Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 21 Sept 2026, 17:16 BST

Official UK procurement notice

The Provision of Firefighter Pension and Administration and Pensioner Payroll Services

Authority: Cleveland Fire Authority (Police & fire)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£500,000≈ £167k / year · £500,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 2 Nov 202612:00 GMT · 40d 10h left
Clarification cut-off 16 Oct 202617:00 BST · questions to the authority
Contract term 3 yrsup to 5 yrs with extensions · starts 1 May 2027
Bids per lot · the market 3CPV 6650 · n=3 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Authority requires the provision of a comprehensive Firefighters' Pension Administration and Pensioner Payroll Service for all active, deferred, pensioner and dependant members of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes ("FPS Schemes").

The Provider shall deliver a fully integrated, end-to-end service encompassing pension administration, pensioner payroll, member record management and employer support. The service must be underpinned by a secure and robust pension administration platform, incorporating workflow and document management capabilities, alongside comprehensive member, pensioner and employer support services.

The Provider will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement and innovation throughout the contract term, proactively identifying and implementing opportunities to enhance service quality, efficiency, accessibility and member experience, while ensuring compliance with all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements.

CPV: Insurance and pension services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1Renewal 3 yrsSMEPublished value£500,000
Contract period: 1 May 2027 — 30 Apr 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 5 yrs with extensionsEligibility: SME eligibleDelivery: North East, North West, Yorkshire & Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South WestTurnover guideline: ~£333,029/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£500,000 exc. VAT · £500,000 inc. VAT
Extensions
1st May 2027 to 30th April 2030 (with possible extension of 2 x 12months - potential 5 years in total)
66500000 Insurance and pension services

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored
Quality: 50%Price: 40%Social value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
  • PriceThe price aspect of this quotation will be evaluated in the following way: The lowest bona fide tender price covering the whole life cost of the contract agreement will receive the maximum weighting for price, the other bids/prices will then be scored on a pro-rata basis. **For clarification purposes, the whole life cost of a product, service or works shall cover costs borne by the Authority, or other users such as; • Costing relating to acquisition • Cost of use (energy consumption and other resources) • Maintenance costs • End of life costs, disposal, collection, recycling
  • Quality0 Unacceptable - No response is provided or the response is not relevant to the information requested in the question. 1 Poor - Response is poor. The response addresses very few elements of the requirement and contains insufficient/limited detail of explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled 2 Acceptable - The response provides information, on some or all of the elements required in the question, the information provided is relevant but is lacking in sufficient detail for some or all of the elements required. 3 Good - The response provides information on most of the elements required in the question the information provided is relevant and is in sufficient detail for most of the elements required. 4 Excellent - The response provides information on all of the elements required in the question, the information provided is relevant and is in sufficient detail for all of the elements required. The bidder has demonstrated a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full. 5 Added Value - The response provides information on all of the elements required in the question the information provided is relevant and is in sufficient detail for all of the elements required. The response also provides information on areas of added value* which is linked to the specified requirements.
  • Social ValueThis section will be evaluated on a weighted basis and will be scored in accordance with the evaluation matrix (0-5) and the social value response.

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

Insurance and pension services (CPV 6650) in North East England — and who usually turns up

Cleveland Fire Authority has too little published record in this market to describe on its own; the North East England market stands beside whatever it has. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Insurance and pension services (CPV 6650)

1

How the contest usually goes

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Cleveland Fire Authority

contract notices in 36 months: 1 in CPV 6650 · 1 in division 66 · 22 in all categories (15 without competition · 4 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 2 lots. All 2 lots are from older notices, which count bids received. Small sample.

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

2.5all categories · 36m · n=2 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 2 lots. Small sample.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

0%all categories · 36m · n=2 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Nothing published for this buyer in this sector: no comparable estimate → award pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

no comparable estimate → award pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Nothing published for this buyer in this sector: no award dates published.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

no award dates published
Notice updates
i

How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.

Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 23 notices.

Last 24 months.

0all categories · 24m · n=23 notices
Awarded without competition
i

How often this buyer awards without a competition.

Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 18 notices.

Last 36 months.

83%all categories · 36m · n=18 notices
How procedures are run robust · n=18
i

Which procedures buyers here use.

Notices by the procedure they declare: open, selective, limited or direct. Open and selective are competitions; limited and direct are not.

Based on 22 notices · all categories, last 36 months.

