Official UK procurement notice
Professional Services Contract for Cambridgeshire County Council
Authority: Cambridgeshire County Council (Local council)
The Highways and Transport Services delivered by the Council impact on the lives of everyone living, working, learning, and travelling in the County every day. The Council needs to ensure that it is in a position to respond to the changing needs of Cambridgeshire's residents, meeting both short and long-term challenges, whilst also providing support to the people that need us most. The Council anticipates that the Services required under the Professional Services Contract ("PSC") will consist of: It intends to appoint a single provider, for an initial term of four years, with the option to extend for a further period or periods of up to an additional three years, resulting in a total potential duration of up to seven years. The Services will be instructed entirely by Task Order under the contractual mechanism and that there is no minimum guaranteed volume or value of work under the Contract.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Highways and Transport Services delivered by the Council impact on the lives of everyone living, working, learning, and travelling in the County every day. The Council needs to ensure that it is in a position to respond to the changing needs of Cambridgeshire's residents, meeting both short and long-term challenges, whilst also providing support to the people that need us most.
In March 2025 the Highways and Transport Committee approved a procurement strategy for the future commissioning and delivery of highways and transport. The main goal of this strategy is to secure best value in the management of these Services by improving the efficiency, effectiveness and the customer experience of these Services. This will be based on engaging the appropriate segment of the market to deliver the best results for the service the Council needs to procure.
The Council has sought to appoint an experienced Consultant who fundamentally understands and shares its' long-term vision of a greener, fairer and more caring Cambridgeshire to Provide the Service. The Consultant will work collaboratively with the Council to deliver the Councils Strategic Framework 2023 - 2028 through achieving best value in the management of the highway network for the benefit of all communities that use Cambridgeshire's highway infrastructure.
The Council anticipates that the Services required under the Professional Services Contract ("PSC") will consist of:
- Transport Solutions
- Project Delivery Studies
- Consultation and Stakeholders
- Planning and Statutory Services
- Design Services (feasibility, preliminary and detailed)
- Commercial Services
- Surveys and investigation
- Environmental Services
- Future Mobility Services
- Construction Phase Services
- Any other relevant/related Services
The Council has an existing in-house design team, so it is looking to supplement and support that through the PSC. To do this, it needs access to technical specialities over and above simple design resource and the PSC will also be used to represent the Council with other suppliers e.g. through construction management.
It intends to appoint a single provider, for an initial term of four years, with the option to extend for a further period or periods of up to an additional three years, resulting in a total potential duration of up to seven years. Any mobilisation period between the Contract Date and the Service Commencement Date is separate from, and in addition to, the Service period set out in this Tender Notice.
The Services will be instructed entirely by Task Order under the contractual mechanism and that there is no minimum guaranteed volume or value of work under the Contract. The Council reserves the right to place Services similar to the service under this Contract with other service providers or to carry them out itself or not at all. Task Orders may be instructed at any time up until the final day of the Service Period and in the event, there is unfinished work under Task Orders at the end of the Service Period the Service Period will be extended until those Task Orders are complete. Interested parties should refer to the draft Contract in the associated tender documents for further details.
Under the wider Local Government Reform (LGR) agenda the Government has stated its intention to restructure remaining two-tier areas in England into single tier unitary authorities. This programme aims to streamline local government structures, improve accountability, and achieve efficiencies. As Cambridgeshire currently operates under a two-tier system, LGR is expected to affect the Council during the lifetime of this Contract. As the timing and scale of these changes are not yet confirmed, LGR may result in modifications to this Contract. Potential impacts include changes to the contracting authority through novation, variations in service volumes or values, and adjustments to the scope of Services required. Any changes will remain aligned to the existing nature of the Contract, although related additional Services may be required. A number of successor authorities may require access to the Services and the Contract will accommodate their entitlement to do so. Applicants should be aware of this forthcoming reform and be prepared to work collaboratively with the Council to support transition and ensure continuity of Services.
The financial values set out in this Tender Notice are indicative estimates and are presented at current prices as of the date of publication, therefore may be subject to change. The Council is providing the total estimated value of the Contract in accordance with the PA23 requirements on valuing contracts and for transparency purposes. The estimate is however provided purely as a guide, and the Council makes no guarantees in terms of scope, demand, or costs.
Full details of the procurement procedure, the intended Contract, required Services, and the process for expressing an interest in this opportunity are detailed within the associated tender documents.
The Council reserves the right to abandon the procurement and is not bound to award any contract arising from this Tender Notice. Applicants are solely responsible for all costs and expenses incurred in relation to the preparation and submission of their PSQ Response, as well as any costs arising from participation in subsequent stages of the procurement, assessment, and contract award process.
- Not divided into lots: The Council requires a single contract to ensure streamlined delivery, operational efficiency, and effective contract management. Consolidating the Services under one contract is necessary because the scope spans multiple disciplines and specialist areas, all of which must be coordinated to achieve cohesive outcomes. A single appointed Consultant will therefore be responsible for sourcing and managing the appropriate specialist resources and for overseeing the interfaces between disciplines. The Council therefore does not consider that subdivision into Lots would be appropriate, as this could increase the technical risk to delivery of the requirement and render the execution and management of the contract as disproportionately expensive to manage and the need to coordinate different Consultants for the Lots could seriously risk undermining the proper execution of the Contract and would not deliver value for money for the Council.
- How the procedure runs: This Tender Notice relates to the award of a public contract through a Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with section 20(1) and 20(2)(b) of the Procurement Act 2023 ("PA 2023"). For a description of the process to be followed, including conditions of participation to be applied in the selection of suppliers, the process for submitting tenders and award criteria and assessment methodology, refer to the associated tender documents made available together with this Notice. The associated tender documents include the draft invitation to tender, the draft Contract and the draft Scope. The Council reserves its right to rely on section 24 PA 2023 to refine award criteria as part of the competitive flexible procedure. Refinements to the award criteria may include but are not limited to: - Refining award criteria weightings; - Adding sub-criteria or more detail to the sub-criteria (relevant to the existing main criteria). In addition, the Council may also rely on section 31 PA 2023 to modify the terms of the procurement as set out in this Tender Notice or the associated tender documents. The associated tender documents made available on the Portal alongside this Tender Notice are issued in draft form (save for the PSQ and PSQ Guidance which are in final form) at this stage. The Council considers the information provided in this Tender Notice and the draft associated tender documents are sufficiently clear and specific to enable Applicant's to identify the nature and scope of the Council's requirement, and decide whether to submit a request to participate. This will be an iterative process and the Council may update, refine or provide additional associated tender documents to shortlisted participating Tenderers at the next stage of the procurement process. At this next stage Tenderers may raise clarifications or propose amendments to certain associated tender documents or specific areas within which the Council will consider and may amend/refine the associated tender documents. The Council will not distort competition nor act unfairly and amendments will not be made to benefit just one or just a few Tenderers. Final associated tender documents will be issued to all shortlisted participating Tenderers via the portal.
CPV: Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services · Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£35,000,000
- Economic & financial standing
Full details of the legal and financial capacity conditions can be found in the associated tender documents, which applicants can access via the portal.
- Technical & professional ability
Full details of the technical ability conditions can be found in the associated tender documents, which applicants can access via the portal.
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Please refer to the PSQ Guidance, the PSQ Questionnaire, and the associated tender documents for full details of the criteria applied.
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).
- Award Criteria: Price per Quality Point
- Economic & financial standing
Full details of the legal and financial capacity conditions can be found in the associated tender documents, which applicants can access via the portal.
- Technical & professional ability
Full details of the technical ability conditions can be found in the associated tender documents, which applicants can access via the portal.
- Condition of participationshortlisting
Please refer to the PSQ Guidance, the PSQ Questionnaire, and the associated tender documents for full details of the criteria applied.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- 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
- 8 May 2025, 17:20 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Feb 2026, 14:54 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 2 Nov 2026
- Authority reference
Pre-Market Engagement Highways 01- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-009043- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-050f3eFind a Tender
- How it runs
This Tender Notice relates to the award of a public contract through a Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with section 20(1) and 20(2)(b) of the Procurement Act 2023 ("PA 2023").
For a description of the process to be followed, including conditions of participation to be applied in the selection of suppliers, the process for submitting tenders and award criteria and assessment methodology, refer to the associated tender documents made available together with this Notice. The associated tender documents include the draft invitation to tender, the draft Contract and the draft Scope.
The Council reserves its right to rely on section 24 PA 2023 to refine award criteria as part of the competitive flexible procedure. Refinements to the award criteria may include but are not limited to:
- Refining award criteria weightings;
- Adding sub-criteria or more detail to the sub-criteria (relevant to the existing main criteria).
In addition, the Council may also rely on section 31 PA 2023 to modify the terms of the procurement as set out in this Tender Notice or the associated tender documents. The associated tender documents made available on the Portal alongside this Tender Notice are issued in draft form (save for the PSQ and PSQ Guidance which are in final form) at this stage. The Council considers the information provided in this Tender Notice and the draft associated tender documents are sufficiently clear and specific to enable Applicant's to identify the nature and scope of the Council's requirement, and decide whether to submit a request to participate.
This will be an iterative process and the Council may update,
refine or provide additional associated tender documents to
shortlisted participating Tenderers at the next stage of the
procurement process. At this next stage Tenderers may raise
clarifications or propose amendments to certain associated
tender documents or specific areas within which the Council will
consider and may amend/refine the associated tender
documents.
The Council will not distort competition nor act
unfairly and amendments will not be made to benefit just one or
just a few Tenderers. Final associated tender documents will be
issued to all shortlisted participating Tenderers via the portal.
- Risks
A known risk is Local Government Reorganisation as detailed within the scope description.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 9 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline
- 9 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 25 Feb 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
All bids must be submitted electronically via the Council's e-tendering portal - ProContract.
Full details and all associated tender documents can be found here: procontract.due-north.com/Advert ↗
Timeline
8 May 2025 → 1 Dec 2026 · 8 dates- Planning notice published8 May 2025, 17:20 BST
- Market engagement9 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
This notice serves as an invitation to prospective suppliers to participate in this pre-market engagement exercise.
To receive the Pre-Market Engagement Information Document, interested parties should email Jon Collyns and Samantha Hastings on [email protected] and [email protected]
The document provides further background to the Highways Programme and includes a short questionnaire, focused on each of the three procurements, for completion as relevant.
The objective of the Pre-Market Engagement Information Document is to enable suppliers to provide their key insights and recommendations to the Council in respect of its approach to the Highways Programme.
The closing date for receipt of submitted questionnaires is 12pm on Monday 9th June 2025.
- Next notice expected294 days ago12 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published274 days ago2 Feb 2026, 14:54 GMT
- Clarification questions by251 days ago25 Feb 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission deadline239 days ago9 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by22h ago2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Today3 Nov 2026
- Contract startsin 27 days1 Dec 2026
Notice history
7 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 May 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published8 May 2025, 17:20 BSTUK2
- Planned procurement notice published20 Oct 2025, 11:41 BSTUK3
- Status changed to planned20 Oct 2025, 11:41 BST
- Procurement method changed20 Oct 2025, 11:41 BST
- Tender notice published2 Feb 2026, 14:54 GMTUK4
- Published value published: £35,000,0002 Feb 2026, 14:54 GMT
- Status changed to active2 Feb 2026, 14:54 GMT
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender