Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 15 May 2026, 15:02 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Targeted Relationships · UK public procurement notice

Authority: Kent County Council (Local council)

ServicesAbove thresholdLight touch regime
Planned pipeline value£925,686pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 3 yrsends 31 May 2030 · up to 30 May 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Jun 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Kent County Council is inviting organisations and practitioners to attend a preliminary market engagement event to help shape the future Targeted Relationships Service before a formal procurement process begins.

This is not a tender—it’s an opportunity to inform the service design and understand market capability.

Targeted Relationships Service is primarily girls and young women aged 10–18 who are experiencing, or at risk of, unhealthy relationships and abuse.

The service will provide targeted, trauma-informed support to young people experiencing multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities. This includes early help and preventative interventions aimed at improving safety, wellbeing, and long-term outcomes.

The service has been commissioned since 2012 and is a key component of the Council’s response to vulnerability, exploitation, and violence affecting girls and young women.

We are particularly interested in engaging with organisations and practitioners who have expertise in:

•Safeguarding and exploitation

•Violence against women and girls (VAWG)

•SEND inclusion and accessibility

•Child Missing Education (CME) and engagement with out-of-school cohorts

This event will outline the requirements of Kent County Council for the Targeted Relationships Support Service for primarily girls and young women aged 10–18 who are experiencing, or at risk of, unhealthy relationships and abuse.

Workshops will be held to seek stakeholder input on the feasibility and design of this service.

Monday 08th June 2026 at 13:00pm – 14:30pm Microsoft Teams Wednesday 10th June 2026 at 10:30am- 12:00pm Microsoft Teams

To express your interest, ask any questions or secure a place, please email [email protected] with your preferred date by the 05/06/2026 . Further details will be provided upon receipt of your registration.

Kent County Council intend to procure Targeted Relationships through a tender process. This procurement will be conducted in accordance with the new Procurement Act 2023. Please note this notice is not a call for competition; therefore, attendees are not expected to submit any documents.

Further information relating to this procurement will be published on Central Digital Platform and the Kent Business Portal at a future date. Interested providers are advised to create a supplier profile on the Kent Business Portal to receive notifications about the future procurement opportunity, once the formal tender is launched.

Contract Length; 01/06/2027 - 31/5/2030, plus potential 1 year extension to 30/5/2031 (provisional and subject to change)

Contract Total Value; £925,685.52 (estimated)

CPV: Social services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 3 yrs
Contract period: 1 Jun 2027 – 31 May 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 30 May 2031 with extensions
Delivery: South East
Extensions: Extension options published

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How Kent County Council buys Social services (CPV 8532), and who usually turns up

Kent County Council’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: Social services (CPV 8532) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerKent County Council · division 85
The marketSocial services (CPV 8532) · South East England
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 14 of 35 known-size awards · market: CPV 8532 · South East England, n=97
40%49%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
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 South East England.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 35 of 42 known-location awards · market: CPV 8532 · South East England, n=135
83%63%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South East England.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 21 decided notices · market: CPV 8532 · South East England, n=7
90 days39 days

Half of these awards were announced within 90 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 15 of 46 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 8532 · South East England, n=130
33%75%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer14 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 85
21% had one bid
The market29 lots with bid counts · CPV 8532 · South East England
21% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid21% / 21%
Buyer: 3 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 6 of 29 lots with published bid counts.
2–357% / 31%
Buyer: 8 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 9 of 29 lots with published bid counts.
4–67% / 31%
Buyer: 1 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 9 of 29 lots with published bid counts.
7+14% / 17%
Buyer: 2 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 5 of 29 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer7 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 85
57% below estimate
The market16 lots with estimate and award · CPV 8532 · South East England
44% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate57% / 44%
Buyer: 4 of 7 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 7 of 16 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%43% / 56%
Buyer: 3 of 7 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 9 of 16 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate0% / 0%
Buyer: 0 of 7 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 0 of 16 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 853236 monthsPublished estimate£926k
Expected competition
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. The bar shows 29 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet21% single-bid risk
Past bids on 29 similar lots
1 bid21%
6 of 29 similar past lots received 1 bid (21%).
2–331%
9 of 29 similar past lots received 2–3 (31%).
4–631%
9 of 29 similar past lots received 4–6 (31%).
7+17%
5 of 29 similar past lots received 7+ (17%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £926k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

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.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
Project Salus CICEarlier contractTargeted Relationshipsnotice published Jul 2022—£367kMatched as the earlier contract

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.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

What this replaces
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

100% title match.

A past supplier may not bid again.

The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (100% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid

Targeted Relationships — held by Project Salus CIC; no contract end date published.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
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
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
15 May 2026, 15:02 BST
Last source update
15 May 2026, 15:02 BST
Authority reference
CN250177
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-044980
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Social services
Delivery area
South East (UKJ4)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069a2f Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

15 May 2026 → 1 Jun 2027 · 3 dates
  1. Planning notice published158 days ago
    15 May 2026, 15:02 BST
  2. Market engagement137 days ago
    5 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST

    Kent County Council is inviting organisations and practitioners to attend a preliminary market engagement event to help shape the future Targeted Relationships Service before a formal procurement process begins.

    This is not a tender—it’s an opportunity to inform the service design and understand market capability.

    Targeted Relationships Service is primarily girls and young women aged 10–18 who are experiencing, or at risk of, unhealthy relationships and abuse.

    The service will provide targeted, trauma-informed support to young people experiencing multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities. This includes early help and preventative interventions aimed at improving safety, wellbeing, and long-term outcomes.

    The service has been commissioned since 2012 and is a key component of the Council’s response to vulnerability, exploitation, and violence affecting girls and young women.

    We are particularly interested in engaging with organisations and practitioners who have expertise in:

    •Safeguarding and exploitation

    •Violence against women and girls (VAWG)

    •SEND inclusion and accessibility

    •Child Missing Education (CME) and engagement with out-of-school cohorts

    This event will outline the requirements of Kent County Council for the Targeted Relationships Support Service for primarily girls and young women aged 10–18 who are experiencing, or at risk of, unhealthy relationships and abuse.

    Workshops will be held to seek stakeholder input on the feasibility and design of this service.

    Monday 08th June 2026 at 13:00pm – 14:30pm Microsoft Teams

    Wednesday 10th June 2026 at 10:30am- 12:00pm Microsoft Teams

    To express your interest, ask any questions or secure a place, please email [email protected] with your preferred date by 05/06/2026 . Further details will be provided upon receipt of your registration.

    Kent County Council intend to procure Targeted Relationships through a tender process. This procurement will be conducted in accordance with the new Procurement Act 2023. Please note this notice is not a call for competition; therefore, attendees are not expected to submit any documents.

    Further information relating to this procurement will be published on Central Digital Platform and the Kent Business Portal at a future date. Interested providers are advised to create a supplier profile on the Kent Business Portal to receive notifications about the future procurement opportunity, once the formal tender is launched.

  3. Today
    20 Oct 2026
  4. Contract startsin 223 days
    1 Jun 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    15 May 2026, 15:02 BST
    UK2

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Kent County Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PLDL-8938-YGYW Kent County Council | Sessions House, Maidstone, Maidstone, South East, ME14 1XQContact name, email, phone

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure