Official UK procurement notice
DWP Digital Channels Contact Centre (DC3)
Authority: Department for Work & Pensions (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDWP's existing contact centre is the largest across all UK government departments and is one of the largest contact centres in Europe. The current contact centre platform is delivered on behalf of DWP by a managed service provider.
The Contact Centre Modernisation Programme (CCMP) is directly aligned to the DWP Strategy and Departmental plans to transform our services and deliver an effective welfare system for Citizens when they need it, while reducing costs and achieving value for money for taxpayers. The CCMP strategy involves the establishment of a new Digital Channels Contact Centre (DC3) platform with a replacement managed service provider.
CPV: Call centre · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Software package and information systems · Telecommunications services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1DC3 will provide enhanced capabilities including softphone inbound and outbound calls,…AwardedRenewalPublished value£159,200,000
DC3 will provide enhanced capabilities including softphone inbound and outbound calls, Work Force Optimisation (WFO), webchat, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), advisor skills based call routing, call recording and call transcription. It will be cloud hosted and will integrate with existing platforms that deliver capabilities for Non-Geographic Numbers (0800 etc), Video, Payment Card Industry compliance and Automated Customer Experience as well as integrations into Business Group CRM and call routing strategies.
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)
- Solution: 20%
- Implementation: 15%
- Service: 15%
- Security: 5%
- price: 35%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (6)
- Solution: 20
- Implementation: 15
- Service: 15
- Security: 5
- Social Value: 10
- Price: 35
- Suitability
In accordance with Regulations 57, 58 and 60 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, tenderers will be assessed in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015, on the basis of information provided in response to the Selection Questionnaire.
The procurement documentation can be found at the following link under Ref pqq_28913:
- Successive reduction
- Candidates will be reduced successively across stages
- Price carries 35 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3.5 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 · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Competitive procedure with negotiation
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 11 Jul 2023, 14:30 BST
- Last source update
- 6 Jun 2025, 10:39 BST
- Authority reference
project_23210- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-030479- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-03e0a8Find a Tender
- Performance terms
The procurement documentation can be found at the following link under Ref pqq_28913:
- Earlier procedure PSN Services Framework (RM1498) DWP Contact Centre Services Call-Off
- Related procedure 2023/S 000-019791 ↗
Publisher note: The value of the Contract stated in this notice is an estimated total value based on: a. an estimate of £168.8m (exclusive of VAT) for the contracted services to be provided during (i) the 5-year initial term of the Contract (which is reflective of the accelerated delivery plan submitted by the successful bidder in accordance with the final tender instructions) and (ii) the two optional 1-year extensions to the Contract, including in each case forecast indexation (as appropriate, in line with the associated contractual provisions); and b. an estimate of £52.3m (exclusive of VAT) for (i) the forecast use of the Optional Services specified within the Contract and (ii) ad-hoc Contract Change (based on historic levels of change), excluding in each case forecast indexation (which may need to be applied in future, in line with the associated contractual provisions).
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 25 Sept 2023, 13:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission","written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
Timeline
4 Aug 2023 → 6 Jun 2025 · 5 dates- Tender period opens4 Aug 2023, 00:00 BST
- Next notice expected4 Aug 2023, 00:00 BST
- Submission deadline25 Sept 2023, 13:00 BST
- Invitations to tender expected31 Oct 2023
- Notice published6 Jun 2025, 10:39 BST
Notice history
7 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Jul 2023- Status changed to planned11 Jul 2023, 14:54 BST
- Status changed to active10 Aug 2023, 09:10 BST
- Deadline published: 25 Sept 2023, 13:00 BST10 Aug 2023, 09:10 BST
- Buyer details updated10 Aug 2023, 09:10 BST
- Buyer details updated21 Nov 2023, 09:55 GMT
- Status changed to complete6 Jun 2025, 10:39 BST
- Buyer details updated6 Jun 2025, 10:39 BST
Published amendments (1 · 0 deadline changes)
| When | What | Before | After | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DateEstimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender · IV.2.3. | 31 Oct 2023 | 1 Dec 2023 | +31 d |
1 amendment published without a description.
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2023-07: 2 releases · 11 Jul 2023, 11 Jul 2023
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Route 101 LimitedSMEDigital Channels Contact CentreSubcontracting: Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) platform, including voice and digital channels, call recording and storage services, quality management, WFM, surveys, interaction analytics, along with design and implementation support services. Additionally, SBCs and SIP connectivity providing resilient call delivery to the contact centre platform. | £221,100,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Digital Channels Contact Centre · Route 101 LimitedSME
- Signed
- 7 May 2025
- Value
- £221,100,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17bids · 17 electronic | 3 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeDispute resolution & review bodies
- High CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Route 101 LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria