Official UK procurement notice
Future Residential, Nursing and Specialist Care Home Framework
Authority: Wirral Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionWirral Council is undertaking pre-market engagement to inform the development of a new Residential, Nursing and Specialist Care Home Framework. Through this engagement we are seeking feedback from care home providers, sector representatives and system partners to better understand current market conditions, future challenges and opportunities for collaboration.
The Council remains committed to supporting people to live independently for as long as possible through preventative and community-based approaches. However, we recognise that care homes continue to play a vital role in supporting people whose needs can no longer be safely met within the community.
As demand continues to increase and needs become more complex, the Council is keen to work with providers to develop a future framework that is sustainable, responsive to local needs and able to deliver high-quality outcomes for Wirral residents.
Subject Matter
Through this engagement, we are seeking feedback from care home providers, sector representatives and system partners to help shape the future framework. We are particularly keen to understand what is working well, where improvements can be made, and how the Council can work collaboratively with providers to develop a sustainable model for the future.
The information gathered will help inform future commissioning intentions and framework design.
Participation in this exercise does not form part of any procurement process and will not influence any future tender evaluation.
As we develop the Framework, we want to understand:
- What is currently working well within the care home market and placement process.
- What challenges providers are experiencing.
- Where there are gaps in provision, capacity or service delivery.
- What opportunities exist for innovation and improvement.
- What providers consider to be realistic expectations and timescales for admissions and placements.
- How the Council can work more effectively with providers to create a sustainable and successful framework.
Your feedback will help inform the design of the future Care Home Framework and ensure it reflects the realities of delivering care, supports residents to achieve the best possible outcomes, and creates a strong and sustainable care home market for Wirral.
Thank you for taking the time to share your views and expertise.
CPV: Health and social work services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 8 yrs from 1 Apr 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat 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).
- “Future Residential, Nursing and Specialist Care Home Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Wirral Borough Council buys Health and social work services (CPV 85), and who usually turns up
Wirral Borough Council’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Health and social work services (CPV 85) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning. Small firms win less of this buyer’s work than the market’s: 14% against 76%, n=7.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means registered in North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside North West England. Less of this buyer’s work stays local than in this market: 0% against 55%, n=7.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 61 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
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.
1 bid0% / 4%
2–37% / 13%
4–621% / 18%
7+71% / 66%
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.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
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.
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 #1Published estimate£632m
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. The bar shows 79 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–313%
4–618%
7+66%
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.
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.
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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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.
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.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
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.
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
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 16 Oct 2026, 13:57 BST
- Last source update
- 16 Oct 2026, 14:23 BST
- Authority reference
DN832915- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-098005- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078995Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
16 Oct 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published5 days ago16 Oct 2026, 13:57 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 8 days28 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
Questionnaire to be completed on the Chest portal:
procontract.due-north.com/Opportunities/ ↗
Title- Future Residential, Nursing and Specialist Care Home Framework
Project reference- DN832915
All questions to be raised via the Chest portal
Closing date for responses 12 Noon on Thursday 28th October 2026
If you experience any technical difficulties registering or using The Chest, please contact
support:
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0330 005 0352
- Tender notice expectedin 92 days20 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 162 days1 Apr 2027
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 16 Oct 2026- Pipeline notice published16 Oct 2026, 13:57 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published16 Oct 2026, 14:23 BSTUK2
- Published value updated to £632,000,00016 Oct 2026, 14:23 BSTwas £978,794,147
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender