Official UK procurement notice
003271 - Online Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) application provider
Authority: Durham County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDCC undertakes DBS checks on all employees in posts identified as requiring a DBS check in accordance with the DBS eligibility criteria; plus DBS checks for carers, fostering, adoption, taxi drivers, volunteers and maintained schools, amongst others. Checks ensure full compliance with recruitment processes, as well as statutory requirements. The Council also operates a rechecking process for employees, currently set at 5 years.
We are seeking to formally procure the services of a DBS umbrella registered body, who will provide an electronic administration platform for the submission of DBS application forms and for the subsequent check results to be visible to users within DCC (E-Bulk System).
We anticipate a requirement to process approximately 5,000 DBS applications per year for the Council. However, it should be noted that the number of applications processed may be subject to fluctuation due to organisational change, renewals required and policy decisions arising from national changes to disclosure and barring eligibility criteria. For avoidance of doubt, the spread of applications will not be uniform across any period.
CPV: Software package and information systems
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£1,250,000
- Technical & professional ability
Confirm that your organisation is an approved DBS umbrella body / registered body authorised to provide e-bulk services and countersignatory services for the types of checks required under this contract.
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 (6)
- Service delivery model and end-to-end DBS processing: 10%
- Advice, guidance and helpdesk support: 5%
- Contract Mobilisation: 5%
- System Demonstration: 10%
- Desirable System Functionality: 5%
- Price - Administration charge per application: 65%
Published award criteria (6)
- Service delivery model and end-to-end DBS processing
- Advice, guidance and helpdesk support
- Contract Mobilisation
- System Demonstration
- Desirable System Functionality
- Price - Administration charge per application: Please note, the administration charge excludes the statutory DBS certificate fees, however statutory fees are included in the contract value. The administration charge must include all costs for the requirements in the specification. No additional payment will be made in addition to the fixed administration charge per application.
- Technical & professional ability
Confirm that your organisation is an approved DBS umbrella body / registered body authorised to provide e-bulk services and countersignatory services for the types of checks required under this contract.
- Price carries 65 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 6.5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £832,573 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Durham County Council buys Software package and information systems (CPV 48), and who usually turns up
Durham County Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Software package and information systems (CPV 48) →
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.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North East England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 42 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 bid17% / 14%
2–367% / 38%
4–617% / 35%
7+0% / 14%
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 estimate29% / 67%
Within ±2%55% / 13%
Above estimate16% / 21%
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 #1CPV 48Published estimate£1.3m
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 48. The comparison uses that group.
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid19%
2–341%
4–629%
7+11%
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.
Based on 20 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£1.1m–£1.3m
Estimate£1.3m
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
CIVICA UK LIMITEDLarge | £47m158 awards in 36m · last this month | 63 live · £163m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 7% below n=19 |
| £1.3m1 award in 36m · last 3 months ago | 1 live · £1.3m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 44% above n=1 | |
| £138k2 awards in 36m · last 8 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs | |
| £136m93 awards in 36m · last this month | 33 live · £20m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs | |
Insight DirectLarge | £72m175 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 39 live · £28m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 21% below n=5 |
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- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 18 May 2026, 18:46 BST
- Last source update
- 25 Sept 2026, 09:15 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 24 Nov 2026
- Authority reference
OPEN20261396- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-090804- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069b6cFind a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 29 Oct 2026, 10:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 23 Oct 2026, 10:00 BST
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Full tender documents can be accessed free of charge at www.open-uk.org ↗
Reference: OPEN20261396
Submission and clarification questions must be made via the Open Portal.
Timeline
18 May 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 7 dates- Planning notice published162 days ago18 May 2026, 18:46 BST
- Market engagement148 days ago1 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
This notice forms part of our preliminary market engagement, offering you the opportunity to share feedback and comments before the opportunity is released for formal tender submissions.
Interested providers can access the written response questions, free of charge, by registering on the Open Portal at www.open-uk.org ↗
- Tender notice published33 days ago25 Sept 2026, 09:15 BST
- Clarification questions by5 days ago23 Oct 2026, 10:00 BST
- Today28 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 18h29 Oct 2026, 10:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 27 days24 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 154 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
6 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 May 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published18 May 2026, 18:46 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published25 Sept 2026, 09:15 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £1,250,00025 Sept 2026, 09:15 BSTwas £1,200,000
- Status changed to active25 Sept 2026, 09:15 BST
- Procurement method changed25 Sept 2026, 09:15 BST
- Deadline published: 29 Oct 2026, 10:00 GMT25 Sept 2026, 09:15 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
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender