Official UK procurement notice
Non-Devolved Adult Skills Fund Delivery Opportunity
Authority: Hertford Regional College (Education)
Hertford Regional College (HRC) intends to appoint a provider with relevant experience and a proven track record to deliver innovative adult learning. The contract will be for the delivery of learning against the funding the college receives from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) for learners aged 19+. Delivery must meet the regulations outlined in the DWP Funding Rules. Eligible learners are engaging with local DWP services and the provider must be able to demonstrate good progression into employment for their proposed programme.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionHertford Regional College (HRC) intends to appoint a provider with relevant experience and a proven track record to deliver innovative adult learning. The contract will be for the delivery of learning against the funding the college receives from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) for learners aged 19+. Delivery must meet the regulations outlined in the DWP Funding Rules.
The provider should be able to deliver programmes in partnership with local stakeholders aimed at engaging with those that require skills relating to the security industry and leading to embedded qualifications and their SIA licence. Eligible learners are engaging with local DWP services and the provider must be able to demonstrate good progression into employment for their proposed programme.
The delivery should be clearly aligned to the needs of the relevant stakeholders and learners as well as supporting the College's rationale for subcontracting which can be found on our website www.hrc.ac.uk/about-hrc/partnershi… ↗
HRC is seeking a provider that can deliver a maximum of 36 learners based at the College Broxbourne Campus (EN10 6AE). This will be in 3 discreet cohorts of 12, starting in January 2027 and all delivery must be competed by 31st July 2027. Please note that this procurement is for non-devolved DWP funding only.
This procurement is being run under the "light touch regime" and within the timescales set out in the attachments below.
To participate in this procurement you must complete and submit the volumes and values spreadsheet and the procurement questionnaire located in the attachments to [email protected] or they can be requested via the contact details below.
If your organisation has not already completed the HRC Due Diligence checks, they must be completed, and a required assessment outcome achieved prior to any contract award. Due Diligence documentation can be requested via the contact details below.
HRC reserves the right not to award contracts based on the outcome of Due Diligence checks.
Any incomplete or incorrectly completed submissions may be deemed non-compliant, and as a result you may be unable to proceed further in the procurement process.
Contract awards will be subject to a management fee of 20% and HRC reserves the right not to award contracts based on procurement question responses that score less than 150/300. We reserve the right to add weighting of 50% to question 3 of the procurement questionnaire, should it be required, to determine the most appropriate provider.
CPV: Adult and other education services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£110,000
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).
Lot awarding rule: Suppliers will complete the questionnaire and provide the information requested as part of this process. Submissions will be scored against the stated criteria within the questionnaire.
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £220,000 (twice the annual value).
Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Hertford Regional College buys Adult and other education services (CPV 8040), and who usually turns up
Hertford Regional College’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: Adult and other education services (CPV 8040) →
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 East of England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside 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 31 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.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.
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 bid14%
2–326%
4–630%
7+31%
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 estimate35%
Within ±2%48%
Above estimate16%
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 8040Published estimate£110k
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid5%
2–320%
4–617%
7+58%
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.
Based on 1 comparable award. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£102k–£113k
Estimate£110k
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPS Training Solutions LtdEarlier contract | Non Devolved Adult Skills Fund Delivery Opportunityended Jul 2026 | — | — | 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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 award in 36m · last 8 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs | |
| £9.9m20 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 7 live · £791k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=6 | |
| £3.0m27 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 9 live · £31m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=4 | |
| £291k5 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 1 live · £23k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=1 | |
| £507k6 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 4 live · £402k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 31% above n=2 |
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.
100% 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.
100% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (100% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Non Devolved Adult Skills Fund Delivery Opportunity — held by SPS Training Solutions Ltd; the published contract ends 31 Jul 2026.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 3 Nov 2026, 08:13 GMT
- Last source update
- 3 Nov 2026, 08:13 GMT
- Authority reference
HRC MP21- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-103969- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-079610Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 6 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Electronic submission
- Not allowed
Completed questionnaire and spreadsheet to be submitted to [email protected] prior to the deadline
Timeline
3 Nov 2026 → 1 Jan 2027 · 3 dates- Tender notice published7h ago3 Nov 2026, 08:13 GMT
- Today3 Nov 2026
- Submission deadlinein 3 days6 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 58 days1 Jan 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published3 Nov 2026, 08:13 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Timetable for this opportunity
- Bidding documents and specifications Questionnaire to be completed
- Bidding documents and specifications Spreadsheet to be completed
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender