Official UK procurement notice
Services for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in Highland
Authority: The Highland Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionA holistic support service for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) referred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) and those arriving spontaneously within the Highland area.
The initial contract length will be two years (April 2027 - March 2029) with additional options to extend the contract on a yearly basis for up a further three years (March 2032).
Funding will be provided through the UK Government's funding arrangements and the Council's ability to exercise any extension option will be dependent on the continuation of this funding supply.
CPV: Health and social work services · Social work services without accommodation · Welfare services for children and young people
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1A holistic support service for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) referred…
A holistic support service for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) referred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) and those arriving spontaneously within the Highland area.
The service will promote safety, stability, wellbeing, integration, independence and positive outcomes for young people who may have experienced displacement, trauma, loss and uncertainty. The service will support UASC to live safely and successfully within local communities across Highland while progressing through the asylum and immigration process. Additional information: The contract contains additional options to extend the contract on a yearly basis for up a further three years (March 2032).
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).
Open Procedure
Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)
Quality:Price 95:05 (see Tender Overview provided in PCS-Tender)
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Shortlisting
- Refer to PCS-Tender: Question 4C.1.2 - Relevant Experience
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £3,595,075 (twice the annual value).
Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How The Highland Council buys Health and social work services (CPV 85), and who usually turns up
The Highland Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. 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.
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 Scotland.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
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.
Half of these awards have an award date within 51 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.
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.
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 bid24% / 35%
2–328% / 38%
4–621% / 20%
7+28% / 7%
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.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate62% / 21%
Within ±2%31% / 65%
Above estimate8% / 13%
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 #1A holistic support service for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) referred…CPV 85Published estimate£3.6m
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 85. The comparison uses that group.
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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.
1 bid23%
2–340%
4–626%
7+11%
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.
Based on 185 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£3.6m
Estimate£3.6m
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.
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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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right ThereWorked for this buyer | Intensive Support - Children / Young People (Highland)notice published Jun 2026 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
Right ThereSME | £1.4m3 awards in 36m · last 5 months ago | 1 live · £909k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=2 |
CyreniansSME | £35m24 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 6 live · £14m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=9 |
| £4.8m3 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 1 live · £749k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 2% below n=5 | |
| £74m14 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 17 live · £137m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=7 | |
| £331k2 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | 1 live · £262k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no 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.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 15 Sept 2026, 10:08 BST
- Last source update
- 21 Oct 2026, 08:54 BST
- Authority reference
HSCC57- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-099247- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2Find a Tender
Publisher note: Tender will be uploaded onto PCS-Tender during week commencing 19th October 2026 with an anticipated upload date of 21st October 2026 (further details of project number below). Credit Checks: 1.The Council shall obtain a Creditsafe credit check and will score bidders accordingly: 71 - 100 Very Low Risk – Accept 51 - 70 Low Risk - Accept 30 - 50 Moderate Risk – subject to further discussion internally with the option to reject. 21-29 High Risk – subject to further discussion internally with the option to reject. 1-20 Very High Risk – Reject. *The following applies if no credit check can be undertaken: 2. Please state current turnover (if contract value is over 50% of reported turnover, further discussion will be had internally with the option to reject). 3. If you are under no obligation to publish accounts on Companies House and/or do not have a comprehensive credit rating then provide audited financial accounts for the previous two years. Both quick and current ratios should be a minimum of 1:1.5 for the two successive years. Bidders whose ratios do not meet the minimum criteria will be rejected. Bidders who can provide audited accounts but chose not to do so shall be rejected. 4. Bidders who have been trading for less than one year and cannot provide audited accounts must submit the cash flow for the current year and a letter from the bank outlining the current cash and credit position for the current year and subsequent year. This will be subject to internal discussion with the option to reject. 5. If bidder still does not meet the financial criteria for consideration but has a parent company that does, the firm may still be eligible for consideration where their submission is supported by a parent company guarantee. Insurance: It is a requirement of this contract that bidders hold, or can commit to obtain prior to the commencement of any subsequently awarded contract, the types and levels of insurance indicated below: Employer’s Liability Insurance = GBP10m Public Liability Insurance = GBP5m The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 32999. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343 Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/ A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows: Community Benefits including Fair Working Practices and Environmental Benefits will form part of the evaluation criteria. (SC Ref:846052)
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Public Contracts Scotland- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 1 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
21 Oct 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 4 dates- Next notice expected4 days ago21 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
- Notice published4 days ago21 Oct 2026, 08:54 BST
- Today25 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 37 days1 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 158 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 21 Oct 2026- Status changed to active21 Oct 2026, 08:54 BST
- Procurement method changed21 Oct 2026, 08:54 BST
- Deadline published: 1 Dec 2026, 12:00 GMT21 Oct 2026, 08:54 BST
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
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Inverness Sheriff CourtReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice; the tender pack is on the portal.