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Official procurement procedure
DHSC: National Breastfeeding Helpline
Call centre
Counselling services
Guidance and counselling services
Published value
Not published
Submission deadline Not published
Lots published1
Procurement Executive Summary
AI & Search Synopsis
Generated from official OCDS record
Tenderline Synopsis: Department of Health & Social Care: "DHSC: National Breastfeeding Helpline". Published status: complete. Published value: Value not published. 1 published lot. Submission deadline not published. See the official notice for participation instructions.
| Contracting Authority | Department of Health & Social Care | Scope & Categories | Not published | Submission Window | complete No deadline published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submission Gateway | Direct notice route | Legal Basis & Regime | Standard procurement | Estimated Value (exc. VAT) | Not published |
Bidder Intelligence · Authority Profile: Department of Health & Social Care
Market Analytics
Derived from OCDS awards & bid statistics
Published history for Department of Health & Social Care. These figures describe retained records, not a forecast of bids or a measure of buyer bias.
Published-to-award variance
Not availableInsufficient comparable data
Competition Density
4.6Bids / Report
Supplier ConcentrationNo estimate
Insufficient attributable awardsNo concentration estimate availablePayment Terms
Check noticePublished terms
Coverage: 29 active published awards; 24 bid reports (which may be per lot). Supplier values exclude multi-supplier awards, frameworks and DPS, and use GBP only. They are published award values, not payments. Published-to-award variance compares single-lot, single-award, single-supplier GBP procedures with explicitly non-framework/non-DPS status; increases remain in the average. Unpublished data stays unknown. Awarded suppliers are winners, not all bidders.
Procedure terms
Contracting AuthorityDepartment of Health & Social Care | Procedure methodNot published | Procurement categoryNot published |
Statuscomplete | Framework / DPSNot published | CompetitionNot published |
Above thresholdNot published | Legal basisNot published | Tender period startsNot published |
Clarification deadlineNot published | Electronic submissionNot published | Submission languagesNot published |
Published26 Apr 2025, 18:08 BST | Last source update26 Apr 2025, 18:08 BST | Recurring procurementNot published |
ClassificationCall centre, Counselling services, Guidance and counselling services | ||
Delivery area | ||
OCIDocds-h6vhtk-0507fc | ||
What is being bought
The Department of Health and Social Care is seeking a provider to deliver the National Breastfeeding Helpline, providing breastfeeding information and support via a 24 hour helpline for families across the UK.
What changed
From the official release history
- Status changed to complete
26 Apr 2025, 18:08 BST - Official notice release published
26 Apr 2025, 18:08 BST - Buyer information updated
26 Apr 2025, 18:08 BST
Lots and requirements (1)
Published by the contracting authority
- Lot 1 · #1Individual lot title not publishedcancelledPublished valueNot publishedThe Department of Health and Social Care is seeking a provider to deliver the National Breastfeeding Helpline, providing breastfeeding information and support via a 24 hour helpline for families across the UK.Contract periodNot publishedEligibilityNot publishedOptions / renewalNot published
Timeline
- Procedure published
26 Apr 2025, 18:08 BST - Award active
Not published · Not published - Contract active
Signed 28 Mar 2025, 00:00 GMT · £786,363
Commercial outcome and competition
Awards The Breastfeeding Network Not published · Not published · active |
Contracts Contract £786,363 · signed 28 Mar 2025, 00:00 GMT · active |
Bid statistics bids: 1 (lot 1) |
Buyer and organisations in this procedure
Department of Health & Social Care
Contracting authority GB-FTS-140113Documents (0)
Official links; attachments are not copied
No linked documents are published
Related procedures (0)
No related procedures published
Planning and rationale
Planning budgetNot published |
No-engagement rationaleNot published |
Procedure rationaleDHSC have made a direct award to the Breastfeeding Network (BfN) for a 12-month period to provide a continuity of service for the 24-hour National Breastfeeding Helpline (NBH).<br/><br/>This direct award has been made in accordance with Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) competition is absent for technical reasons.<br/><br/>In 2024/25, the NBH was expanded to pilot a night service so that services are available to members of the public 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The current NBH service includes a 24-hour telephone helpline and voicemail service, social media, webchat and links to the BfN's drugs in breastmilk advice service.<br/><br/>DHSC have deemed that BfN are currently the only supplier who are positioned to run the 24-hour service without helpline users facing a gap or reduction in service provision, based upon BfN's capacity to manage service demand and them additionally having the means to increase capacity of the night service in early 2025/26. BfN also previously commissioned an independent evaluation for the 2024/25 pilot and are uniquely positioned to put arrangements in place for an independent evaluation of the full night service pilot which is required by DHSC. For these reasons, BfN are currently the only provider who could deliver the full scope of service requirements at the required scale.<br/><br/>DHSC are exploring longer term solutions in respect to the ongoing provision of the NBH, and intend to conduct an open procedure in late Q2 or early Q3 of 2025/26 to source a replacement contract. To support this, DHSC intend to conduct market engagement at the end of Q1 or beginning of Q2 2025/26. A UK2 preliminary market engagement notice will be published to advertise any upcoming engagement. |