Official UK procurement notice
Supported Employment Services · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Dorset Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDorset Council carried out an open tender procedure in search for a single supplier to deliver a Dorset Supported Employment Service which supports Care Act eligible people living with learning disabilities, mental health needs and physical disabilities seeking employment and voluntary opportunities and supporting them to achieve economic wellbeing and social inclusion whilst maximising their potential as a person living in Dorset.
The service will be for adults 16yrs+ and will be able to support young people as they enter adulthood, allowing them the opportunity to receive support to achieve their own employment goals.
This is separate to the Connect to Work programme, however there will be a direct interface.
CPV: Adult and other education services · Health and social work services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£900,000
- Economic & financial standing
Please see tender documentation
- Technical & professional ability
Please see tender documentation
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 (4)
- Dorset Council Quality: 45%
- Experts by Experience Quality: 10%
- Price: 40%
- Social Value: 5%
Published award criteria (4)
- Dorset Council Quality : This Quality Criteria will be evaluated by Dorset Council
- Experts by Experience Quality : This Quality Criteria will be evaluated by Experts by Experience
- Price
- Social Value
- Economic & financial standing
Please see tender documentation
- Technical & professional ability
Please see tender documentation
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
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
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 20 Jun 2025, 14:14 BST
- Last source update
- 2 Apr 2026, 13:14 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 26 Jan 2026
- Authority reference
DN773576- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-064235- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0550f4Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
The Contracting Authority is required to make payments against valid, non-disputed invoices within a maximum of 30-days, as per Section 68 of the Procurement Act 2023.
- Risks
The Contracting Authority considers that the following known risks may jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the contract, but due to the nature of the risks, are unable to be addressed in the contract as awarded:
- Implementation of the Connect to Work Programme and the implications of two supported employment services* running in the Dorset Council area (*although these services are different).
- Fluctuations in funding - such as reductions or additions in budget allocations as part of the Council's budget setting processes, or as a consequence of additional funding streams which were unknown at the time of awarding the contract, but which are provided to increase the volume and scope of services delivered.
- Unexpected events such as War, pandemics or other unforeseen events may disrupt supported employment arrangements.
- The changing needs and requirements of the Council and the changing demands placed on the Council by its customers. Changes in the supported employee’s physical or mental health may impact their ability to work, and the contract cannot guarantee ongoing motivation or engagement from the customers.
- Changes in legislation or national guidance may alter the obligations or feasibility of the arrangement.
Following the identification of the above known risks, the Contracting Authority reserves the right to modify the contract during the term of the contract in accordance with Schedule 8, Paragraph 5 of the Procurement Act 2023.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 5 Nov 2025, 10:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 24 Oct 2025, 00:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Dorset Council will be using its e-tendering portal (ProContract) for the administration of this procurement process. Suppliers must register with the system to be able to express an interest and download the tender documents.
The opportunity can be searched for at this web address:
www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗
The portal is free to join. Dorset Council are not the owners of this portal, so if you require any further guidance on how to use the portal or experience any technical difficulties, please go to the ‘help and guidance’ tab.
Suppliers must register on ProContract and express an interest in this opportunity to be able to submit an application to this tender.
All correspondence or clarifications relating to this tender must be submitted via the messaging function within ProContract.
Tenderers are required to answer all of the questions and submit their completed response (including any associated documentation) by 10:00 on 05 November 2025. The tender response must be submitted via the e-tendering portal.
Tenderers will not be able to submit a response after the deadline detailed above and are advised that if their tender response (including any associated documentation) is only partially uploaded within the e-tendering portal by the closing date and time then they will not be given opportunity to complete their document upload.
Tenderers are therefore recommended to upload their full tender response well in advance of the closing date and time.
Timeline
20 Jun 2025 → 2 Apr 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published20 Jun 2025, 14:14 BST
- Market engagement10 Jul 2025, 00:59 BST
Dorset Council is undertaking a preliminary market engagement event, with the aim of requesting feedback from the supported employment provider market.
The soft market testing exercise is intended to allow interested organisations with appropriate experience to express an interest in the opportunity and to outline their views and ideas about the future provision of these services, specifically in the following areas:
- What works well in your area?
- What barriers do we need to consider going forward?
- What will make our service a success?
We invite relevant companies and organisations to join us at a Preliminary Market Engagement Event on Wednesday 9th of July of 2025 at 2pm-3pm so that we can explore best practice and service design. To register your interest and to receive a MS Teams invite to the market engagement event, please send an email to [email protected] by 5pm on Tuesday the 8th of July 2025.
If your organisation is unable to attend the event but would like a copy of the slides, please also email [email protected] to express an interest.
- Next notice expected22 Aug 2025, 00:59 BST
- Tender notice published381 days ago10 Oct 2025, 14:52 BST
- Clarification questions by368 days ago24 Oct 2025, 00:00 BST
- Submission deadline355 days ago5 Nov 2025, 10:00 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent274 days ago26 Jan 2026
- Award decision expected by273 days ago26 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Standstill ends264 days ago4 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts209 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published207 days ago2 Apr 2026, 13:14 BST
Notice history
10 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 20 Jun 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Jun 2025, 14:14 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published10 Oct 2025, 14:52 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £900,00010 Oct 2025, 14:52 BSTwas £750,000
- Status changed to active10 Oct 2025, 14:52 BST
- Procurement method changed10 Oct 2025, 14:52 BST
- Deadline published: 5 Nov 2025, 10:00 GMT10 Oct 2025, 14:52 BST
- Contract award notice published26 Jan 2026, 15:31 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete26 Jan 2026, 15:31 GMT
- Contract signature expected5 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published2 Apr 2026, 13:14 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-06: 1 release · 20 Jun 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The You Trust1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 · up to 31 Mar 2031Extensions: The Contract will be for an initial 2 years, with three optional 12-month extension periods (1+1+1), subject to satisfactory performance and funding, giving a potential total contract period of 5 years. · Options: The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. The contracting authority reserves the right to extend or renew the term of the contract as stated above. The contracting authority reserves the right to additional goods, services, or works while the contract is valid. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to modify this contract during its term in accordance with Section 74(1)(a) and Paragraph 1 of Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023. These modifications may include: • Adjustments to service volumes, or delivery locations within Dorset where they are necessary to respond to changes in funding, policy or service demand. • Changes to funding levels, including application of grant funding or budget reductions. • Further extensions (both for time and value), subject to performance and funding availability alongside governance approvals which might be necessary to respond to changes in funding, policy, or service demand. • Extension of the contract term beyond the 10 per cent provided in Section 74(3)a • Inclusion of additional supported employment needs, provided they fall within the broad scope of the original specification Any modification made under this clause will be documented and, where required, published. The contracting authority also reserves the right to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Procurement Act 2023 | £900,000 | 26 Jan 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Supported Employment Services · The You Trust
- Signed
- 27 Mar 2026
- Value
- £900,000
- Period
- 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The Contract will be for an initial 2 years, with three optional 12-month extension periods (1+1+1), subject to satisfactory performance and funding, giving a potential total contract period of 5 years.
- Options
- The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. The contracting authority reserves the right to extend or renew the term of the contract as stated above. The contracting authority reserves the right to additional goods, services, or works while the contract is valid. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to modify this contract during its term in accordance with Section 74(1)(a) and Paragraph 1 of Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023. These modifications may include: • Adjustments to service volumes, or delivery locations within Dorset where they are necessary to respond to changes in funding, policy or service demand. • Changes to funding levels, including application of grant funding or budget reductions. • Further extensions (both for time and value), subject to performance and funding availability alongside governance approvals which might be necessary to respond to changes in funding, policy, or service demand. • Extension of the contract term beyond the 10 per cent provided in Section 74(3)a • Inclusion of additional supported employment needs, provided they fall within the broad scope of the original specification Any modification made under this clause will be documented and, where required, published. The contracting authority also reserves the right to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Procurement Act 2023
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders · 2 at stage one | 1 | 1 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- The YOU TrustAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications The full set of Associated Tender Documents are being provided on the same day that the Tender Notice is published. All Tender documents can be found at the above address.
- Technical specifications Refer to the specification for all performance requirements. The full set of Associated Tender Documents are being provided on the same day that the Tender Notice is published. All Tender documents can be found at the above address.
Notices 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