Official UK procurement notice
Direct Payment Payroll and Banking Service
Authority: Somerset Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDirect Payments are funding provided to people by local authorities to support them with arranging and paying for their social care needs. An assessment of the person's social care needs is made to decide if they are eligible and what funding is required.
The funding is paid directly to the Individual, their nominated representative, their authorised representative, or a third-party holding account, so that they can organise and manage their own support provision.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Sept 2029, 23:59 BST.
CPV: Banking services · Health and social work services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Lot 1RenewalPublished value£2,500,000
- Value
- £2,500,000 exc. VAT · £3,000,000 inc. VAT
- Extensions
- Two x 12 month potential extension periods are available.
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).
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 Somerset Council buys Banking services (CPV 6611) — and who usually turns up
Somerset Council’s own published record, next to the South West England market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Banking services (CPV 6611) →
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.
Somerset Council
contract notices in 36 months: 1 in CPV 6611 · 2 in division 66 (1 without competition) · 124 in all categories (35 without competition · 30 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 all categories, last 36 months: 56 lots. 13 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 4) and 43 from older notices (bids received, middle 2).
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 all categories, last 36 months: 56 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 buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 22 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 buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 12 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: 391 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 all categories, last 36 months: 94 notices.
South West England · Banking services (CPV 6611)
contract notices delivered in South West England in 36 months: 18 in CPV 6611 (11 competed, 2 route not published) · 128 in division 66 (68 competed, 28 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 region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 66), last 36 months: 45 lots. 30 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 4) and 15 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 66), last 36 months: 45 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 66), last 36 months: 14 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 sector (CPV 6611), last 36 months: 3 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
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 66), last 36 months: 40 lots.
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 sector (CPV 6611), last 36 months: 4 awards.
Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.
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 this buyer’s own usual movement over 22 lots (all categories), applied to the £2,500,000 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.
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.
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.
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.
| Supplier | Evidence | Last award | Their award vs estimate | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard C Bircher (Holdings) Limited SME | 4 class wins | 3 months ago | no comparable pairs | 60% |
| Econocom Limited SME | 4 class wins | 3 months ago | no comparable pairs | 56% |
| BARCLAYS BANK UK PLC SME | 5 class wins | this month | no comparable pairs | 56% |
| Stour Environmental Credits Limited | 1 class wins | this month | no comparable pairs | 56% |
| Clydesdale Bank PLC | 4 class wins | 19 months ago | no comparable pairs | 55% |
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, CPV 6611 first. 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
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 Sept 2029
- First published
- 22 Sept 2026, 15:26 BST
- Last source update
- 22 Sept 2026, 15:26 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end — 9 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Authority reference
EPRO1000581 / ERFX1003459- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e6f4Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via ProContract (Due North)- Expression of interest (EOI)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 20 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
9 published dates · Europe/London- Planning notice published36 days ago18 Aug 2026, 17:33 BST
- Market engagement25 days ago28 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
Service overview The Council is looking to commission one or more providers to deliver payroll and banking support for people in Somerset who receive a Direct Payment or personalised budget. The payroll and banking elements may be delivered by a single provider or by separate providers, depending more…
on the outcome of the procurement process. The service will need to support adults, children and young people, carers and Education, Health and Care Plan direct payment recipients where a Direct Payment or personal budget has been agreed and where the Council considers this to be appropriate and safe. Payroll service The payroll service will support people who employ Personal Assistants or other directly employed support staff. This is expected to include accurate and timely payroll processing, payslips, HMRC submissions, tax and National Insurance administration, pension auto-enrolment support, statutory payments, deductions and associated employer payroll responsibilities. The provider will also need to offer clear information and support to help individual employers understand and meet their payroll-related responsibilities, including early identification of potential non-compliance and appropriate escalation to the Council where required. Banking and managed account service The banking service will provide a holding account, managed account or third-party account function for people who need support to manage Direct Payment funds. This may include receiving Council payments, making agreed payments on behalf of the person, maintaining accurate financial records, retaining evidence such as invoices and receipts, and supporting transparent monitoring of how public funds are used. The service must be able to operate safely, securely and transparently, with appropriate safeguards, financial controls, reporting arrangements and communication with the Council, the person receiving the Direct Payment, and any authorised or nominated person involved in managing the budget. What we are seeking from providers Through market engagement, we would welcome provider feedback on the proposed service model, including whether the service requirements are clear, proportionate and achievable. We are particularly interested in views about good practice, risks, mobilisation, data and reporting requirements, user experience, safeguarding, financial controls, compliance, and any areas where the service specifications should be strengthened. The aim is to ensure that any future specification supports a high-quality, reliable and legally compliant service that gives people choice and control while also protecting public funds and supporting effective Council oversight. An online market engagement session will take place on: Friday 28th August 11:00 - 12:00 On Microsoft Teams Somerset Council is inviting organisations, that might be interested in delivering these services either individually or in partnership with others to attend. Somerset Council are keen to hear feedback from a range of providers as part of the wider consultation for this service. Organisations that take part will not be advantaged or disadvantaged in any way in any potential future formal procurement. Commercial confidentiality will be respected. This notice does not represent a formal commitment by Somerset Council to undertake a procurement procedure. To attend this event please send a message to [email protected] providing the name of your organisation, the name of the person(s) wishing to attend (Max 2 per organisation) and a contact email address for each to enable us to send through the full details of the event and the Microsoft Teams invitation. Please ensure that those attending from your organisation are the most appropriate to feed into the discussions. If you are unable to attend the event, the presentation, notes and associated documentation will be available through the e-tender system www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk. Please respond by the deadline of 12:00 on 27th August 2026 if you wish to attend. Thank you. SC reserves the right to cancel or re-arrange this event at its own discretion. - Next notice expected11 days ago11 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published2 days ago21 Sept 2026, 11:39 BST
- Latest notice published1 day ago22 Sept 2026, 15:26 BST
- Clarification questions byin 20 days13 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadlinein 27 days20 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected byin 78 days9 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 190 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
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
8 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 Aug 2026- Tender notice published22 Sept 2026, 15:26 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £2,500,00022 Sept 2026, 15:26 BSTwas £1,600,000
- Tender notice published21 Sept 2026, 11:39 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £1,600,00021 Sept 2026, 11:39 BSTwas £1,308,000
- Status changed to active21 Sept 2026, 11:39 BST
- Procurement method changed21 Sept 2026, 11:39 BST
- Deadline published: 20 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST21 Sept 2026, 11:39 BST
- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 Aug 2026, 17:33 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)
Changes have been made to the contract duration and the estimated value for the term of the contract.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Conflict of interest declarationNot published
- Bidding documents and specifications
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender