Official UK procurement notice
Supply & Distribution of Various Foods
Authority: Cumberland Council (Local council)
What is being bought4 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionCumberland Council have a requirement for the supply and distribution of a range of various foods within the footprint of Cumberland Council, these foods will be suitable for Cumberland Care Sites, Cumberland Council Sites and Cumberland Council maintained non-chequebook schools which do not use third party School Meals providers.
Cumberland Care sites currently consist of 8 Care Homes and 9 Day Centres.
There are currently 75 maintained schools within they footprint of Cumberland Council.
Only those schools which do not use a third-party school meals provider will be eligible to access the Framework, this currently applies to 31 schools but is subject to change. The number of schools who will access the Framework is not guaranteed as not all schools will choose to opt in. Schools that are eligible to use the framework will sign an access agreement allowing them to receive framework pricing and benefits however they will be wholly responsible for all framework transactions and will contract directly with the successful supplier(s).
This contract will be tendered in 4 lots with each lot being awarded to one supplier.
- Lot 1 - Fresh Meat & Fish
- Lot 2 - Fresh Fruit & Vegetables
- Lot 3 - Frozen Foods
- Lot 4 - Groceries & Provisions, including Fresh Milk, Fresh Bread & Morning Goods, Fresh Sandwich Fillings, Salads, Cooked Meats and Soft Drinks.
Suppliers will be able to tender for one, more than one, or all Lots.
The lots will be evaluated individually, and each lot will be awarded to one supplier who will supply and distribute the full range of goods within the lot to all eligible sites within the
footprint of Cumberland Council.
CPV: Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs are awarded directly to appointed suppliers, without further competition
- Places
- up to 4 suppliers · 1 bids on the busiest of 4 lots (0.3 per place) · 1 appointed
- Framework period
- 4 yrs from 1 Aug 2026
Published description of the framework
Direct Award
Lots and requirements (4)Procurement structure
4 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1Fresh Meat & FishAwardedPublished value£162,149
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #2Fresh Fruit & VegetablesAwardedPublished value£65,050
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #3Frozen FoodsAwardedPublished value£305,173
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #4Groceries & ProvisionsAwardedPublished value£536,612
The source published no individual description for this lot.
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 award criteria (3)
- Price
- Quality
- Social Value
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Supply & Distribution of Various Foods” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 4 suppliers, not a single contract, and call-offs are awarded directly: getting appointed is the whole game.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use the vehicle
- 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
- 23 May 2025, 08:45 BST
- Last source update
- 25 Aug 2026, 10:51 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 12 Jun 2026
- Authority reference
DN812591- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-040419- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-051fdfFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 26 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 15 May 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
The documents are available via The Chest - www.the-chest.org.uk ↗
For support using the chest please contact Proactis, using the supplier support area.
For clarifications, please ensure all correspondence is via The Chest using the message area.
Suppliers wishing to express an interest and obtain access to the tender documents should go to www.the-chest.org.uk ↗ and click on current opportunities from the navigation area on the left of the screen. On the next screen enter the contract Reference (DN812591) in the box labelled 'contains' then click search.
Click on the Blue link for the contract title to view the opportunity.
To express an interest you will need to login. If you are not already
registered on the www.the-chest.org.uk ↗ you will need to return to the home page and click on Register. Register FREE link in the navigation area on the left of the screen. Registration is free of charge and your username and password will be emailed to you.
Cumberland Council is fully supportive of all aspects of diversity including ethnicity,race, religion, age, disability and sexual orientation. In this respect Cumberland Council welcomes expressions of interest from ethnic minority, disabled and other diverse business communities and the voluntary sector.
Economic operators are therefore required to fully comply with all statutory obligations/applicable legislation and there will be a requirement to participate in the Authority's supplier audits on all aspects of diversity.
The Contracting Authority expressly reserves the right:
(i) not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; and
(ii) to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering competition; and in no circumstances will the Contracting Authority be liable for any costs incurred by the candidates. Any expenditure, work or effort undertaken prior to contract award is accordingly a matter solely for the commercial judgement of potential suppliers.
The contracting authority reserve the right to use any electronic portal during the life of the agreement.
The value provided in this notice is only an estimate.
The contract term is 4 years with no option to extend
Timeline
23 May 2025 → 25 Aug 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published23 May 2025, 08:45 BST
- Next notice expected318 days ago1 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Market engagement182 days ago16 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
Cumberland Council have a requirement for the supply and distribution of a range of various Foods suitable for use by Cumberland Care Sites, Cumberland Council Sites and Cumberland Council maintained non-chequebook schools which do not use third party School Meals providers.
Distribution will be required to sites throughout the footprint of Cumberland Council.
This contract will be tendered in 4 lots. Suppliers will be able to tender for one, more than one, or all Lots.
The lots will be evaluated individually and each lot will be awarded to one supplier who will supply and distribute throughout the footprint of Cumberland Council.
The contract will be for a period of 4 years.
The Council will be carrying out an online session on Thursday 16th April 2026 at 10am to 11.00 to further outline the opportunity. This will be available for all prospective suppliers. Please confirm email addresses via the 'messaging area' on The Chest (www.the-chest.org.uk ↗) if you would like to secure a space, a maximum of 2 from each organisation. These must be received before Friday 10th April 2026 at 4.00pm
- Tender notice published168 days ago1 May 2026, 11:46 BST
- Clarification questions by154 days ago15 May 2026, 17:00 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends143 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown26 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by125 days ago12 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent86 days ago22 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
- Contract starts76 days ago1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
- Standstill ends73 days ago3 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published52 days ago25 Aug 2026, 10:51 BST
Notice history
12 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 May 2025- Pipeline notice published23 May 2025, 08:45 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published19 Mar 2026, 10:56 GMTUK2
- Published value updated to £4,500,00019 Mar 2026, 10:56 GMTwas £4,040,000
- Preliminary market engagement notice published19 Mar 2026, 13:26 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published1 May 2026, 11:46 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active1 May 2026, 11:46 BST
- Procurement method changed1 May 2026, 11:46 BST
- Deadline published: 26 May 2026, 12:00 BST1 May 2026, 11:46 BST
- Contract award notice published22 Jul 2026, 14:46 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete22 Jul 2026, 14:46 BST
- Contract signature expected10 Aug 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published25 Aug 2026, 10:51 BSTUK7
Published amendments (1)
The dates in the Engagement section were stated as 2025. The engagement is taking place in 2026.
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2026-03: 2 releases · 19 Mar 2026, 19 Mar 2026
- 2025-05: 1 release · 23 May 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Across several lots1 award | |||
| P.F.D.(CARLISLE)LIMITED1 Sept 2026 – 31 Aug 2030 | £4,500,000 | 22 Jul 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Supply & Distribution of Various Foods · P.F.D.(CARLISLE)LIMITED
- Signed
- 18 Aug 2026
- Value
- £4,500,000
- Period
- 1 Sept 2026 – 31 Aug 2030
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Fresh Meat & Fish | 1final-stage tenders · 2 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Fresh Fruit & Vegetables | 1final-stage tenders · 2 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 · Frozen Foods | 1final-stage tenders · 2 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 · Groceries & Provisions | 1final-stage tenders · 2 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
1 commercial party on the notice- P.F.D.(CARLISLE)LIMITEDFramework contractor
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
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender