Official UK procurement notice
Independent Travel Training · Essex County Council IPTU for Suffolk County Council (Dec 2025)
Authority: Suffolk County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSuffolk County Council has awarded a contract for an Independent Travel Training service.
Independent Travel Training is provided to members of the public who reside in Suffolk, to teach them how to use public transport safely and independently. The service is for clients with disabilities, mental health and learning needs. The clients gain a valuable life skill, which in turns aims to reduce the future demand on council transport services.
The advertised value here is £3,032,400 inclusive of VAT. (this includes optional extension period)
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 7 Jan 2031, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Education and training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£2,527,000
- Economic & financial standing
Confirmation that the Tenderer has, or can commit to obtain, prior to the award of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire, and that the cost of insurances has been included in the costs/prices submitted within the Tender submission.
- Technical & professional ability
UK General Data Protection Regulations
- Tenderer does not pose a Data Protection risk to the Council (that cannot be mitigated).
Health and safety
- Tenderer provides their H&S Policy Statement together with an explanation of their H&S arrangements (which should follow a recognised H&S Management system).
Procurement Specific Requirements
- Tenderer demonstrates experience of working with young people with SEND and adults with learning disabilities and/or autism and/or mental health. Evidence provided via brief case study.
- Tenderer demonstrates compliance with the Safeguarding requirements detailed in the service specification by providing a copy of their Safeguarding Policy.
- Tenderer demonstrates compliance with DBS requirements.
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 (2)
- Quality inc. Social Value: 60%
- Commercial: 40%
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality inc. Social Value
- Commercial
- Economic & financial standing
Confirmation that the Tenderer has, or can commit to obtain, prior to the award of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire, and that the cost of insurances has been included in the costs/prices submitted within the Tender submission.
- Technical & professional ability
UK General Data Protection Regulations
- Tenderer does not pose a Data Protection risk to the Council (that cannot be mitigated).
Health and safety
- Tenderer provides their H&S Policy Statement together with an explanation of their H&S arrangements (which should follow a recognised H&S Management system).
Procurement Specific Requirements
- Tenderer demonstrates experience of working with young people with SEND and adults with learning disabilities and/or autism and/or mental health. Evidence provided via brief case study.
- Tenderer demonstrates compliance with the Safeguarding requirements detailed in the service specification by providing a copy of their Safeguarding Policy.
- Tenderer demonstrates compliance with DBS requirements.
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 7 Jan 2031
- First published
- 12 Dec 2025, 14:39 GMT
- Last source update
- 28 Aug 2026, 16:20 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 5 May 2026
- Authority reference
PA0014-1- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-006832- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f4fbFind a Tender
- Risks
Suffolk County Council has joined the government's Devolution Priority Programme (DPP), a fast-track programme towards devolution and local government reorganisation.
Under the DPP it is proposed that:
a) a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) for Norfolk and Suffolk is established, with strategic powers and headed by an elected mayor ("Devolution").
b) the existing two-tier council structure in Suffolk is abolished and replaced with one or more unitary councils covering the current geographical boundary of Suffolk ("LGR").
It is possible that both, one or neither of these changes will happen. These changes are declared as known risks as we do not yet know the implications of Devolution and/or LGR.
As a result of LGR and Devolution, contract modifications may be necessary to novate, transfer or disaggregate the contract from the one you entered into to one or more successor authorities or the MCAA. Impacts could include changes to geographical boundaries, significant increases and/or decreases in the goods and/or services required due to the change in size/scope of any successor authority or the MCAA. This may also change the scope of the contract
Interested Parties should refer to the Invitation to Tender and Contract Terms for the Known Risks:
Contract novation, transfer or disaggregation to one or more Successor Authorities or the MCAA within the current geographical boundary of Suffolk.
Contract novation, transfer or disaggregation to one or more Successor Authorities or the MCAA outside the current geographical boundary of Suffolk.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 27 Feb 2026, 11:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 16 Feb 2026, 18:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
12 Dec 2025 → 1 Oct 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published315 days ago12 Dec 2025, 14:39 GMT
- Market engagement288 days ago8 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
To support our procurement activity and develop the scope and specification of the contract, we are undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) to help Suffolk County Council:
- Identify potential Independent Travel Training providers and their intention to bid.
- Help shape the service specification and improve the future delivery of the service, including a move to an SCC provided Travel Training referral system.
- Understand potential barriers for SMEs and opportunities to minimise some of these barriers.
- Bidding considerations including TUPE.
- Understand providers' views on the proposed pricing model.
Suffolk County Council propose to hold informal sessions with interested parties via Microsoft Teams, the dates for these sessions are:
17th December 2025
6th January 2026
7th January 2026
Interested parties are requested to email [email protected] to arrange a meeting.
We would also encourage providers who are interested in this opportunity to register for the new Central Digital Platform, following the guidance at the following web address:
- Tender notice published270 days ago26 Jan 2026, 16:57 GMT
- Next notice expected270 days ago26 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Clarification questions by249 days ago16 Feb 2026, 18:00 GMT
- Submission deadline238 days ago27 Feb 2026, 11:00 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent172 days ago5 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by171 days ago5 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Standstill ends162 days ago14 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published56 days ago28 Aug 2026, 16:20 BST
- Contract starts23 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
9 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 12 Dec 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published12 Dec 2025, 14:39 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published26 Jan 2026, 16:57 GMTUK4
- Status changed to active26 Jan 2026, 16:57 GMT
- Procurement method changed26 Jan 2026, 16:57 GMT
- Deadline published: 27 Feb 2026, 11:00 GMT26 Jan 2026, 16:57 GMT
- Contract award notice published5 May 2026, 14:20 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete5 May 2026, 14:20 BST
- Contract signature expected15 Jun 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published28 Aug 2026, 16:20 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-12: 1 release · 12 Dec 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County Council IPTU1 Oct 2026 – 30 Sept 2031 · up to 30 Sept 2033Extensions: The contract term is 5 years (60 months) with an option to extend for up to a further 2 years (24 months). | £2,527,000 | 24 Apr 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · Essex County Council IPTU
- Signed
- 10 Aug 2026
- Value
- £2,527,000
- Period
- 1 Oct 2026 – 30 Sept 2031 · up to 30 Sept 2033 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The contract term is 5 years (60 months) with an option to extend for up to a further 2 years (24 months).
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders · 3 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Essex County Council IPTUAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- 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