Official UK procurement notice
VCSE Led Mental Health Recovery and Prevention Services
Authority: Kent County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionMarket Engagement Notice VCSE Led Mental Health Recovery and Prevention Services (currently known as Live Well Kent and Medway) Authority: Kent County Council Registration Form: forms.office.com/e/SiajERRCzJ ↗ Contact: [email protected] Kent County Council (KCC) is inviting organisations to take part in early market and stakeholder engagement for the future VCSE Led Mental Health Recovery and Prevention Services (currently known as Live Well Kent and Medway). These services aim to aid recovery and prevent relapse, improve health and social care outcomes for individuals with poor mental health and wellbeing, prevent suicide, reduce the stigma of mental illness and reduce or delay the need for additional care and support. Please be advised that this is not a call for competition and should not be perceived as an intention to procure services. The aim of these events is to only gather insights/intelligence, which will be used to inform future service delivery. About the service: The vision for Live Well Kent & Medway is to keep people well and provide a holistic offer of support for individuals living with and without a mental health diagnosis, in line with national and local guidance and protocols. The service supports people with both a Common Mental Illness (CMI) and Serious Mental Illness (SMI) to prevent escalation of need and also provide support as part of their recovery journey. The service aims to:
- support recovery and prevent relapse
- improve emotional wellbeing and daily living
- reduce suicide risk
- build social connection
- reduce or delay the need for higher level support
- improve access and equity across Kent and Medway Interest is welcomed from VCSE organisations, mental health and wellbeing providers, community groups, digital providers, and others who can contribute to preventative, community based, recovery focused support, predominantly for people 17+. Engagement events (all virtual): We will be hosting four virtual sessions, each covering the same content.
- Virtual Session 1: 21 April 2026 / 13:30
- Virtual Session 2: 22 April 2026 / 9:30
- Virtual Session 3: 23 April 2026 / 13:30
- Virtual Session 4: 24 April 2026 / 9:30 How to register: Interested organisations must complete the Registration Form (link below) by midday (12 noon) 16 April 2026. forms.office.com/e/SiajERRCzJ ↗ The council may cancel events if there is little or no response on a particular date. Please ensure that you have registered using the link provided. What we’ll cover Each session will include a short overview of the current service and a summary of county level population needs. After this, we will invite participants to share feedback using Mentimeter on the following areas:
- vision and future direction
- needs and demand
- outcomes and what “good” looks like
- good practice and innovation
- equity and inclusion
- workforce and sustainability This will be a chance to hear the current picture and contribute ideas that can help shape a service that meets the needs of communities across Kent and Medway. Important information: This engagement is just an early conversation to help shape our thinking not a call for competition. No commercial decisions have been made yet, and anything we share at this stage may change. If a procurement process is needed later, full details will be published in line with the Health Care Services Provider Selection Regime Regulations 2023 (PSR).
CPV: Community health services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Important information: This engagement is just an early conversation to help shape our…Planned
Important information: This engagement is just an early conversation to help shape our thinking not a call for competition. No commercial decisions have been made yet, and anything we share at this stage may change. If a procurement process is needed later, full details will be published in line with the Health Care Services Provider Selection Regime Regulations 2023 (PSR).
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) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South East England.
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.
Half of these awards were announced within 59 days of the bid deadline.
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.
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.
1 bid21% / 19%
2–357% / 33%
4–67% / 33%
7+14% / 15%
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.
Below estimate57% / 39%
Within ±2%43% / 61%
Above estimate0% / 0%
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.
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 #1Important information: This engagement is just an early conversation to help shape our…CPV 8532Estimate not published
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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 27 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid19%
2–333%
4–633%
7+15%
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.
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.
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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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.
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.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- 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
- 10 Mar 2026, 11:24 GMT
- Last source update
- 10 Mar 2026, 11:24 GMT
- Authority reference
CN270176- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-021252- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-066622Find a Tender
Publisher note: GO Reference: GO-2026310-PRO-35146893
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
10 Mar 2026 → 10 Mar 2026 · 2 dates- Tender notice expected226 days ago10 Mar 2026
- Notice published226 days ago10 Mar 2026, 11:24 GMT
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
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.