Official UK procurement notice
Lived Experience Services across the South West Prison Estate - Market Engagement
Authority: NHS England (Central government)·On behalf of: NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (hosted by NHS England)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNHS England Health and Justice South West (The Commissioner) intends to commission Lived Experience Services across the South West male prison estate and would like to understand the level of provider interest in delivering these services.
The contribution of service users who have first-hand experience of using the healthcare services within prisons is essential to the delivery of effective services and in informing the commissioning process.
NHS England have a statutory duty, under Section 13Q of the Health and Social Care Act 2006 to involve and listen to the voice of those with lived experience in the design, delivery and ongoing performance of our commissioned health services.
To support NHS England Health and Justice South West in meeting these obligations, the aims of the Lived Experience service are:
- To enable all service users to effectively contribute to the continuous improvement of NHS England Health and Justice South West commissioned healthcare services in prisons, as well as being supported to have an independent voice, through various forms of engagement and regular feedback to the prison, the healthcare providers and commissioners.
- To enable commissioners to receive clearly the voice of their service users to inform decision-making in relation to healthcare provision.
- To help ensure outcomes for patients in the Health and Justice system are equivalent to those in the wider community.
The service will be expected to develop a range of appropriate opportunities and activities that engage service users and support their ability to contribute their experience of commissioned healthcare services. This will be through a variety of methods developed to facilitate and deliver meaningful activity.
This service must maintain independence of service activity from commissioners, health care providers and the prison in order to have the ability to act as an independent and critical friend.
The following establishments likely to be in scope, and likely Lots, are:
- (Lot 1): Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire (BSGW) prisons - HMP Ashfield, HMP Bristol, HMP Erlestoke and HMP Leyhill
- (Lot 2): Devon prisons - HMP Channings Wood and HMP Exeter
- (Lot 3): Dorset prisons - HMP Guys Marsh, HMP Portland and HMP The Verne
It is anticipated that the contracts will commence on 1st September 2026 for an initial period of 2 years with the option to extend for a further period up to 30th September 2029, at the sole discretion of the Commissioner.
The Commissioner has an indicative budget of £13,500 (exclusive of VAT) per prison per annum, which equates to the following indicative annual contract values for each Lot:
- BSGW - £54,000
- Devon - £27,000
- Dorset - £40,500
It is expected that the procurement process to award the contracts will commence February 2026.
CPV: Administrative healthcare services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NHS England buys Administrative services of agencies (CPV 7512), and who usually turns up
NHS England’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: Administrative services of agencies (CPV 7512) →
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 South 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 37 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.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
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 bid29% / 38%
2–371% / 28%
4–60% / 28%
7+0% / 8%
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 estimate33% / 39%
Within ±2%67% / 57%
Above estimate0% / 4%
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 7512Estimate not published
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. The bar shows 25 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid20%
2–344%
4–616%
7+20%
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.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPIC Consultant LimitedEarlier contract | Lived Experience Services across the South East Health and Justice Secure Estatenotice published May 2025 | Kent & Medway prisons | £345k | Matched as the earlier contract |
| ABL Health LtdEarlier contract | Lived Experience Services across the South East Health and Justice Secure Estatenotice published May 2025 | Sussex, Hampshire and IOW prisons | £204k | Matched as the earlier contract |
| PEER POWER YOUTHEarlier contract | Lived Experience Services across the South East Health and Justice Secure Estatenotice published May 2025 | South East CYP establishments | £176k | Matched as the earlier contract |
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.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- 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.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
49% title match.
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.
49% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (49% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Lived Experience Services across the South East Health and Justice Secure Estate — held by EPIC Consultant Limited and EPIC Consultant Limited (+1 more); no contract end date published.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 12 Nov 2025, 09:21 GMT
- Last source update
- 12 Nov 2025, 09:21 GMT
- Authority reference
C390348- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-073014- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05df2bFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
12 Nov 2025 → 1 Sept 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published345 days ago12 Nov 2025, 09:21 GMT
- Market engagement323 days ago3 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
At this time, the Commissioner would like to determine the level of provider interest in delivering these services and warmly invites interested parties to attend a market engagement event, held virtually through Microsoft Teams on the following date:
11:00 am - 12:30 pm, Tuesday 9th December 2025.
To allow potential providers to reflect and provide feedback on the proposed services, the Commissioner has provided the draft service specification as part of this notice , as well as a market engagement questionnaire for potential providers to respond to, prior to the event.
At the event, we will share further detail of the commissioner's objectives and commissioning strategy for the service.
To access the draft service specification and express an interest in attending the market engagement event, interested providers should follow the link to the e-procurement system, Atamis, search for the opportunity by clicking on 'View our Live Opportunities' from the home page, then complete the 'Market Engagement Questionnaire & Event Registration' Microsoft (MS) Forms available within the system.
Please note that you will need to be registered on Atamis, and then select the option to 'register an interest' under the project titled 'Lived Experience Services across the South West Prison Estate - Market Engagement', project reference C390348 to gain full access to the draft service specification and the link to the MS Forms questionnaire.
health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗
In order to attend the event, please ensure that you submit a completed MS Forms questionnaire by no later than 12 Noon on Wednesday 3rd December 2025. Details on how to access the event will be provided to all respondents who have registered their interest by completing the questionnaire / registration form prior to this closing date.
In order to establish fair representation, availability for this event is limited to a maximum of three individuals per organisation.
Providers are reminded that the service specification provided in Atamis at this stage is an indicative draft version only and subject to change. Providers should not rely upon this document when submitting any future bids, instead referring to the tender documentation released with the relevant tender opportunity.
This exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.
This notice is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right, and therefore publication or response does not commit the Authority or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest. The Contracting Authority is looking to establish what interest there might be in providing such a service from suitably qualified, capable and competent organisations.
The Contracting Authority will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this exercise. Interested parties should note that a response to this notice does not guarantee an automatic invitation to any subsequent formal procurement, which the commissioners will consider in due course.
- Tender notice expected262 days ago2 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts52 days ago1 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published12 Nov 2025, 09:21 GMTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
3 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (hosted by NHS England)Beneficiary authority
- NHS South Central and West CSUProcess contact pointProcuring entityThis engagement exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender