Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice
Published 16 Jan 2026, 18:42 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution

Official notice

Authority: Rochdale Borough Council (Local council)·On behalf of: Star Procurement

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdLight touch regimeSME suitableVCSE suitable
Published estimate£1,200,000≈ £400k / year · £1,200,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 16 Feb 2026awarded 23 Mar 2026
Awarded to Why Mediate Limited
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The aim of the service is to provide a disagreement resolution and mediation service to enable the local authority to fulfill its statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 and meet the requirements of associated guidance.

  • No preliminary market engagement: We used a Procurement Portal to send out an open advert to all providers (This is the reference no:DN 789574)

CPV: Health and social work services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1AwardedRenewal 3 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£1,200,000
Contract period: 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensionsValue: £1,200,000 exc. VAT · £1,200,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: North WestEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: With the option of extending the contract on an annual basis until 31st March 2031
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Provided in tendering documents

  • Technical & professional ability

    Provided in tendering documents

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 were scored
  • Quality Question 1: Quality Question 1: Methodology-30%
  • Quality Question 2: Quality Question 2: Service quality and development-15%
  • Social Value-Question 1: Social Value (Quantitative) Question-7.5%
  • Social Value-Question 2: Social Value (Qualitative)-7.5%
  • Price: Price-40% (Please see the "ITT Invite and Instructions" document. It provides a breakdown of the 40%).
Conditions of participation2
  • Economic & financial standing

    Provided in tendering documents

  • Technical & professional ability

    Provided in tendering documents

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
Light touch regime
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
16 Jan 2026, 18:42 GMT
Last source update
23 Mar 2026, 18:38 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 16 Mar 2026
Authority reference
DN 799782
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-004111
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV)
Health and social work services
Delivery area
North West (UKD3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060824 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: 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
Submission deadline
16 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
9 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

16 Jan 2026 → 1 Apr 2026 · 7 dates
  1. Tender notice published284 days ago
    16 Jan 2026, 18:42 GMT
  2. Clarification questions by260 days ago
    9 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
  3. Submission deadline253 days ago
    16 Feb 2026, 12:00 GMT
  4. Award decision expected by225 days ago
    16 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
  5. Assessment summaries sent219 days ago
    23 Mar 2026
  6. Latest notice published218 days ago
    23 Mar 2026, 18:38 GMT
  7. Contract starts210 days ago
    1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 16 Jan 2026
  1. Tender notice published
    16 Jan 2026, 18:42 GMT
    UK4
  2. Contract award notice published
    23 Mar 2026, 18:38 GMT
    UK6
  3. Status changed to complete
    23 Mar 2026, 18:38 GMT
  4. Contract signature expected
    2 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value (inc. VAT) £1,200,0001 award inc. VAT; no net value published
Bids received 75 from SMEs
Awarded toValueDateStatus
Why Mediate LimitedSME2 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031Extensions: The contract can be extended for a further 24 months (on an annual basis).£1,200,000 inc. VAT23 Mar 2026Awarded

Bid statistics published by the authority

BidsSMEVCSEValid bid range
7final-stage tenders50—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

5 public bodies on the notice

Rochdale Borough Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PXXD-6682-MDRX Number One Riverside, Rochdale, North West, OL16 1XUContact email

Consortium members and other public bodies

  • Star ProcurementProcess contact pointProcuring entityProcurement SupportGB-COH: Star ProcurementGB-PPON: PMJL-3178-QZJH Sale, North WestContact email
  • Stockport Metropolitan Borough CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PZGW-7196-LCHL Stockport, North WestContact email
  • Tameside Metropolitan Borough CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PVWB-2493-LWTQ Ashton under Lyne, North WestContact email
  • Trafford CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central governmentGB-PPON: PGZW-1429-QQZQ Manchester, North WestContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications (5)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender