Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 22 Jan 2026, 09:59 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Day Opportunities · UK public procurement notice

Authority: Cheshire East Council (Local council)

Framework agreementServicesAbove thresholdLight touch regimeSME suitableVCSE suitable
Planned pipeline value£1,400,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Framework period 5 yrsends 31 Mar 2032 · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Cheshire East Council is shaping the future of Day Opportunities for adults

CPV: Health and social work services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
5 yrs from 1 Apr 2027

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 5 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 – 31 Mar 2032 (5 yrs)
Delivery: North WestEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

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
What this means for your bid
  • “Day Opportunities” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How Cheshire East Council buys Health and social work services (CPV 85), and who usually turns up

Cheshire East Council’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Health and social work services (CPV 85) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerCheshire East Council · division 85
The marketHealth and social work services (CPV 85) · North West England
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 1 of 1 known-size awards · market: division 85 · North West England, n=566
1 of 175%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 6 of 10 known-location awards · market: division 85 · North West England, n=688
60%56%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North West England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 14 decided notices · market: division 85 · North West England, n=21
38 days69 days

Half of these awards were announced within 38 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 procurements with awards; rival share unknown · market: division 85 · North West England, n=51
—12%

Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer14 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 85
21% had one bid
The market93 lots with bid counts · division 85 · North West England
3% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid21% / 3%
Buyer: 3 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 93 lots with published bid counts.
2–357% / 12%
Buyer: 8 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 11 of 93 lots with published bid counts.
4–621% / 19%
Buyer: 3 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 18 of 93 lots with published bid counts.
7+0% / 66%
Buyer: 0 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 61 of 93 lots with published bid counts.

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.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.

2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #160 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£1.4m
Expected competition
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 93 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet3% single-bid risk
Past bids on 93 similar lots
1 bid3%
3 of 93 similar past lots received 1 bid (3%).
2–312%
11 of 93 similar past lots received 2–3 (12%).
4–619%
18 of 93 similar past lots received 4–6 (19%).
7+66%
61 of 93 similar past lots received 7+ (66%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 13 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award 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 statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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.

No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.

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.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

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
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
22 Jan 2026, 09:59 GMT
Last source update
22 Jan 2026, 09:59 GMT
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-005605
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Health and social work services
Delivery area
North West (UKD62)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060bd3 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

22 Jan 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 3 dates
  1. Planning notice published271 days ago
    22 Jan 2026, 09:59 GMT
  2. Market engagement227 days ago
    6 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT

    Cheshire East Council Day Opportunities Provider Engagement Event

    Date: Tuesday,10 March 2026

    Time: 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM

    Venue: Macclesfield Town Hall, SK10 1EA

    About the Event

    Cheshire East Council is shaping the future of Day Opportunities for adults.

    This event is an opportunity for providers to:

    • Share your experiences and insights
    • Help us understand what works well and what could be improved
    • Contribute to designing day opportunities services that truly meet the needs and aspirations of the people we support

    Your input will play a key role in ensuring that future services are person-centred, sustainable, and effective.

    Who Should Attend?

    We welcome providers currently delivering day opportunities in Cheshire East and surrounding areas, or who would like to in the future.

    Why Attend?

    • Influence the future direction of services in Cheshire East
    • Network with other providers and council representatives
    • Be part of a collaborative approach to improving outcomes for people in our communities

    PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS LIMITED TO 1 PERSON PER ORGANISATION

    How to Join

    Please confirm your attendance by 6th March:

    Email: [email protected]

    Phone: 07385 002342

    For more information on the event please contact [email protected]

  3. Today
    20 Oct 2026
  4. Contract startsin 163 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    22 Jan 2026, 09:59 GMT
    UK2

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Cheshire East Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PTWR-7124-XZXQ Delamere House, Delamere Street, Crewe, North West, CW12JZContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure