Official UK procurement notice
Kent Carers Support Service
Authority: Kent County Council (Local council)
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionKent County Council are seeking to re-procure a Kent Carers Support Service which is aimed at supporting unpaid carers within the county.
This new service will replace two current services;
The Carers Community Navigation Service and Carers Short Breaks service.
Key Areas of Service Delivery: Building from the Kent Adult Carers Strategy the following key areas of service delivery have been identified for the Kent Carers Support Service:
i) Identifying and Recognising Carers, including Seldom-Heard Carers
ii) Empowering Carers: information, advice and training in ways that they can understand
iii) Prevention and Wellbeing especially for lifestyle risk factors, mental health and information and advice
iv) Support for Young Carers' Transition to Adulthood
v) Carers Assessment
vi) Carers Breaks
vii) Emergency Breaks
viii) Carers Personal Budgets
- How the procedure runs: Kent County Council intend on using an Open Procedure (Light Touch). Submission Requirements: • Bidders are required to submit the Conditions of Participation, Quality Questionnaire and Pricing Schedule together in one stage. Evaluation Process: 1. Conditions of Participation: • All submitted Conditions of Participation will be evaluated and moderated first. • Only those bidders who meet the mandatory requirements and Minimum Quality Threshold (MQT) for their Procurement Specific Questions (PSQ) will proceed to have their Quality Questionnaire and Pricing Schedule evaluated. • Bidders who do not meet the MQT will be excluded from further evaluation, and feedback will be provided. 2. Quality Questionnaire and Pricing Schedule: • For bidders who pass the Conditions of Participation stage, their Quality Questionnaire will evaluated and moderated. • Tenderers who pass the MQT for their quality questions will then be evaluated on price. 3. Final Scoring and Ranking: • Tenderers are ranked according to their submitted bids in their pricing schedule. The lowest bid above the MQT will be ranked 1st and become the councils' preferred supplier.
- No preliminary market engagement: Market engagement was carried out in July 2024 which has helped shape the service provision.
CPV: Health and social work services
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value (£47,220,600 together) · a supplier may bid for at most 1 and win at most 1 of them · same conditions of participation on every lotLot #1Kent Carers Support Service - East KentAwardedRenewalPublished value£23,522,800
Kent Carers Support Service to be delivered in the following geographical areas: Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Thanet, Folkestone and Hythe.
- Economic & financial standing
The authority will set conditions of participation which Tenderers must satisfy to demonstrate that they have the requisite legal and financial capacity to perform the Contract.
Guidance will be published within the Tender Notice.
- Technical & professional ability
The authority will set conditions of participation which Tenderers must satisfy to demonstrate that they have the technical ability to perform the Contract.
Guidance will be published within the Tender Notice.
Lot #2Kent Carers Support Service - West KentAwardedRenewalPublished value£23,697,800
Kent Carers Support Service to be delivered in the following geographical areas: Dartford, Gravesham, Swanley, Sevenoaks, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells and Swale.
- Economic & financial standing
The authority will set conditions of participation which Tenderers must satisfy to demonstrate that they have the requisite legal and financial capacity to perform the Contract.
Guidance will be published within the Tender Notice.
- Technical & professional ability
The authority will set conditions of participation which Tenderers must satisfy to demonstrate that they have the technical ability to perform the Contract.
Guidance will be published within the Tender Notice.
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).
- Economic & financial standing
The authority will set conditions of participation which Tenderers must satisfy to demonstrate that they have the requisite legal and financial capacity to perform the Contract.
Guidance will be published within the Tender Notice.
- Technical & professional ability
The authority will set conditions of participation which Tenderers must satisfy to demonstrate that they have the technical ability to perform the Contract.
Guidance will be published within the Tender Notice.
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
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 3 Nov 2025, 17:46 GMT
- Last source update
- 3 Nov 2025, 17:46 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 25 Nov 2025
- Authority reference
CN250345- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-036237- Accelerated
- Light touch contract
- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04fe04Find a Tender
- How it runs
Kent County Council intend on using an Open Procedure (Light Touch).
Submission Requirements:
- Bidders are required to submit the Conditions of Participation, Quality Questionnaire and Pricing Schedule together in one stage.
Evaluation Process:
- Conditions of Participation:
- All submitted Conditions of Participation will be evaluated and moderated first.
- Only those bidders who meet the mandatory requirements and Minimum Quality Threshold (MQT) for their Procurement Specific Questions (PSQ) will proceed to have their Quality Questionnaire and Pricing Schedule evaluated.
- Bidders who do not meet the MQT will be excluded from further evaluation, and feedback will be provided.
- Quality Questionnaire and Pricing Schedule:
- For bidders who pass the Conditions of Participation stage, their Quality Questionnaire will evaluated and moderated.
- Tenderers who pass the MQT for their quality questions will then be evaluated on price.
- Final Scoring and Ranking:
- Tenderers are ranked according to their submitted bids in their pricing schedule. The lowest bid above the MQT will be ranked 1st and become the councils' preferred supplier.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 10 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
- Submission deadline
- 1 Aug 2025, 16:30 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 25 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
All tenders must be submitted through the Kent Business Portal.
Timeline
7 Apr 2025 → 1 Apr 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published7 Apr 2025, 12:24 BST
- Next notice expected27 May 2025, 23:59 BST
- Expressions of interest by10 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published30 Jun 2025, 16:31 BST
- Clarification questions by25 Jul 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline1 Aug 2025, 16:30 BST
- Assessment summaries sent355 days ago3 Nov 2025
- Latest notice published354 days ago3 Nov 2025, 17:46 GMT
- Standstill ends345 days ago12 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Award decision expected by332 days ago25 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts206 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
6 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 7 Apr 2025- Planned procurement notice published7 Apr 2025, 12:24 BSTUK3
- Pipeline notice published21 May 2025, 11:32 BSTUK1
- Pipeline notice published21 May 2025, 11:36 BSTUK1
- Tender notice published30 Jun 2025, 16:31 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published3 Nov 2025, 17:46 GMTUK6
- Contract signature expected28 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Kent Carers Support Service - East Kent1 award | |||
| supplier not published | — | 3 Nov 2025 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · Kent Carers Support Service - West Kent1 award | |||
| Imago CommunitySMEKent Carers Support Service: Lot 2 - West Kent1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2033Extensions: Kent County Council has included 2x24month extension periods which may be executed at the council's discretion. | £18,530,235 | 31 Oct 2025standstill to 12 Nov 2025 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Kent Carers Support Service - East Kent | 0final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Kent Carers Support Service - West Kent | 3final-stage tenders | 3 | 3 | — |
Who bid
- wonImago CommunitySMEVCSE · South East England · 2
- did not winInvolve KentVCSE · South East England · 2
- did not winCarers FirstSMEVCSE · South East England · 2
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
3 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- Carers FirstBidder / tenderer
- Imago CommunityAwarded supplier
- Involve KentBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (7)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications All Tenders must be submitted through the Kent Business Portal. All Tender documents will be available on the Kent Business Portal.
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender