Official UK procurement notice
PHC26117 Supported Bus Service 2026 - Service 26
Authority: Torbay Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDue to the operational impacts arising from changes in other services, the existing operator has served notice on the contract awarded in 2024 for Non-Commercial Bus Services Lot 4 (Service 60).
The need for this service remains to ensure the community has the connectivity to facilities and services. This service will be renumbered as Service 26, linking more appropriately with other Paignton based services. Torbay Council is seeking to at least retain the existing bus service network in accordance with the Councils BSIP, but also to enhance it with improvements to service levels, including operating to key locations which are not currently served.
Our aim is to improve the routes with increased frequency, additional services covering earlier and later times and at weekends with modern, low floor, zero or low emission vehicles. It is important to note that a new service (27), replacing and improving upon the current Services 28 and 30 between Paignton town centre and schools in Torquay, will be proposed. This will operate all day, additionally connecting to Torbay Hospital. There will be overlap with this contract. That overlap is not confirmed but may include areas of Shorton Valley and Preston Down Road.
Torbay Council and Devon County Council are in the process of setting up a new combined Enhanced Bus Partnership.
- No preliminary market engagement: No pre-market engagement undertaken
CPV: Public road transport services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£350,000
- Economic & financial standing
Financial Capacity
Confirmation of ability to obtain relevant insurances after contract award but before delivery start
Further information can be found in Part 4 Procurement Specific Questionnaire and Section C2.3 of Part 1 Information.
- Technical & professional ability
Previous contract examples
Relevant policies, procedures and accreditations required to deliver the contract
Further information can be found in Part 4 Procurement Specific Questionnaire and Section C2.3 of Part 1 Information.
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 (4)
- Method Statement Questions: 30%
- Technical Questions: 10%
- Pricing: 50%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (4)
- Method Statement Questions: Quality for service and contract delivery. There are 3 method statements in total which add up to the percentage weighting.
- Technical Questions: Technical questions to assess capability. There is 1 technical question which equals the percentage weighting.
- Social Value: Social Value assessment. The social value assessment is a combination of a qualitative assessment and quantitative assessment. Further information can be found in Part 6 Social Value Requirement and Part 8 Social Value Calculator.
- Pricing: Total pricing for year 1 of the contract.
- Economic & financial standing
Financial Capacity
Confirmation of ability to obtain relevant insurances after contract award but before delivery start
Further information can be found in Part 4 Procurement Specific Questionnaire and Section C2.3 of Part 1 Information.
- Technical & professional ability
Previous contract examples
Relevant policies, procedures and accreditations required to deliver the contract
Further information can be found in Part 4 Procurement Specific Questionnaire and Section C2.3 of Part 1 Information.
- Price carries 50 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
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
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 7 Jul 2026, 15:16 BST
- Last source update
- 3 Sept 2026, 10:55 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 3 Sept 2026
- Authority reference
PHC26117- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-063750- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c575Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
In consideration of the provision of the Services by the Supplier in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Contract, the Authority shall pay the Charges to the Supplier.
The Charges shall be calculated as set out in the Payment Schedule.
Unless otherwise stated in the Payment Schedule the Charges:
(a) shall be payable from the Commencement Date;
(b) shall remain fixed during the Term unless agreed by both parties; and
(c) are the entire price payable by the Authority to the Supplier in respect of the Ser-vices and includes, without limitation, any royalties, licence fees, supplies and all consumables used by the Supplier, travel costs, accommodation expenses and the cost of Supplier Personnel.
The Authority shall pay each properly submitted invoice received by the Supplier within 30 days of the date when Authority has determined that the invoice is a valid and undisputed in-voice. The Supplier shall accept payment electronically via BACS.
Further information on payment terms can be found in Clause 6 Charges and Payments of the Service Contract.
- Risks
Description of Risk:
Risk that future changes to statutory guidance, legislation, or national standards may impact service delivery requirements, registration obligations, or contract compliance during the life of the contract.
Modification required if risk arises:
Contract may need to be varied in response to legal or regulatory change.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 4 Aug 2026, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 17 Jul 2026, 17:00 BST
- 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 PDF format in the Opportunities 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 Applicants must be registered as Suppliers on ProContract. Applicants should then express an interest in the opportunity and download the Word and Excel format Documents for completion and submission.
Timeline
7 Jul 2026 → 1 Oct 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published109 days ago7 Jul 2026, 15:16 BST
- Clarification questions by99 days ago17 Jul 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline81 days ago4 Aug 2026, 17:00 BST
- Assessment summaries sent52 days ago3 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published51 days ago3 Sept 2026, 10:55 BST
- Award decision expected by51 days ago3 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Standstill ends40 days ago14 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts24 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 7 Jul 2026- Tender notice published7 Jul 2026, 15:16 BSTUK4
- Contract award notice published3 Sept 2026, 10:55 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete3 Sept 2026, 10:55 BST
- Contract signature expected21 Sept 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| D J Watts Coach TravelSME2 Nov 2026 – 31 Mar 2032Options: New route requirement | £423,000 | 28 Aug 2026standstill to 14 Sept 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- D J WATTS COACH TRAVEL LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications In order to provide unrestricted, full, direct and free of charge access to the Tender Documents, the Authority is providing the documents in PDF in the Opportunities Area of the ProContract e-tendering portal at https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk/ In order to access amenda…
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender