Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 6 Oct 2026, 16:11 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Contract for a Befriending Network

Authority: Hartlepool Borough Council (Local council)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Published estimate£21,000≈ £7k / year · £21,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 5 Nov 202614:00 GMT · 29d 21h left
Contract term 3 yrsup to 4 yrs with extensions · starts 1 Jan 2027
Bids per lot · this authority 7division 85 · n=4 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Hartlepool Borough Council has previously commissioned a Befriending Network aimed at reducing social isolation of older people within Hartlepool. Following a service review, we are looking to expand this offer to socially excluded working aged people aged 18 + as well as older people.

We would like the successful Provider to develop a Befriending Network that will work with people for a specified amount of time to increase confidence and resilience, reduce social isolation and increase social contact by matching people with volunteer Befrienders.

CPV: Health and social work services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1Renewal 3 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£21,000
Contract period: 1 Jan 2027 — 31 Dec 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 4 yrs with extensionsEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligibleDelivery: North EastTurnover guideline: ~£13,987/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£21,000 exc. VAT · £21,000 inc. VAT
Extensions
Dependant upon satisfactory performance and funding availability.
85000000 Health and social work services

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

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 are scored

100% Quality

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 Hartlepool Borough Council buys Health and social work services (CPV 85) — and who usually turns up

Hartlepool Borough 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) →

1

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.

This authority

Hartlepool Borough Council

contract notices in 36 months: 17 in division 85 (5 without competition) · 33 in all categories (9 without competition · 1 route not published)

Bids per lot
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: 4 lots. 2 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 7.5) and 2 from older notices (bids received, middle 5).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

7division 85 · 36m · n=4 lots
Single-bid lots
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: 4 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

25%division 85 · 36m · n=4 lots
Award vs estimate
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 buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 3 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimateall categories · 24m · n=3 pairs
Deadline → award date
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 buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 3 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

35dall categories · 36m · n=3 notices
Notice updates
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: 130 notices.

Last 24 months.

0all categories · 24m · n=130 notices
Awarded without competition
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: 17 notices.

Last 36 months.

29%division 85 · 36m · n=17 notices
Bids per lot moderate · n=4
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 4 lots on 4 contested notices · division 85, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 25%
  • 2–3 0%
  • 4–6 25%
  • 7+ 50%

Middle value 7 · 4 lots on 4 contested notices · division 85.

How procedures are run robust · n=17
i

Which procedures buyers here use.

Notices by the procedure they declare: open, selective, limited or direct. Open and selective are competitions; limited and direct are not.

Based on 17 notices · division 85, last 36 months.

  • Open 71%
  • Selective 0%
  • Limited 29%
  • Direct 0%

17 notices · division 85. Open and selective are competed (they feed the bid and price figures above); limited and direct are not; notices publishing no route are outside all four.

The market · delivery region

North East England · Health and social work services (CPV 85)

contract notices delivered in North East England in 36 months: 1,939 in division 85 (380 competed, 214 route not published)

Bids per lot
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 region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 85), last 36 months: 269 lots. 127 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3) and 142 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

3division 85 · 36m · n=269 lots
Single-bid lots
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: 269 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

26%division 85 · 36m · n=269 lots
Award vs estimate
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.

at estimatedivision 85 · 36m · n=126 pairs
Deadline → award date
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: 125 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

40ddivision 85 · 36m · n=125 notices
SME bidders
i

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: 167 lots.

Last 36 months.

70%division 85 · 36m · n=167 lots
Winners based in the region
i

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: 2,466 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

91%division 85 · 36m · n=2,466 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=269
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 269 lots on 222 contested notices · division 85, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 26%
  • 2–3 34%
  • 4–6 20%
  • 7+ 20%

Middle value 3 · 269 lots on 222 contested notices · division 85.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=126
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 126 lot pairs · division 85, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 31%
  • Within ±2% 63%
  • Above estimate 6%

126 lot pairs · division 85.

moderate · n=3
i

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 3 lots, so only the direction is shown, not a pound figure.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

The middle award in Hartlepool Borough Council (all categories, n=3 pairs) lands at estimate. Too few pairs to turn into a pound figure with any confidence — read the percentage as a rough direction, not this notice’s estimate converted.
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
Standard
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
6 Oct 2026, 16:11 BST
Last source update
6 Oct 2026, 16:11 BST
Authority reference
OPEN-PR-06102026155323853
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Health and social work services
Delivery area
North East (UKC11)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0781fc Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via OPEN-UK
Submission portal named on this notice: OPEN-UK
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Tender submission deadline
5 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
—
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Published estimate £21,000 excludes VAT (£21,000 including VAT).

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedearlier today
    6 Oct 2026, 16:11 BST
  2. Submission deadlinein 30 days
    5 Nov 2026, 14:00 GMT
  3. Contract startsin 86 days
    1 Jan 2027, 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

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    6 Oct 2026, 16:11 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Hartlepool Borough Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PTCQ-5564-CHJP Civic Centre, Victoria Road, Hartlepool, North East, TS24 8AY [email protected]

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender