Find a TenderOpen admission Tender notice
Published 23 Oct 2026, 12:31 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Plymouth Homecare Light Touch Framework

Authority: Plymouth City Council (Local council)·Consortium: 2 public authorities

Open framework schemeServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdLight touch regimeSME suitableVCSE suitable
Framework ceiling (notional)£312,138,968framework ceiling, not attributable revenue
Open framework scheme until 20 Nov 202612:00 GMT · period end, not a bid countdown
Clarification cut-off 5 Nov 202617:00 GMT · questions to the authority
Framework period 3 yrsends 9 May 2030 · up to 9 May 2036 with extensions · starts 10 May 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Competitive tender exercise for the procurement of Plymouth Homecare Light Touch Framework. The Council is carrying out this tender process in line with the Procurement Act 2023 ("the Act") under a Light Touch contract.

The Service is for adults aged 18 and over who have been assessed as requiring care and support in their own home and for whom Homecare has been identified as the appropriate service response.

The relevant Commissioner will determine the support required through assessment, care and support planning, care coordination, brokerage and review. The Provider shall deliver support in accordance with the agreed plan, respond to changes in need or risk and escalate concerns appropriately. The Service may also support young people transitioning to adult services and people with end-of-life care needs, where agreed through the appropriate assessment and commissioning pathway.

The Service will operate within the specified boundary zones of Plymouth City Council and subject to ordinary residence. Providers must have the operational capacity and local arrangements required to deliver Homecare across the agreed geographic scope.

  • Geographic Coverage: Providers must be able to deliver across the agreed Plymouth geographic scope; administrative boundaries of Plymouth City Council.
  • Volume Profile: Predominantly urban with low density rural and coastal terrain

The Provider shall provide CQC-regulated personal care and associated support to meet assessed eligible needs under the Care Act 2014 and achieve the outcomes set out in the person's Care and Support Plan. Support shall be person-centred, strengths-based and proportionate, promoting independence, choice, dignity and wellbeing.

The Provider shall ensure staff are appropriately vetted, trained, supervised and competent to safely deliver the support required. Core activities may include:

  • Personal Care: Support with washing, dressing, grooming, toileting and continence, promoting dignity and independence.
  • Nutrition and Hydration: Support with meals, eating and drinking, including specialist requirements where identified and staff are appropriately trained and competent.
  • Medication: Prompting, assisting with or administering medication in accordance with the Care and Support Plan, relevant guidance and Provider policies, with appropriate recording and escalation.
  • Emergency Prioritisation: Maintaining essential care during disruption through effective business continuity, prioritisation and escalation arrangements.

Reablement

Providers must adopt an enabling approach, supporting people to retain, regain or develop skills where safe and appropriate and to reduce reliance on commissioned support where this aligns with their assessed needs, strengths and outcomes while recognising where ongoing support is required.

Community Networks

The Provider shall support people to maintain relationships and access community, voluntary and universal services where this contributes to their agreed outcomes. Providers shall work collaboratively with the Council, health and community partners and other Homecare Framework Providers to support coordinated care, information sharing, continuity and effective responses to changing needs or risks.

The anticipated duration of the Light Touch Open Framework is nine (9) years, comprising an initial term of three (3) years. The Framework will be reopened at three-year intervals thereafter (3 + 3 + 3) to allow the admission of new Providers and to refresh the market. Subject to ongoing service requirements and the Authority's discretion, the Framework may continue for the full nine-year period.

To access ITT and relevant specification, appendices paper work and to submit a tender you will need to register and find the opportunity on Supplying the South West portal www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗

  • The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Oct 2029, 23:59 BST.
  • No preliminary market engagement: A notice has been published under reference ocds-h6vhtk-06de45, but the notice is not currently accessible via the associated link

CPV: Social work and related services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Type
Closed framework · open framework scheme (admission reopens)
Call-offs
call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
Places
up to 12 suppliers
Framework period
3 yrs · up to 9 yrs from 10 May 2027
Scheme runs until
9 May 2036
Published description of the framework

Please see supplying the southwest www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗

Appendix 1 - Homecare Framework Service Specifications

Appendix 3 - Homecare Call-Off Procedure

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Renewal 3 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£312,138,968
Contract period: 10 May 2027 – 9 May 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 9 May 2036 with extensionsValue: £312,138,968 exc. VAT · £312,138,968 inc. VAT
Delivery: South WestEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. Potential Future Modifications: The Authority reserves the right, as its sole discretion to to make modifications during the term of the Framework, including: the procurement of additional Homecare services; the transition from provider returns to a provider portal; and the introduction or expansion of a Trusted Assessor model. Exercising any option is subject to availability of budget, satisfactory performance by the Supplier, and demonstrable continued need for the additional services or resources. · The anticipated duration of the Light Touch Open Framework is nine (9) years, comprising an initial term of three (3) years. The Framework will be reopened at three-year intervals thereafter (3 + 3 + 3) to allow the admission of new Providers and to refresh the market. Subject to ongoing service requirements and the Authority's discretion, the Framework may continue for the full nine-year period.
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    To access ITT and relevant specification, appendices paper work and to submit a tender you will need to register and find the opportunity on Supplying the South West portal www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗

  • Technical & professional ability

    To access ITT and relevant specification, appendices paper work and to submit a tender you will need to register and find the opportunity on Supplying the South West portal www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored
Quality: 95%Social value: 5%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • Quality Method Statements: 95%
  • Social Value: 5%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Quality Method Statements: Quality method statements within ITT Return document - found on supplying the south west portal
  • Social Value: Social Value method statements within ITT Return document - found on supplying the south west portal
Conditions of participation2
  • Economic & financial standing

    To access ITT and relevant specification, appendices paper work and to submit a tender you will need to register and find the opportunity on Supplying the South West portal www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗

  • Technical & professional ability

    To access ITT and relevant specification, appendices paper work and to submit a tender you will need to register and find the opportunity on Supplying the South West portal www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗

What this means for your bid
  • “Plymouth Homecare Light Touch Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 12 suppliers, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Plymouth City Council buys Social work and related services (CPV 8530), and who usually turns up

Plymouth City Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Social work and related services (CPV 8530) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerPlymouth City Council · division 85
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 1 of 1 known-size awards · market: CPV 8530 · South West England, n=10
1 of 170%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 30 of 40 known-location awards · market: CPV 8530 · South West England, n=49
75%80%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered. 49 known-location awards sit across 2 procurements, so one procurement can dominate this percentage.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 decided notices · market: CPV 8530 · South West England, n=5
40 days42 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 40 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: exactly 0 of 1 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 8530 · UK-wide, n=26
0 of 112%

Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyerToo few to chart: 2 lots with bid counts, 5 needed · broad CPV 85
The market6 lots with bid counts · CPV 8530 · South West England
0% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid0%
Market: 0 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
2–30%
Market: 0 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
4–633%
Market: 2 of 6 lots with published bid counts.
7+67%
Market: 4 of 6 lots with published bid counts.

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.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.

2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 853036 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£312m
Expected competition
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.

23expected bids0% chance of a single bid
similar past contests in this category: 3
Forecast chances for this lot
1 bid0%
Chance this lot gets 1 bid: 0%. This is a forecast.
2–34%
Chance this lot gets 2–3: 4%. This is a forecast.
4–64%
Chance this lot gets 4–6: 4%. This is a forecast.
7+92%
Chance this lot gets 7+: 92%. This is a forecast.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
CAMELOT CARE (PLYMOUTH) LIMITEDEarlier contractPlymouth Adults' Care Home Frameworkstarted Jan 2026——Matched as the earlier contract
HIGHER PARK LODGE LIMITEDEarlier contractPlymouth Adults' Care Home Frameworkstarted Jan 2026——Matched as the earlier contract
J.A.N. LIMITEDEarlier contractPlymouth Adults' Care Home Frameworkstarted Jan 2026——Matched as the earlier contract
MODUS CARE (PLYMOUTH) LIMITEDEarlier contractPlymouth Adults' Care Home Frameworkstarted Jan 2026——Matched as the earlier contract
DR PEPPER'S CARE CORPORATION LIMITEDEarlier contractPlymouth Adults' Care Home Frameworkstarted Jan 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.

SupplierWon in this categoryLive contractsAward vs estimate
Earlier contract1 win in South West England1 panel places
2 awards in 36m · last 10 months agoNone on fileno comparable pairs
Earlier contract1 win in South West England1 panel places
1 awards in 36m · last 10 months agoNone on fileno comparable pairs
Earlier contract1 win in South West England1 panel places
1 awards in 36m · last 10 months agoNone on fileno comparable pairs
Earlier contract1 win in South West England1 panel places
1 awards in 36m · last 10 months agoNone on fileno comparable pairs
Earlier contract1 win in South West England1 panel places
1 awards in 36m · last 10 months agoNone on fileno comparable pairs
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.

52% title match.

A past supplier may not bid again.

The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (52% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid

Plymouth Adults' Care Home Framework — held by DOWN HOUSE LIMITED and DARBYSHIRE CARE LIMITED (+1 more); no contract end date published.

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
Open admission
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Light touch regime
Commercial structure
Open framework scheme
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Yes · next expected 1 Oct 2029
First published
23 Oct 2026, 12:31 BST
Last source update
23 Oct 2026, 12:31 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 12 Jan 2027
Authority reference
PEO/25029
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-100435
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Social work and related services
Delivery area
South West (UKK41)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078ee3 Find a Tender
Review and risk notes
Risks

Known risks: Changes in legislation, Government policy, Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), commissioning arrangements, service demand, funding, safeguarding requirements, digital systems, data protection requirements, or service delivery models (including Trusted Assessor arrangements and provider portals) may necessitate modification of the Framework or Call-Off Contracts during their term.

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Apply via ProContract (Due North)
Submission portal named on this notice: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
Requests to participate (first stage)
—
Appointment period ends
20 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
5 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

23 Oct 2026 → 10 May 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Tender notice published1 day ago
    23 Oct 2026, 12:31 BST
  2. Today
    24 Oct 2026
  3. Clarification questions byin 12 days
    5 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
  4. Admission / appointment period endsin 27 days · period end, not a bid countdown
    20 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
  5. Award decision expected byin 80 days
    12 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
  6. Contract startsin 197 days
    10 May 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    23 Oct 2026, 12:31 BST
    UK4

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

2 public bodies on the notice

Plymouth City Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PBQP-8499-TLMP Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth, South West, PL1 3BJContact email

Consortium members and other public bodies

  • NHS DEVON INTEGRATED CARE BOARDContracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentGB-NHS: QJKGB-PPON: PRDC-6266-CBRR Exeter, South WestContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender