Official UK procurement notice
Open procedure · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Swindon Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSwindon Borough Council invites prospective bidders from suitably qualified and experienced service providers to bid for the provision of Supported Lodgings Services: Semi-independent Accommodation and Support. Project Description Supported Lodgings is a provision for young people aged 16 and over, offering them the opportunity to live in the home of a host. This could be an individual, a couple or a family. It's a unique provision designed to help young people prepare for adulthood with the right balance of guidance and autonomy. It's often used for care leavers, separated and migrant children, or young people at risk of homelessness. As corporate parents, Swindon Borough Council is committed to providing sufficient, appropriate, high-quality accommodation and support for the children we care for (CWCF, 16-18) and care experienced young people (CEYP, 18-21). We also have a duty to provide accommodation and support to young people who are, or are at risk of, homelessness. The supplier will be responsible for recruiting, managing and funding hosts. This is then for the supplier to match referrals, place children and manage the placements alongside the hosts. The supplier shall also manage the hosts. The supplier must also be registered with Ofsted for this type of provision. Hosts are responsible for; offering the accommodation and support to the young person placed. The Supplier is to oversee and manage both the host and child placed. Please see the Specification for more information. The Council is seeking to award a single supplier, with a contract to provide Supported Lodgings, accommodation and support services, which will provide 9 standard beds and 2 emergency beds. This requirement will not be divided into ‘Lots’. TUPE does apply to this contract. The initial contract term will be for 36 months with an option to extend for a further 24 months in 12-month increments (2 periods of 12 months) for a potential total contract term of 5 years as stated in the ITT documents.
This notice indicates the start of the standstill period and potential award of contract
CPV: Social work services with accommodation
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£730,158
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 (9)
- Host Recruitment and Retention: 10%
- Safeguarding: 10%
- Performance: 10%
- Young Person's Voice: 10%
- Emergency Bed Question: 10%
- Journey to Independence: 5%
- Barriers to Participation: 5%
- Price: 30%
- Social Value Question: 10%
Published award criteria (9)
- Price
- Host Recruitment and Retention
- Safeguarding
- Performance
- Young Person's Voice
- Emergency Bed Question
- Social Value Question
- Journey to Independence
- Barriers to Participation
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 Sept 2025, 13:46 BST
- Last source update
- 5 May 2026, 13:36 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 May 2026
- Authority reference
DN801486- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-085361- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-059f14Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 30 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline
- 13 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 6 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
In order to provide unrestricted, full, direct and free of charge access to the tender documents the Authority is providing the documents in the Attached area of the ProContract e-tendering portal at www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗.
In order to access amendable versions of the documents and to submit a response Suppliers will need to Register as a Supplier with ProContract as www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗, then Register an Interest before obtaining access and download the Word and Excel format Documents for completion and submission.
Timeline
22 Sept 2025 → 1 Jun 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published399 days ago22 Sept 2025, 13:46 BST
- Market engagement385 days ago6 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
Swindon Borough Council (SBC) is seeking input from the market for the provision of its Supported Lodgings, Semi-Independent Accommodation and Support Services.
This Preliminary Market Engagement exercise is to assist the Council in reviewing the current supply market and defining a high impact specification and contract for the services offered to our under 18 Children We Care For (CWCF) and 18+ Care Experienced Young People (CEYP). This is NOT a call for competition.
The intention is that Swindon Borough Council will appoint an organisation who will in turn recruit, train and support an appropriate number of hosts to deliver high quality accommodation and support services to the children and young people.
~ Most referrals will be for CWCF - who will join hosts pre-18, but some will be 18+ CEYP.
~ Most CWCF & CEYP will join hosts as part of a carefully planned process, but a small number of emergency beds will also be required.
~ Most CWCF & CEYP will have low-medium support needs, but there may be a need to discuss occasional more complex referrals.
~ Most CWCF & CEYP will require hosts in Swindon and its immediate surroundings, but there me be a need for hosts outside of this area.
SBC expects the appointed organisation to prepare for and deliver consistently high-quality services in all of the above circumstances.
Any contracts for services or supplies relating to this exercise may be subject to separate procurement processes in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. All participants in this event shall be responsible for their own costs (including third party costs) and the Contracting Authority shall have no liability to any participant.
Supported Lodgings Service (Semi-Independent Accommodation & Support)
The purpose of this questionnaire is to gain intelligence on the supply market for Swindon Borough Council’s requirements, including information that will help define the most appropriate structure, plan and budget for any potential competitive procurement exercise. The closing date for the return of the PME questionnaire/application to the event is Monday 6th October at 17:00.
For the avoidance of doubt, no information provided in response to this questionnaire will be used by the Council in assessing providers during any future procurement process.
Engagement Process Description
To participate in the Preliminary Market Engagement Suppliers will need to Register as a Supplier with ProContract, www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗, then Register an Interest before obtaining access to the Preliminary Market Engagement documents.
Responses to the Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire are required to be submitted no later than 6th October 2025 at 17:00 hrs UK Local time via ProContract tender portal - www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗
- Tender notice published308 days ago22 Dec 2025, 12:24 GMT
- Expressions of interest by269 days ago30 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification questions by262 days ago6 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline255 days ago13 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by178 days ago1 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent175 days ago5 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published174 days ago5 May 2026, 13:36 BST
- Standstill ends164 days ago15 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts148 days ago1 Jun 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
11 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 Sept 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published22 Sept 2025, 13:46 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published22 Dec 2025, 12:24 GMTUK4
- Published value updated to £730,15822 Dec 2025, 12:24 GMTwas £700,000
- Status changed to active22 Dec 2025, 12:24 GMT
- Procurement method changed22 Dec 2025, 12:24 GMT
- Tender notice published22 Jan 2026, 13:12 GMTUK4
- Deadline published: 13 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT22 Jan 2026, 13:12 GMT
- Tender notice published22 Jan 2026, 17:12 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published5 May 2026, 13:36 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete5 May 2026, 13:36 BST
- Contract signature expected28 May 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Published amendments (2)
The deadline for the submission of this tender has been extended due to an outstanding tender clarification. The Tender Return Date is 13th February 2026 at 12:00 UK Time and the Tender Clarification Deadline is 6th February 2026 at 12:00 UK Time.
The dates for the return of tender and clarifications have been amended in this document
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2025-12: 1 release · 22 Dec 2025
- 2025-09: 1 release · 22 Sept 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step by Step Partnership LimitedSMEVCSESupported Lodgings Services: Semi-independent Accommodation and Support1 Jun 2026 – 31 May 2029 · up to 31 May 2031Extensions: Initial 3 year contract. Possible extension of 2 years in 2 separate annual increments. | £789,360 | 5 May 2026standstill to 15 May 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7final-stage tenders | 7 | 1 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Step by Step Partnership LTDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender 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