Official UK procurement notice
Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme
Authority: Cumberland Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionHAF Provider Engagement: Future Payment Options
Cumberland Council is exploring a new approach to commissioning HAF activities from Summer 2027 onwards. The application process for Easter 2027 will remain unchanged and will follow the current arrangements.
To help providers prepare for future changes, we will be holding two information sessions.
We strongly encourage all providers to attend so that you can understand the proposed process, ask questions, and provide feedback.
A HAF pre market engagement survey to engage with providers was sent out via the Council's e-procurement portal (The Chest). Please use the survey to share your views and explain how different payment arrangements could affect your organisation. This feedback will be essential in helping us develop a fair and practical approach for future HAF commissioning. Responses to be submitted by 7th October 2026.
As part of our ongoing work to develop and strengthen the delivery of Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme activities and Short Breaks for children and young people with disabilities across Cumberland, we are inviting organisations to attend an upcoming online information session.
The way organisations apply for and access future opportunities is changing, and we want to ensure that both existing and prospective providers are supported through the transition. The session will provide practical guidance on registering and using the Council's procurement and commissioning systems, including the Central Digital Platform (CDP) and The Chest Procurement Portal.
Whether you currently deliver HAF or Short Breaks activities or are interested in becoming a provider for the first time, we would strongly encourage you to attend.
We are keen to engage with a wide range of organisations, including voluntary and community groups, charities, sports clubs, arts and leisure providers, and specialist organisations supporting children and young people with disabilities.
For further details use the council's online procurement portal - The Chest - www.the-chest.org.uk ↗.
CPV: Health and social work services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Cumberland Council buys Health and social work services (CPV 85), and who usually turns up
Cumberland 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: Health and social work services (CPV 85) →
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. Small firms win more of this buyer’s work than the market’s: 67% against 42%, n=398.
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.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered. More of this buyer’s work stays local than in this market: 98% against 65%, n=404.
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 37 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.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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 bid14% / 17%
2–333% / 33%
4–635% / 28%
7+19% / 21%
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 estimate7% / 29%
Within ±2%93% / 61%
Above estimate0% / 10%
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 85Estimate not published
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 85. 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. The bar shows 305 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid17%
2–333%
4–628%
7+21%
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- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 25 Sept 2026, 08:03 BST
- Last source update
- 22 Oct 2026, 10:00 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-099796- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077a03Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
25 Sept 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published32 days ago25 Sept 2026, 08:03 BST
- Latest notice published5 days ago22 Oct 2026, 10:00 BST
- Today28 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 42 days9 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
HAF Provider Engagement: Future Payment Options
Cumberland Council is exploring a new approach to commissioning HAF activities from Summer 2027 onwards. The application process for Easter 2027 will remain unchanged and will follow the current arrangements.
To help providers prepare for future changes, we will be holding two information sessions.
The first session was held on 08th October 2026, and the next planned session will be on 09th Dec 2026 @ 14:00 via Teams
We strongly encourage all providers to attend so that you can understand the proposed process, ask questions, and provide feedback.
A HAF pre market engagement survey to engage with providers was sent out via the Council's e-procurement portal (The Chest). Please use the survey to share your views and explain how different payment arrangements could affect your organisation. This feedback will be essential in helping us develop a fair and practical approach for future HAF commissioning. Responses to be submitted by 7th October 2026.
As part of our ongoing work to develop and strengthen the delivery of Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme activities and Short Breaks for children and young people with disabilities across Cumberland, we are inviting organisations to attend an upcoming online information session.
The way organisations apply for and access future opportunities is changing, and we want to ensure that both existing and prospective providers are supported through the transition. The session will provide practical guidance on registering and using the Council's procurement and commissioning systems, including the Central Digital Platform (CDP) and The Chest Procurement Portal.
Whether you currently deliver HAF or Short Breaks activities or are interested in becoming a provider for the first time, we would strongly encourage you to attend.
We are keen to engage with a wide range of organisations, including voluntary and community groups, charities, sports clubs, arts and leisure providers, and specialist organisations supporting children and young people with disabilities.
For further details use the council's online procurement portal - The Chest - www.the-chest.org.uk ↗.
- Contract startsin 154 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Sept 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published25 Sept 2026, 08:03 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published30 Sept 2026, 11:16 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published22 Oct 2026, 10:00 BSTUK2
Published amendments (2)
Details of further engagement sessions are detailed below.
Please note the change of date. The session planned for 3rd November will not be running. Market Engagement Session for Providers Date: 9th December Time: 2pm-3pm Location: Microsoft Teams (link will be sent once you have booked as we need to track attendance) To register for the session, please use our online procurement portal - The Chest (https://www.the-chest.org.uk). Registration on The Ch…
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 (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender