Official UK procurement notice
LCRCA - Delivery Partner - Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF) - Connect to Work
Authority: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Connect to Work Programme is expected to implement 2 delivery models for support employment support, one through IPS (Individual Placement Support) which will be delivered in house through CA and LA staff, but the LCRCA intends to commission the SEQF (Supported Employment Quality Framework) element of Connect to Work. At peak delivery this will be approximately 1,000 participants per annum across all 6 local authority areas of the city region. It is anticipated that one provider will be able to fulfil this need in terms of volumes and geographical coverage, but this will not be fully understood until the conclusion of the procurement process. Please note we don't have our cost centre set up yet with budget codes, it is in the process of being set up and we have a meeting with finance this week to discuss.
CPV: Health and social work services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£11,492,900
- Economic & financial standing
This information is detailed within the tender documents, via the Merseytravel account on www.the-chest.org ↗
- Technical & professional ability
This information is detailed within the tender documents, via the Merseytravel account on www.the-chest.org ↗
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 award criteria (1)
- Quality
- Economic & financial standing
This information is detailed within the tender documents, via the Merseytravel account on www.the-chest.org ↗
- Technical & professional ability
This information is detailed within the tender documents, via the Merseytravel account on www.the-chest.org ↗
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
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 20 Nov 2025, 11:26 GMT
- Last source update
- 26 Aug 2026, 15:09 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 20 Jul 2026
- Authority reference
DN804197 / RSN4324881- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-040912- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05e533Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
All relevant information regarding this procurement can be located within the published procurement documents on www.the-chest.org ↗
- Risks
All relevant information regarding this procurement can be located within the published procurement documents on www.the-chest.org ↗
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 2 Jun 2026, 11:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 26 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
This tender will be published via the Merseytravel account on the NorthWest portal The Chest: www.the-chest.org ↗
Timeline
20 Nov 2025 → 26 Aug 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published337 days ago20 Nov 2025, 11:26 GMT
- Market engagement323 days ago4 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
We will be hosting 2 market engagement events and these will be held on- line through eventbrite further details below:
- Online Market Engagement 1 - LCR SEQF Procurement, Tuesday 2nd December 2025, via Teams. Please register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lcr-combined-autho… ↗
- Online Market Engagement 1 - LCR SEQF Procurement, Thursday 4th December 2025, via Teams. Please register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lcr-combined-autho… ↗
- Next notice expected291 days ago5 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published171 days ago5 May 2026, 11:22 BST
- Clarification questions by150 days ago26 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline143 days ago2 Jun 2026, 11:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent109 days ago7 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends98 days ago17 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts96 days ago20 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by95 days ago20 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published58 days ago26 Aug 2026, 15:09 BST
Notice history
11 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 20 Nov 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Nov 2025, 11:26 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published21 Nov 2025, 12:54 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published5 May 2026, 11:22 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £11,492,9005 May 2026, 11:22 BSTwas £1,000,000
- Status changed to active5 May 2026, 11:22 BST
- Procurement method changed5 May 2026, 11:22 BST
- Deadline published: 2 Jun 2026, 11:00 BST5 May 2026, 11:22 BST
- Contract award notice published7 Jul 2026, 16:06 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete7 Jul 2026, 16:06 BST
- Contract signature expected20 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published26 Aug 2026, 15:09 BSTUK7
Published amendments (1)
The value of the fund was omitted from the original notice , this has now been incorporated within the scope in the notice.
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2025-11: 2 releases · 20 Nov 2025, 21 Nov 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The BUSY Group20 Jul 2026 – 19 Jul 2029 · up to 20 Jul 2032Extensions: The extension is subject to funding and suppliers delivery performance. The initial contract term is for 3 years. However there is a potential to extend the contract for a further three years if additional funding is secured. The estimated value of the contract is £6,196,900 for a period of three years. The contractor will have targets for registrations in year one and year two with the third year spent provide ongoing support to participants who joined the programme during the second year i.e. up to 12 months for unemployed people and up to 4 months for people in work. Subject to funding approval and the contractor's performance, the SEQF contract may be extended for a further three years of delivery. If an extension is approved the value will be £5,296,000, there will be targets for registrations in year three and year four with year five spent providing ongoing support to participants who joined the programme during the fourth year i.e. up to 12 months for unemployed people and up to 4 months for people in work | £11,492,900 | 6 Jul 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
LCRCA - Delivery Partner - Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF) - Connect to Work · The BUSY Group
- Signed
- 4 Aug 2026
- Value
- £11,492,900
- Period
- 4 Aug 2026 – 3 Aug 2029 · up to 2 Aug 2032 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The extension is subject to funding and suppliers delivery performance. The initial contract term is for 3 years. However there is a potential to extend the contract for a further three years if additional funding is secured. The estimated value of the contract is £6,196,900 for a period of three years. The contractor will have targets for registrations in year one and year two with the third year spent provide ongoing support to participants who joined the programme during the second year i.e. up to 12 months for unemployed people and up to 4 months for people in work. Subject to funding approval and the contractor's performance, the SEQF contract may be extended for a further three years of delivery. If an extension is approved the value will be £5,296,000, there will be targets for registrations in year three and year four with year five spent providing ongoing support to participants who joined the programme during the fourth year i.e. up to 12 months for unemployed people and up to 4 months for people in work.
4 agreed KPIs: Performance Measure - Registrations · Performance Measure - Participation 6 months (90%) · Performance Measure - Job Outcome …
- Performance Measure - Registrations, The participant has registered with the programme and met all the LCR SEQF eligibility criteria.
- Performance Measure - Participation 6 months (90%), The participant has positively engaged with the programme and completed at least 6 months with the programme. This may include a participant with less than 6 months of participation providing the participant left the programme because s/he achieved a job outcome
- Performance Measure - Job Outcome, The participant has achieved a job outcome i.e. has moved into paid employment which can be confirmed by HMRC PAYE Real Time Earnings (RTE) data.
- Fidelity Assessment, The Supplier has at least been awarded the Accredited Model Fidelity certification mark following its 12 month assessment. The Supplier has at least been awarded the Good Model Fidelity certification mark following its 12 month assessment. Performance The Supplier has at least been awarded the Accredited Model Fidelity certification mark following its 12 month assessment. Pro The Supplier has at least been awarded the Good Model Fidelity certification mark following its 12 month assessment.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7final-stage tenders | 2 | 3 | — |
Who bid
- wonThe BUSY Group · Greater London
- did not winE.L.I.T.E. SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT AGENCY LTDVCSE · Wales (Cymru)
- did not winGET SKILLS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING LTD · Greater London
- did not winINGEUS UK LIMITED · Greater London
- did not winMAXIMUS UK SERVICES LIMITED · Greater London
- did not winROAD TO LOGISTICS C.I.C.VCSE · West Midlands
- did not winTHE GROWTH COMPANY LIMITEDVCSE · North West England
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
7 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- E.L.I.T.E. SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT AGENCY LTDBidder / tenderer
- GET SKILLS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING LTDBidder / tenderer
- INGEUS UK LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- MAXIMUS UK SERVICES LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- ROAD TO LOGISTICS C.I.C.Bidder / tenderer
- THE GROWTH COMPANY LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- The BUSY GroupAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
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
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender