Official UK procurement notice
Enforcement Services for the Child Maintenance Service
Authority: Department for Work & Pensions (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDebt Recovery service across England and Wales linked to the recovery of child maintenance arrears owed by parents who have a responsibility to pay maintenance for their children.
- How the procedure runs: This procurement relates to the award of a below-threshold concession contract, within the meaning of section 5 and section 8 of the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”), and therefore it is not a ‘public contract’ and does not constitute a ‘covered procurement’ for the purposes of section 1 of the Act. Section 84 of the Act provides that the rules relating to below threshold procurements do not apply to concession contracts. Therefore, only limited provisions of the Act will apply to this procurement. Notwithstanding the above, the DWP has chosen, for the purpose of continuity and good administrative practice, to conduct this procurement using a procedure modelled on a competitive flexible procedure as provided for in the Act. This is a voluntary decision and does not signify that the Act applies in full to this procurement. The DWP has issued this UK4 Tender Notice for reasons of practicality and convenience (and on a strictly voluntary basis), to streamline the administration of the procurement for the DWP and all bidders and to ensure that information is easily accessible to bidders. The categorisation in this notice of the procurement as an “Above Threshold- Competitive Flexible Procedure" is solely due to limitations in IT functionality and flexibility and shall not in any way deem that the Act will apply to this procurement, other than to the extent that the Act applies to below threshold concession contracts generally. This notice does not therefore need to contain the information that would usually be required if this were a regulated procurement using the competitive flexible procedure under the Act. Please note this tender process will include a pre-qualification stage. The tender process will consist of three stages: Stage 1: PSQ and Financial Capacity Assessments Stage 2: Supplier Demonstrations of System Availability/Capability Stage 3: Final Written Submissions; 100% Technical (Quality) Questions and Submission of any Start Up Costs for consideration. The outcome of Stage 3 will be the basis on which the Successful Supplier will be selected from those Suppliers who have progressed to Stage 3. The Buyer reserves the right to amend the procurement during the tender in accordance with the terms of the Instructions to Suppliers document.
CPV: Bailiff services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£3,543,900
- Economic & financial standing
- The Supplier must be a legal entity capable of entering into the Contract.
- Technical & professional ability
Accreditation with the Enforcement Conduct Board:
1.The Supplier (and its Subcontractors) must be accredited with the Enforcement Conduct Board in respect of any Regulated Enforcement Services performed by the Supplier (and its Subcontractors.)
- System Availability:
The Supplier must either own or have a direct licence to use an existing IT system or platform as a Case Management System to facilitate the provision of Management Services.
This requirement is not intended to preclude the use of third-party software used by the Supplier for these purposes.
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).
Published sub-criteria (1)
- Technical (Quality) Questions: 100%
Published award criteria (1)
- Technical (Quality) Questions: Final Award Criteria applicable at Stage 3 of the Tender: Technical Questions and Scoring Methodology will be issued when Stage 3 is issued during the tender process.
- Economic & financial standing
- The Supplier must be a legal entity capable of entering into the Contract.
- Technical & professional ability
Accreditation with the Enforcement Conduct Board:
1.The Supplier (and its Subcontractors) must be accredited with the Enforcement Conduct Board in respect of any Regulated Enforcement Services performed by the Supplier (and its Subcontractors.)
- System Availability:
The Supplier must either own or have a direct licence to use an existing IT system or platform as a Case Management System to facilitate the provision of Management Services.
This requirement is not intended to preclude the use of third-party software used by the Supplier for these purposes.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- 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
- 6 Jan 2026, 18:21 GMT
- Last source update
- 19 Oct 2026, 12:05 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 11 Sept 2026
- Authority reference
(C9174) P_0708- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-041605- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060078Find a Tender
- How it runs
This procurement relates to the award of a below-threshold concession contract, within the meaning of section 5 and section 8 of the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”), and therefore it is not a ‘public contract’ and does not constitute a ‘covered procurement’ for the purposes of section 1 of the Act. Section 84 of the Act provides that the rules relating to below threshold procurements do not apply to concession contracts. Therefore, only limited provisions of the Act will apply to this procurement.
Notwithstanding the above, the DWP has chosen, for the purpose of continuity and good administrative practice, to conduct this procurement using a procedure modelled on a competitive flexible procedure as provided for in the Act. This is a voluntary decision and does not signify that the Act applies in full to this procurement. The DWP has issued this UK4 Tender Notice for reasons of practicality and convenience (and on a strictly voluntary basis), to streamline the administration of the procurement for the DWP and all bidders and to ensure that information is easily accessible to bidders. The categorisation in this notice of the procurement as an “Above Threshold- Competitive Flexible Procedure" is solely due to limitations in IT functionality and flexibility and shall not in any way deem that the Act will apply to this procurement, other than to the extent that the Act applies to below threshold concession contracts generally. This notice does not therefore need to contain the information that would usually be required if this were a regulated procurement using the competitive flexible procedure under the Act.
Please note this tender process will include a pre-qualification stage.
The tender process will consist of three stages:
Stage 1: PSQ and Financial Capacity Assessments
Stage 2: Supplier Demonstrations of System Availability/Capability
Stage 3: Final Written Submissions; 100% Technical (Quality) Questions and Submission of any Start Up Costs for consideration.
The outcome of Stage 3 will be the basis on which the Successful Supplier will be selected from those Suppliers who have progressed to Stage 3.
The Buyer reserves the right to amend the procurement during the tender in accordance with the terms of the Instructions to Suppliers document.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 11 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 5 Aug 2026, 23:45 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
The final submission deadline for Stage 3 is 11/8/26.
See the Invitation to Suppliers document for submission deadlines for all other stages of the procurement process.
Dates are subject to change and may be updated as outlined in the Invitation to Suppliers document.
Timeline
6 Jan 2026 → 19 Oct 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published286 days ago6 Jan 2026, 18:21 GMT
- Market engagement264 days ago28 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), acting on behalf of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) , intends to procure a concession service across England and Wales in early 2026 for the recovery of child maintenance arrears owed by parents who have a responsibility to pay maintenance for their children.
It is envisaged that the contract will be for an initial two year fixed period and could be extended for a further three years. The value of the contract stated reflects the total estimated value of the contract over the full term excluding any start up costs.
DWP wishes to consult a range of suppliers in the market , including both enforcement agencies who provide enforcement services directly and also managing platform suppliers of enforcement services, to establish the level of interest in participating in a tender exercise and supplying the bespoke service requirements of the Child Maintenance Service.
The Buyer wishes to consult with the market on the optimal approach to delivering an outcomes orientated service which supports the growth and financial viability of the Supply Chain whilst ensuring that service delivery supports any next stage debt enforcement activity within the Child Maintenance Service.
The required service will also potentially include additional administrative activities which would need to be provided by the supplier(s). These administrative elements of the service are not covered by the Taking Control of Goods Fees Regulations and will be paid directly by the Buyer. The service will continue to be a concessions service irrespective of any additional paid administrative elements as the value of the contract will be largely based on the fees earned by the Supplier or by any sub-contractors.
Specific areas on which the buyer wishes to consult the market therefore include the following:-
1.Market feedback on Supplier's experience of managing supplier platforms model v direct enforcement model and various linked operational delivery issues associated with delivering bespoke CMS requirements.
2.Pricing mechanisms for payment of any additional administrative elements involved in delivering the service required by DWP and market feedback on DWP draft pricing proposals
3.The procurement methods available for concession type procurements (including market feedback on potential use of the new Open Competitive Flexible Procedure with a Participation Stage). This might include a supplier demonstration stage based on the bespoke service requirements.
- Lotting across the England and Wales footprint.
The Buyer has not made a final decision on the model or route to market at the point of issuing this notice and will use the feedback from market engagement to assist with final decision making and pricing approaches.
Suppliers interested in attending a market engagement event which it is proposed to hold online on Wednesday 28th January 2026 should register their interest by emailing [email protected] by 22nd January 2026.
Following the market engagement session outlined above the Buyer reserves the right to seek additional market feedback, including via one to one meetings with interested suppliers, in order to resolve any remaining operational issues prior to issuing a tender opportunity.
- Next notice expected235 days ago26 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published167 days ago6 May 2026, 16:13 BST
- Clarification questions by75 days ago5 Aug 2026, 23:45 BST
- Submission deadline70 days ago11 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by38 days ago11 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent25 days ago25 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Contract starts6 days ago14 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published1 day ago19 Oct 2026, 12:05 BST
Notice history
9 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 6 Jan 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published6 Jan 2026, 18:21 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published6 May 2026, 16:13 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £3,543,9006 May 2026, 16:13 BSTwas £3,722,000
- Status changed to active6 May 2026, 16:13 BST
- Procurement method changed6 May 2026, 16:13 BST
- Deadline published: 11 Aug 2026, 12:00 BST6 May 2026, 16:13 BST
- Contract award notice published19 Oct 2026, 12:05 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete19 Oct 2026, 12:05 BST
- Contract signature expected29 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advantis Credit Limited29 Oct 2026 – 28 Oct 2028 · up to 28 Oct 2031Extensions: Up to 36 Months · Options: Increments of up to 36 Months | £3,573,926 | 25 Sept 2026 | Awarded |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Advantis Credit LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Go to Live Opportunities on the DWP Portal
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award 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