  • Open 6%
  • Selective 11%
  • Limited 83%
  • Direct 0%

22 notices · all categories. Open and selective are competed (they feed the bid and price figures above); limited and direct are not; notices publishing no route are outside all four.

The market · delivery region

North East England · Insurance and pension services (CPV 6650)

contract notices delivered in North East England in 36 months: 5 in CPV 6650 (4 competed) · 138 in division 66 (74 competed, 26 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6650), last 36 months: 3 lots. All 3 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices, which count bids assessed.

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

3CPV 6650 · 36m · n=3 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6650), last 36 months: 3 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

0%CPV 6650 · 36m · n=3 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 66), last 36 months: 18 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

29% belowdivision 66 · 36m · n=18 pairs
Deadline → award date
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.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 66), last 36 months: 20 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

68ddivision 66 · 36m · n=20 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 6650), last 36 months: 3 lots.

Last 36 months.

10%CPV 6650 · 36m · n=3 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 66), last 36 months: 63 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

67%division 66 · 36m · n=63 awards
Bids per lot moderate · n=3
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 3 lots on 1 contested notices · CPV 6650, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 0%
  • 2–3 67%
  • 4–6 33%
  • 7+ 0%

Median 3 · 3 lots on 1 contested notices · CPV 6650.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=18
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 18 lot pairs · division 66, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 61%
  • Within ±2% 22%
  • Above estimate 17%

18 lot pairs · division 66.

robust · n=18
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on the North East England market’s usual movement over 18 lots (division 66), applied to the £500,000 estimate on this notice. The range comes from the region’s middle half.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

Awards in North East England (division 66, n=18 pairs) land a median 29% below: on this notice’s £500,000 that is about £354,500, middle half £308,000£500,000 (quartiles from North East England · division 66). Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
2

Who you are likely to meet
i

Who you may be up against.

Suppliers on this buyer’s earlier similar contracts, and suppliers whose record fits this tender.

A guess from the record. Buyers do not publish who is bidding.

Suppliers on this authority’s earlier similar contracts, then suppliers with a matching track record — from published award history, not a bid list

Suppliers with a similar track record — and how they price
i

Suppliers with a similar track record, and how they price.

Suppliers matched on wins in this category, history with this buyer, location and size. Their award vs estimate is from their own past wins.

A guess from the record, not a bidder list.

SupplierEvidenceLast awardTheir award vs estimateRelevance
PWC LLC Large2 class winsthis monthat estimate n=1742%
Aon Solutions UK Limited Large1 class winsthis monthat estimate n=940%
Marsh Limited Large2 class winsthis monthat estimate n=2838%
Unum UK SME1 class wins26 months agono comparable pairs34%
Aviva Life & Pensions Ltd SME1 class wins26 months agono comparable pairs34%

Matched by the nightly worker on class wins, buyer history, delivery geography, scale and notice text; relevance is a 0–100% heuristic score, not a probability of bidding. “Their award vs estimate” is that supplier’s median on its own comparable single-supplier wins, CPV 6650 first. Nobody here is known to be bidding.

Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile 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 columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. 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
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
21 Sept 2026, 17:16 BST
Last source update
21 Sept 2026, 17:16 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end — 5 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Insurance and pension services
Delivery area
North East (UKC)North West (UKD)Yorkshire & Humber (UKE)East Midlands (UKF)West Midlands (UKG)East of England (UKH)London (UKI)South East (UKJ)+1 more
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0776e0 Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via In-tend
Submission portal named on this notice: In-tend · Who buys & how to bid on In-tend
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · one account per buying organisation's portal · reCAPTCHA on signup
Expression of interest (EOI)
Tender submission deadline
2 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
16 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
sell2.in-tend.co.uk/blpd/home All submissions and clarification questions to be submitted via the Intend Portal.
Published estimate £500,000 excludes VAT (£500,000 including VAT).

Timeline

5 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice published1 day ago
    21 Sept 2026, 17:16 BST
  2. Clarification questions byin 24 days
    16 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
  3. Submission deadlinein 40 days
    2 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
  4. Award decision expected byin 136 days
    5 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 220 days
    1 May 2027, 00:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    21 Sept 2026, 17:16 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Cleveland Fire Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-COH: 07583911 · GB-PPON: PGXP-5439-PLWX Training And Administration Hub, Hartlepool, North East, TS25 5TH

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender