Official UK procurement notice
Stockton and Hartlepool Employment Connections Individual Placement Support (SHEC IPS)
Authority: Stockton on Tees Borough Council (Local council)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe contract is to support people, in structured treatment for substance misuse, into employment. Employment is a key motivational factor in recovery from substance use. Specialist advisors develop a network of employers to support the service e.g. with a placement or into paid employment, working with individuals to identify and realise their employment goals. The service includes the following:
Speaking with benefits agencies on behalf of service users
Working with the individual to find the kind of job they'd like
Building confidence and identifying strengths
Helping to write CV's and getting users ready for interviews
Talking to local employers on their behalf
Helping users to understand their benefits and how work might affect them
Offering ongoing support once users have started work
OHID grant funding is specifically for this service. Stockton commissions the service on behalf of Stockton and Hartlepool Borough Councils.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Nov 2030, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Health services · Rehabilitation services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£1,220,665
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).
Published sub-criteria (6)
- Delivering the Service Model and Outcomes: 25%
- Outreach and Partnership Working: 25%
- Service Integration and Mobilisation: 20%
- 4 Identifying and Responding to Need: 10%
- Service Management and Workforce: 10%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (6)
- Delivering the Service Model and Outcomes
- Outreach and Partnership Working
- Service Integration and Mobilisation
- 4 Identifying and Responding to Need
- Service Management and Workforce
- Social Value
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
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 Nov 2030
- First published
- 11 Aug 2025, 10:59 BST
- Last source update
- 1 Jun 2026, 17:02 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 13 Feb 2026
- Authority reference
OPEN20251433- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-079235- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0584f4Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 5 Jan 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
11 Aug 2025 → 1 Jun 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published11 Aug 2025, 10:59 BST
- Market engagement30 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
Suppliers are to confirm if they are interested in this project. A questionnaire for suppliers to confirm their interest has been published on the OPEN portal : open-uk.org/opportunities/overvi… ↗
- Next notice expected354 days ago1 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published323 days ago3 Dec 2025, 10:49 GMT
- Submission deadline290 days ago5 Jan 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by250 days ago13 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent246 days ago18 Feb 2026
- Standstill ends232 days ago3 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts204 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published143 days ago1 Jun 2026, 17:02 BST
Notice history
12 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Aug 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published11 Aug 2025, 10:59 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published3 Dec 2025, 10:49 GMTUK4
- Published value published: £1,220,6653 Dec 2025, 10:49 GMT
- Status changed to active3 Dec 2025, 10:49 GMT
- Procurement method changed3 Dec 2025, 10:49 GMT
- Deadline published: 5 Jan 2026, 17:00 GMT3 Dec 2025, 10:49 GMT
- Tender notice published3 Dec 2025, 10:55 GMTUK4
- Tender notice published12 Dec 2025, 12:04 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published18 Feb 2026, 16:45 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete18 Feb 2026, 16:45 GMT
- Contract signature expected10 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published1 Jun 2026, 17:02 BSTUK7
Published amendments (2)
The link to where the tender is advertised on the OPEN portal has been updated.
The figure total value (including VAT) has been amended. The figure for total value (excluding VAT) has remained the same.
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2025-12: 2 releases · 3 Dec 2025, 3 Dec 2025
- 2025-08: 1 release · 11 Aug 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recovery ConnectionsSME1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 · up to 31 Mar 2031Extensions: 4 x 12 month optional extensions | £1,220,665 | 18 Feb 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Stockton and Hartlepool Employment Connections Individual Placement Support (SHEC IPS) · Recovery ConnectionsSME
- Signed
- 31 Mar 2026
- Value
- £1,220,665
- Period
- 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The contract includes 4 x 12 month extensions. The decision to activate an extension lies with Stockton on Tees and Hartlepool Borough Council.
8 agreed KPIs: Number of referrals to the service · Number of clients who have started a vocational profile (engaged) · (% of referrals becoming new starters) …
- Number of referrals to the service
- Number of clients who have started a vocational profile (engaged)
- (% of referrals becoming new starters)
- Active caseloads
- % of starters into first paid employment
- Number of 13 week sustainment's
- Percentage of reviews completed, Percentage of reviews completed at: - 4 months (for those receiving in-work support) - 9 months (for those for those who have not started work)
- Average number of employment contacts per employment specialist per week
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders | 1 | 1 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- Hartlepool Borough CouncilContracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- RECOVERY CONNECTIONSAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender