Specialist Planning Recruitment Services

Name: Procurement Process ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2
Creator: South Holland District Council
Published: 2026-09-29T09:55:49.000Z
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Authority: South Holland District Council (Local council)·On behalf of: PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNERSHIP SERVICES LTD

Direct awardSME suitable

Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: East Midlands (UKF3)

Awarded value£170,940published award · inc. VAT

Awarded 22 Sept 2026no call for competition

Awarded to Stonehouse Recruitment Group Ltd2 awards

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Provision of specialist recruitment services to support the Council's Planning Service through the continued engagement of an existing consultant.

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1Lot 1AwardedSME

Eligibility: SME eligibleDelivery: East Midlands

79600000 Recruitment services

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Direct award
Legal basis: UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Notice status: Awarded without competition
Procurement threshold: Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Direct award — no call for competition
GPA / WTO covered: Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement: No (one-off requirement)
First published: 29 Sept 2026, 10:55 BST
Last source update: 29 Sept 2026, 10:55 BST
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Delivery area: East Midlands (UKF3)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0775a2

Why no open competition: Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
Published justification: This Transparency Notice is issued in accordance with Section 44 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Regulation 26 of the Procurement Regulations 2024, which require publication of a transparency notice prior to making a direct award. The Council intends to enter into a direct award for the continued provision of specialist recruitment services with Stonehouse Recruitment Ltd, retaining the same consultant currently more…
engaged on assignment The direct award is made under the permitted justification in Schedule 5 (technical reasons), as the continuation of the existing consultant is necessary to maintain service continuity and avoid disruption to the current recruitment programme. The consultant has specialist knowledge of the roles, candidate pipeline and compliance requirements. Furthermore, they have developed excellent working knowledge of the Council's Planning Systems and is carrying a large caseload of live applications, which would mean that letting the consultant leave and replacing them at this stage would result in significant duplication of work, delays in the determination of planning applications, and service inefficiency. The result would be a drop in the Council's nationally monitored KPI Planning performance, an adverse reputational impact upon the Planning Service and Council, and the possibility of planning fee refunds in accordance with the Planning Guarantee. The proposed direct award will extend the current arrangement for a further 12 months with the option to extend for a further 5 months to ensure continuity of service and allow the Council time to plan and implement any future procurement strategy in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. NOTE: there is only one contract for this contract details notice

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics — not a forecast

Awards 2

Awarded value (inc. VAT) £170,9401 award inc. VAT — no net value published

Contracts signed 2latest 22 Sept 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Stonehouse Recruitment Group LtdSME31 Oct 2026 — 29 Oct 2027 · up to 31 Mar 2028Extensions: 5 month extension period	£170,940 inc. VAT	—	Awarded
Stonehouse Recruitment Group LtdSME	—	—	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 1 · Stonehouse Recruitment Group LtdSME
Signed
22 Sept 2026
Value
£170,940 inc. VAT
Period
31 Oct 2026 — 29 Oct 2027 · up to 31 Mar 2028 with extensions
Status
active
Extensions
1, 12 month period
No agreed KPIs: Below threshold for KPI's
Contract 2 · Stonehouse Recruitment Group LtdSME
Signed
22 Sept 2026
Value
—
Period
31 Oct 2026 — 31 Mar 2027 · up to 31 Mar 2028 with extensions
Status
active
Extensions
1, 12 month period Note: there is only one contract
No agreed KPIs: Below threshold for KPI's

Notice history

3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 Sept 2026

Contract signature expected
30 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Contract details notice published
29 Sept 2026, 10:55 BSTUK7
Transparency notice published
18 Sept 2026, 15:06 BSTUK5

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

South Holland District Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PLGG-6171-RCMJ Council Offices, Priory Road, Spalding, East Midlands, PE11 2XE [email protected]

Other public bodies

PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNERSHIP SERVICES LTDProcess contact pointProcuring entityProcurement Support and AdviceGB-COH: 07289357GB-PPON: PHBH-6448-LMYZ Salford, North West [email protected]

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

STONEHOUSE RECRUITMENT GROUP LIMITEDAwarded supplierGB-COH: 13585289GB-PPON: PLGV-3148-ZPCN 78 Wembley Park Drive, Wembley, London, HA9 8HB [email protected]

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Conflict of interest declarationtenderConflict of interest declarationNot published

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender29 Sept 2026, 10:55 BST
Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender29 Sept 2026, 10:55 BST
Transparency notice awardTransparency noticeUK5Transparency notice on Find a Tender18 Sept 2026, 15:06 BST