Official UK procurement notice
Short Breaks, Community Clubs and Activities (SBCCA)
Authority: Essex County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionShort Breaks Community Clubs and Activities (SBCCA) offer parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) a break from their additional caring responsibilities, while ensuring children and young people have the opportunities develop, learn, socialise and interact with their peers.
CPV: Other community, social and personal services · Social work and related services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 5 yrs from 1 Jan 2028
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).
- “Short Breaks, Community Clubs and Activities (SBCCA)” 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 Essex County Council buys Social work and related services (CPV 8530), and who usually turns up
Essex County 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: Social work and related services (CPV 8530) →
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.
No small-firm winners recorded among this authority’s published awards in this sample.
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in East of England.
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 110 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 bid57% / 2%
2–30% / 26%
4–60% / 26%
7+43% / 46%
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
Our matching links this notice to “Short Breaks Community Clubs and Activities” of this authority, but none of the 3 panel members sit in a category matching this notice.
Lot #1CPV 8530Estimate not published
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 113 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid12%
2–35%
4–68%
7+74%
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.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
89% title match.
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.
89% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (89% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Short Breaks Community Clubs and Activities, winner not published; no contract end date published.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- 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
- 20 Oct 2026, 15:08 BST
- Last source update
- 20 Oct 2026, 15:08 BST
- Authority reference
F038PC- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-099101- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078c0fFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
20 Oct 2026 → 1 Jan 2028 · 3 dates- Planning notice published1 day ago20 Oct 2026, 15:08 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 36 days26 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
Date: Monday 30th November, 13:00 to 16:00
Location: County Hall, Chelmsford, E4 Event Space (arrivals from 12:45. Please meet commissioners in reception)
As you may be aware, the current Short Breaks Community Clubs and Activities (SBCCA) contracts are due to end in March 2028. Essex County Council is beginning to plan for future Short Breaks Community Clubs and Activities provision from April 2028.
Commissioners in the Short Breaks team have undertaken extensive engagement with parent carers and young people through a range of activities, including visits to current provision, SEND Roadshows and parent carer support groups and hosting online engagement sessions. We have received valuable feedback on what is important to families and what they would like to see in future provision.
Essex County Council will be hosting an in-person provider engagement session, open to both current providers and organisations interested in working with Essex County Council to deliver future Short Breaks Community Clubs and Activities provision. This session will provide an opportunity to hear the findings from our family engagement and connect with other providers.
The session will take place on Monday 30th November, from 13:00 to 16:00, in the E4 Event Space at County Hall, Chelmsford. This is located on the fourth floor and can be accessed via lift. Commissioners will be available in reception from 12:45 to welcome attendees and direct them to the event space. Please note, refreshments will be available but lunch will not be provided.
If you would like to attend, please book via this link: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/i0LL9TcDBm ↗ by 9:00am on Thursday 26th November. Please note, spaces are limited to two per provider and please ensure each person books a space separately. If you are no longer able to attend after registering, please email [email protected] as soon as possible.
- Contract starts1 Jan 2028
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Oct 2026, 15:08 BSTUK2
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 (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender