Official UK procurement notice
Enforcement Agency Debt Collection Services in relation to Parking Penalties
Authority: Cumberland Council (Local council)
Cumberland Council is seeking to appoint two Enforcement Agencies to provide debt collection and enforcement services in relation to Parking Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) and Accounts Receivable (Sundry) debts on behalf of the Place and Economy Directorate. The successful suppliers will undertake enforcement and recovery activities in accordance with all relevant legislation, the Civil Enforcement Association (CIVEA) Code of Practice and Enforcement Conduct Board standards. The contracts are anticipated to commence on 1 February 2027 for an initial period of two years, with the option to extend for up to two further periods of 12 months each, subject to satisfactory performance. The estimated maximum combined value of the two concession contracts over the full term, including extensions, is £300,000.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionCumberland Council is seeking to appoint two Enforcement Agencies to provide debt collection and enforcement services in relation to Parking Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) and Accounts Receivable (Sundry) debts on behalf of the Place and Economy Directorate.
The successful suppliers will undertake enforcement and recovery activities in accordance with all relevant legislation, the Civil Enforcement Association (CIVEA) Code of Practice and Enforcement Conduct Board standards. Services will include the recovery of unpaid debts, debtor engagement, identification and management of vulnerable individuals, payment processing, case management, management reporting and performance monitoring.
The Council intends to award two below-threshold concession contracts. The contracts are anticipated to commence on 1 February 2027 for an initial period of two years, with the option to extend for up to two further periods of 12 months each, subject to satisfactory performance.
The estimated maximum combined value of the two concession contracts over the full term, including extensions, is £300,000. No guarantee is given as to the volume or value of work awarded under the contracts, as supplier remuneration is derived through the right to exploit the services.
CPV: Bailiff services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£300,000
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).
Lot awarding rule: Contracts will be awarded to the two most advantageous tenders based on a quality and social value assessment. Quality will be assessed against the tenderer's proposed approach to delivering Enforcement Agency Debt Collection Services, including service delivery, customer engagement, systems and reporting, execution of warrants, complaint handling, continuous improvement and added value. Social Value will be assessed based on the additional economic, social and environmental benefits proposed by the tenderer. Tenderers must achieve a minimum score of 5 (Acceptable) in each quality question and the social value question to be eligible for award. The two highest-scoring compliant tenders will be awarded contracts.
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 Cumberland Council buys Public security, law and order services (CPV 7524), and who usually turns up
Cumberland Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Public security, law and order services (CPV 7524) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 35 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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.
1 bid15% / 0%
2–332% / 17%
4–633% / 50%
7+19% / 33%
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.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate30% / 40%
Within ±2%58% / 60%
Above estimate12% / 0%
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.
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 #1CPV 7524Published estimate£300k
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid20%
2–327%
4–632%
7+21%
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.
Based on 1 comparable award. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£278k–£300k
Estimate£300k
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.
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.
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £306m29 awards in 36m · last this month | 13 live · £113m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=16 | |
Jacobs UK LtdLarge | £354m44 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 13 live · £55m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=11 |
VICTIM SUPPORTLarge | £49m23 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 9 live · £12m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=14 |
| £3.1m6 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 1 live · £3.1m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs | |
| £885k6 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 2 live · £885k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender and Contracts Finder), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly. Contracts Finder appears in live search, the Retender Radar, contract pages, organisation counts and the buyer's decision figure; the other analytical figures are built from Find a Tender notices.
- 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- 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
- Concession
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 9 Nov 2026, 09:06 GMT
- Last source update
- 9 Nov 2026, 09:06 GMT
- Authority reference
DN835357- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-106002- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07b71bFind a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Proactis / ProContract- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 7 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 26 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
Tender documents are available electronically via The Chest e-Tendering Portal at www.the-chest.org.uk ↗.
All tender submissions, clarification questions and procurement communications must be submitted through The Chest portal.
Timeline
9 Nov 2026 → 1 Feb 2027 · 4 dates- Tender notice publishedjust passed9 Nov 2026, 09:06 GMT
- Today9 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 17 days26 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 28 days7 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 83 days1 Feb 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published9 Nov 2026, 09:06 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender