
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender28 Oct 2025, 11:37 GMT
Planned procurement notice planningPlanned procurement noticeUK3Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender16 Oct 2025, 15:43 BST