Official UK procurement notice
VCSE Infrastructure Support Services
Authority: Gateshead Council (Local council)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionGateshead Council is implementing a Contract with a qualified and experienced external contractor to deliver VCSE infrastructure support services.
The provider will deliver a range of sector support including provision of information, advice and guidance, training, networking opportunities and facilitation, sector representation, and maintenance and promotion of the Our Gateshead website.
CPV: Social services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£1,022,500
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 (2)
- Quality
- Social Value
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
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 30 Oct 2025, 14:25 GMT
- Last source update
- 4 Mar 2026, 08:58 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 12 Feb 2026
- Authority reference
SC021- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-082137- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d730Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 23 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 16 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Tenders must be submitted electronically via the Open system: www.open.org ↗. The reference is Project # OPEN20251894 VCSE Infrastructure Support Services
Timeline
30 Oct 2025 → 1 Apr 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published356 days ago30 Oct 2025, 14:25 GMT
- Market engagement342 days ago13 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
Online Market Engagement Event to be held on Teams Thursday 13th November 10am to 12pm.
Market engagement questionnaire published on OPEN portal (www.open-uk.org ↗). This can be found using project number OPEN20251894.
- Tender notice published314 days ago11 Dec 2025, 15:40 GMT
- Clarification questions by278 days ago16 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline271 days ago23 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by251 days ago12 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent245 days ago19 Feb 2026
- Standstill ends233 days ago2 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Latest notice published232 days ago4 Mar 2026, 08:58 GMT
- Contract starts204 days ago1 Apr 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
11 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 30 Oct 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published30 Oct 2025, 14:25 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published11 Dec 2025, 15:40 GMTUK4
- Published value published: £1,022,50011 Dec 2025, 15:40 GMT
- Status changed to active11 Dec 2025, 15:40 GMT
- Procurement method changed11 Dec 2025, 15:40 GMT
- Deadline published: 23 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT11 Dec 2025, 15:40 GMT
- Buyer details updated11 Dec 2025, 15:40 GMT
- Contract award notice published19 Feb 2026, 14:31 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete19 Feb 2026, 14:31 GMT
- Contract signature expected3 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published4 Mar 2026, 08:58 GMTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-10: 1 release · 30 Oct 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connected VoiceVCSE1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031Extensions: Initial contract term 36 months with options to extend for up to 2 x 12 months | £1,022,500 | 19 Feb 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
VCSE Infrastructure Support Services · Connected VoiceVCSE
- Signed
- 3 Mar 2026
- Value
- £1,022,500
- Period
- 1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- Option to extend for up to 2 x 12 months
No agreed KPIs: Contract value is less than £5 million
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders · 2 at stage one | 0 | 1 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeBidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- CONNECTED VOICEAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
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