Official UK procurement notice
Connect to Work - Somerset Council
Authority: Somerset Council (Local council)
Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: South West (UKK23)
Published estimate£2,000,000total for 2 lots · £2,400,000 inc. VAT · 1 value update
Submissions closed 17 Jul 2026awarded 9 Sept 2026
Awarded to ELEVATE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES LIMITED, Dimensions Somerset SEV Limited2 awards
Contract term 2 yrs 6 moends 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2030 with extensions · starts 1 Oct 2026
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThe Connect to Work (Connect to Work - GOV.UK) programme is a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) funded initiative designed to support individuals who are economically inactive or at risk of leaving employment to access and sustain suitable work.
The programme forms part of the Government's Get Britain Working strategy, which aims to reduce economic inactivity and support more people into good, sustainable employment through locally led and integrated approaches.
The purpose of this procurement is to appoint one or more Delivery Partners to deliver supported employment services as part of the Connect to Work programme in Somerset. The programme will support:
- individuals who are economically inactive and wish to work; and
- individuals who are in work but at risk of falling out of employment
Support will be delivered using the following evidence-based supported employment models that form separate Lots:
- Lot 1 - Individual Placement and Support (IPS); and
- Lot 2 - Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF)
CPV: Placement services of personnel
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value (£2,000,000 together) · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1IPSAwardedRenewalPublished value£1,200,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
Lot #2SEQFAwardedRenewalPublished value£800,000
The source published no individual description for this lot.
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).
How bids were scored · same split on all 2 lots
Published award criteria (3)
- Price
- Quality
- Social Value
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
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
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 28 Jul 2025, 15:24 BST
- Last source update
- 11 Sept 2026, 16:22 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 9 Sept 2026
- Authority reference
ERPO1000159- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-058203- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-056749Find a Tender
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract
Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list
- Submission deadline
- 17 Jul 2026, 14:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Timeline
28 Jul 2025 → 1 Oct 2026 · 9 dates- Planning notice published28 Jul 2025, 15:24 BST
- Next notice expected381 days ago10 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published129 days ago19 Jun 2026, 15:24 BST
- Submission deadline101 days ago17 Jul 2026, 14:00 BST
- Award decision expected by47 days ago9 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent46 days ago11 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published45 days ago11 Sept 2026, 16:22 BST
- Standstill ends34 days ago22 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts26 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
8 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 28 Jul 2025- Pipeline notice published28 Jul 2025, 15:24 BSTUK1
- Tender notice published19 Jun 2026, 15:24 BSTUK4
- Published value published: £2,000,00019 Jun 2026, 15:24 BST
- Status changed to active19 Jun 2026, 15:24 BST
- Deadline published: 17 Jul 2026, 14:00 BST19 Jun 2026, 15:24 BST
- Contract award notice published11 Sept 2026, 16:22 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete11 Sept 2026, 16:22 BST
- Contract signature expected30 Sept 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 2
Awarded value £2,000,0002 awards exc. VAT
Bids received 137 from SMEs
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · IPS1 award | |||
| ELEVATE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES LIMITEDLot 1 - Individual Placement and Support (IPS)1 Oct 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2030Extensions: At Authority's sole discretion for the continuation of funded service delivery. This may have a value up to £200,000 ex VAT - this value has not been included in the Total contract value as it is not assigned to either Lot. The FTS system does not allow the addition of this value to the total where this is different from the sum of the Lots. | £1,200,000 | 9 Sept 2026 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · SEQF1 award | |||
| Dimensions Somerset SEV LimitedLot 2 - Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF)1 Oct 2026 – 31 Mar 2029 · up to 31 Mar 2030Extensions: At Authority's sole discretion for the continuation of funded service delivery. This may have a value up to £200,000 ex VAT - this value has not been included in the Total contract value as it is not assigned to either Lot. The FTS system does not allow the addition of this value to the total where this is different from the sum of the Lots. | £800,000 | 9 Sept 2026standstill to 22 Sept 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · IPS | 6final-stage tenders | 3 | 3 | — |
| 2 · SEQF | 7final-stage tenders | 4 | 4 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- DIMENSIONS SOMERSET SEV LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- ELEVATE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (4)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender