Find a TenderPlanned procurementPipeline notice
Published 27 May 2026, 14:27 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Alternative Provision Framework (2027-2035)

Authority: Salford City Council (Local council)

Framework agreementServicesBelow thresholdLight touch regimeSME suitableVCSE suitable
Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Feb 2027from the planned procurement notice
Framework period 8 yrsends 1 Jul 2035 · starts 1 Jul 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Framework will be used to commission alternative education provision (placements) for

pupils for whom the Council has statutory or discharged responsibilities for placing in

appropriate and compliant alternative education provision

Salford City Council is currently considering options with respect to using an existing framework (under either the 2015 or 2023 Procurement Act regulations) or a tender. This will be confirmed following a review of the market and our requirements.

CPV: Education and training services

How this framework works

From the published notice
Framework period
8 yrs from 1 Jul 2027

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 8 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Jul 2027 – 1 Jul 2035 (8 yrs)
Delivery: North WestEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

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
What this means for your bid
  • “Alternative Provision Framework (2027-2035)” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.

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

How Salford City Council buys Education and training services (CPV 80), and who usually turns up

Salford City Council has little published record in this market. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Education and training services (CPV 80) →

1

How the contest usually goes

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

Question for the bid
This buyerSalford City Council · this authority
The marketEducation and training services (CPV 80) · North West 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: no supplier sizes published · market: division 80 · North West England, n=35
—80%

Across this market, small firms won 80% of awards with a known supplier size.

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.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North West England.

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

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no winner locations published · market: division 80 · North West England, n=66
—76%

Across this market, 76% of winners were registered in the delivery region.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no decision dates published · market: division 80 · North West England, n=10
—49 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 49 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.

The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no awards on record · market: division 80 · North West England, n=22
—18%

Across this market, at least 18% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.

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 buyerNo bid counts published
The market63 lots with bid counts · division 80 · North West England
8% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid8%
Market: 5 of 63 lots with published bid counts.
2–319%
Market: 12 of 63 lots with published bid counts.
4–611%
Market: 7 of 63 lots with published bid counts.
7+62%
Market: 39 of 63 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.

On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.

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 8096 monthsSME suitableEstimate not published

This lot lists more than one class in CPV 80. The comparison uses that group.

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 63 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet8% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 63 similar lots
1 bid8%
5 of 63 similar past lots received 1 bid (8%).
2–319%
12 of 63 similar past lots received 2–3 (19%).
4–611%
7 of 63 similar past lots received 4–6 (11%).
7+62%
39 of 63 similar past lots received 7+ (62%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 20 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.

—Priced at call-off
On a framework or DPS the price is agreed on each call-off, so there is no award price to forecast here: the published figure is a ceiling.

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.

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.

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
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Light touch regime
Commercial structure
Framework agreement
Who may use this agreement
Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
27 May 2026, 14:27 BST
Last source update
29 May 2026, 16:35 BST
Authority reference
S1998
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-051015
Latest notice
Pipeline notice (UK1)
Classification (CPV)
Education and training services
Delivery area
North West (UKD36)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06a67f Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Appointment period ends
—

Timeline

27 May 2026 → 1 Jul 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published153 days ago
    27 May 2026, 14:27 BST
  2. Latest notice published151 days ago
    29 May 2026, 16:35 BST
  3. Today
    28 Oct 2026
  4. Tender notice expectedin 96 days
    1 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 245 days
    1 Jul 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 May 2026
  1. Pipeline notice published
    27 May 2026, 14:27 BST
    UK1
  2. Pipeline notice published
    29 May 2026, 16:35 BST
    UK1

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

Salford City Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PRCJ-7674-MRWM Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, Manchester, North West, M27 5DAContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender
  • Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender