Provision of Debt Collection Services

1. Background

HMRC is the UK's tax, payments and customs authority, and we have a vital purpose: we collect the money that pays for the UK's public services and help families and individuals with targeted financial support.

We're using this engagement to test our thinking on social value and understand what suppliers could deliver through any future contract. This includes contract-attributable benefits linked to economic growth, skills, employment, supply-chain resilience, innovation, SMEs, VCSEs and wider community outcomes.

This Preliminary Market Engagement Notice is issued for engagement and market-testing purposes only. It doesn't constitute a formal tender, pre-qualification process or invitation to negotiate, and it doesn't represent a commitment by HMRC to procure any services.

Participation in this engagement won't confer any advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement. HMRC will take appropriate steps to maintain transparency, equal treatment and fair competition, including sharing relevant information from engagement activity where appropriate and ensuring any future procurement timetable is proportionate.

HMRC may decide not to proceed with a procurement, may proceed using a different scope or structure, or may undertake further preliminary market engagement on additional topics before progressing further. Any future procurement remains subject to internal approvals and the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023 and associated Regulations.

2. Key details

Please first register on HMRC's eSourcing system Ariba.

You can register at the following link: hmrc.sourcing-eu.ariba.com/ad/selfRegistration ↗

Following registration on HMRC Ariba, please contact Charlotte Speakes [email protected]

3. Future procurement

If HMRC proceeds to a formal procurement, the relevant notice will be published in line with the applicable procurement requirements. Suppliers who don't respond to this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice won't be excluded from participating in any future tender.

If your organisation has relevant experience or capability in this area, we'd welcome your input.

4. Further details for registering for any future procurement

Part A - register on HMRC SAP Ariba

Any future procurement relating to this engagement will be conducted by way of an e-Sourcing event using HMRC's SAP Ariba e-Sourcing portal.

You must ensure you're registered with the e-Sourcing portal to gain access to any future procurement documentation if released, which will contain full details of any future requirement.

If you are not already registered, the registration link is: hmrc.sourcing-eu.ariba.com/ad/selfRegistration ↗

As part of the registration process you will receive a system generated email asking you to activate your SAP Ariba supplier account by verifying your email address.

Once you have completed the activation process you will receive a further email confirming the 'registration process is now complete' and providing you with 'your organisation's account ID' number.

If an email response from HMRC is not received within one working day of your request, please re-contact;

[email protected] (after first checking your spam in-box) notifying them of non-receipt and confirming the date when your registration request was first made.

Part B - receiving further information

Once you have obtained 'your organisation's account ID' number, please email [email protected] with the following information:

• Sourcing Request number SR965136994
• Your organisation's HMRC SAP Ariba account ID
• Your organisation name
• Your name
• Your email address
• Your telephone number

Once you've completed the above, you'll receive an email confirming access to any future procurement event if it is built.

Additionally, should HMRC have any further questions for interested Suppliers prior to the event being published (in terms of market engagement and requirement development), the above provided contact details will be used.

Further information about HMRC's procurement tool SAP Ariba, a supplier's guide and general information about supplying to HMRC is available on the HMRC website:

www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/supplying.htm ↗

If you have already registered on SAP Ariba then you may also need to re-register on HMRC's SAP Ariba to be added to this event.

Further details on registering for public procurements

Suppliers who wish to participate in public procurements are required to register on the Government's Central Digital Platform (CDP).

Suppliers can submit their core supplier information and, where a procurement opportunity arises, share this information with HMRC via the CDP.

It is free to use and will mean you should no longer have to re-enter your core supplier information for each public procurement, but ensure it's up to date and subsequently share as needed.

The CDP is available at www.gov.uk/find-tender ↗.

Instructions

We're using this engagement to test our thinking on social value before any formal procurement.

For clarity, this engagement doesn't form part of a formal invitation to tender. It's being conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023, including the principles of transparency, equal treatment and fair competition. Suppliers won't be scored or evaluated on the information provided at this stage.

There's no obligation on either party, and anything that you contribute to the informal engagement will provide neither advantage nor disadvantage to the success of any participation in a formal process.

We may use the feedback to shape the social value approach and decide whether separate market engagement would be helpful on other areas before finalising our approach.

Additional information on Social Value

HMRC intends to apply the prevailing Social Value Model requirements applicable at the time of any future procurement. Suppliers are invited to provide views on the social value outcomes most relevant to this requirement, particularly those relating to jobs, skills, workforce development, supply chain resilience and wider community benefits.

Social Value will focus on additional benefits delivered through the contract, rather than existing corporate initiatives or business-as-usual activity.

HMRC is seeking market insight on how the requirement could contribute to the UK Government's Social Value Mission, "Kick Start Economic Growth", including opportunities relating to skills development, support for SMEs and VCSEs, innovation and resilient supply chains.

Social value pre-market engagement questions

Question 1. What contract-attributable employment, apprenticeship, training or professional-development outcomes could reasonably be delivered through the contract, particularly for people from under-represented or disadvantaged groups?

Question 2. Are there opportunities for this contract to improve social mobility, employability or financial capability for individuals and communities, particularly those facing barriers to employment?

Question 3. What opportunities exist to create employment or economic benefits in regions with higher levels of economic inactivity or deprivation through delivery of this contract?

Question 4. What specific training, accreditation or skills-development opportunities could suppliers deliver that would leave a sustainable skills legacy beyond the life of the contract?

Question 5. What economic growth outcomes and metrics would be most appropriate, measurable and proportionate for this contract (e.g. jobs created, training hours, apprenticeships, local investment)?

Question 6. How could HMRC structure contracting and its operating model to encourage meaningful participation by SMEs, VCSEs, mutuals, social enterprises, start-ups and other smaller UK businesses within both contract delivery and the supply chain?

Please consider:

• measures to remove barriers to entry and participation
• approaches that support a diverse, resilient and innovative supply chain
• opportunities for supplier development, mentoring, skills transfer and business growth
• how participating organisations could be left stronger and more sustainable than when they entered the contract
• How could innovation, technology or process improvements within debt collection activities drive productivity gains and wider economic benefits for UK citizens, businesses and government?

Question 7. What metrics and evidence would most effectively demonstrate successful SME and VCSE participation and growth throughout the life of the contract?

Please comment on the suitability of measures such as:

• percentage of contract spend
• number of active suppliers
• onboarding of new suppliers
• supplier retention
• training and development delivered
• business growth outcomes
• innovation outcomes

Please identify any alternative measures you would recommend.

Question 8. What long-term economic and social value benefits could be generated from this contract, and what contractual or operating models could support their delivery?

Please consider elements such as milestones, KPIs, evidence and affordability in your response.

Responses should ideally be limited to 500 words per question. Bullet points are welcomed where appropriate.