Official UK procurement notice
Sunderland Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS)
Authority: NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNorth of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service working for and on behalf of NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (the Relevant Authority) who are undertaking a competition to provide. Alternative Provider Medical Service (APMS) to be delivered for patients of Sunderland.
Contract Start Date: 15 April 2027
Contract End Date: 14 April 2036
The contract term is for an initial period of 7 years, with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the discretion of the Relevant Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.
CPV: Health services · Medical practice and related services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service…Published value£10,793,077
- Extensions
- The contract term is for an initial period of 7 years commencing on 15 April 2027, with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the discretion of the Relevant Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.
- Variant bids
- not allowed
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 (5)
- Quality and Innovation — 40%
- Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice — 17%
- Value — 10%
- Social Value — 10%
- Collaboration and Service Sustainability — 23%
Published award criteria (5)
- Quality and Innovation — 40
- Collaboration and Service Sustainability — 23
- Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice — 17
- Social Value — 10
- Value — 10
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 10 of 100 points — a 10% discount moves about 1 point. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £21,586,154 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring — the tender pack may use another formula. 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 NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board buys Health services (CPV 8510) — and who usually turns up
NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Health services (CPV 8510) →
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.
Here, local means registered in North East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North East 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 42 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.
Both shares are minimums: 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 bid41% / 24%
2–350% / 45%
4–69% / 18%
7+0% / 13%
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 estimate18% / 36%
Within ±2%82% / 55%
Above estimate0% / 9%
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 #1North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service…CPV 8510Published estimate£11m
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid17%
2–363%
4–619%
7+1%
i
Where the winning price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 28 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A guide, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£11m–£11m
Estimate£11m
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Pregnancy Advisory Service BPASWorked for this buyer | NECS466 Termination of Pregnancy Service (TOPS) for and on behalf of NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Boardnotice published Dec 2023 | — | — | 93% match |
| Vocare LimitedWorked for this buyer | GP Out of Hours & Home Visiting Servicenotice published Mar 2025 | Northumberland | — | 93% match |
| Thurrock Health Hubs LimitedWorked for this buyer | Complex and Non-Complex Podiatry Servicesnotice published Feb 2025 | — | — | 93% match |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £954m24 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 2 live · £63m 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=13 | |
| £132m14 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 4 live · £39m 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=1 | |
| £201m16 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 3 live · £167m 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=1 | |
Intrahealth LimitedLarge | £90m14 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 2 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=8 |
| £51m14 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 2 live · £16m 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 |
Coverage and what to read with care
- Each figure explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two sides are never blended. A lot’s own market is read at its delivery region where the lot names one; where it names several, or none that can be resolved, the chart falls back to the UK-wide record for the same category and says so under the bar. An empty cell means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
- When we call out a difference. A buyer figure is only flagged against the market when the sample is large enough that the gap is unlikely to be chance; at most two callouts appear, always phrased as a comparison with both numbers and the sample size.
- Coverage (re-measured 5 Oct on the live record, 94,497 awarded procedures of the last three years). 51 % publish a bid count and 72 % a delivery region, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice names none, labelled. Of the 17,687 award-vs-estimate pairs, 34 % sit exactly on the estimate — the buyer published the award at the figure it advertised. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden, and a distribution is not drawn as percentages below ten observations.
- “Match”, text similarity, the expected-bid figure and the distribution drawn beneath it are model outputs, not published facts or win probabilities. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
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
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 12 Oct 2026, 09:20 BST
- Last source update
- 12 Oct 2026, 09:20 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 11 Nov 2026 — …
- Authority reference
NHSE1114- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-095906- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078547Find a Tender
Publisher note: NECS is utilising an electronic tendering tool to manage this competition and communicate with potential providers. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to potential providers and all communications with NECS, including response submissions, will be conducted via the Atamis portal at: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome It is free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should providers have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the Atamis helpdesk via: [email protected] or phone number 0800 0988201 The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 08.00 am - 06.00 pm The "Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006" as amended by the "Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulation 2014" (TUPE) may apply to this contract. However, Providers are advised to obtain their own legal advice and carry out due diligence including the New Fair Deal non-statutory policy setting out how pensions issues are to be dealt with when staff are compulsorily transferred from the public sector to independent providers delivering public services Competition documentation will be available on the e-tendering site from 12 October 2026.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 11 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- {"written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bids opened
- 11 Nov 2026, 13:00 GMT
Timeline
3 published dates · Europe/London- Notice published1 day ago12 Oct 2026, 09:20 BST
- Submission deadlinein 29 days11 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Bids openedin 29 days11 Nov 2026, 13:00 GMT
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
- North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care BoardReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice; the tender pack is on the portal.