Official UK procurement notice
Principal Provider Home Support - Swaffham & Downham
Authority: Norfolk County Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Council wishes to appoint one Principal provider to deliver home support services in Swaffham and Downham (PCN) within Norfolk. The intention is that the Principal Provider will deliver 70% of the hours and the remaining 30% will be delivered by a small number of PCN framework providers, whose appointment has been subject to a separate procurement.
There has been no market engagement for this specific procurement. This is a re-procurement of a service previously tendered and awarded. Full market engagement took place at this time.
CPV: Social work services without accommodation
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£14,917,361
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 award criteria (2)
- Quality
- Price
- 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
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 5 Aug 2026, 11:14 BST
- Last source update
- 5 Aug 2026, 11:14 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Oct 2026
- Authority reference
NCCT43449- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-074066- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06dc1bFind a Tender
- Risks
Please note on 19 November 2025, the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness made a written statement [UIN HCWS1071] saying that three proposals for unitary local government in Norfolk had been received - these could entail the creation of one, two or three unitary councils.
The Minister announced a consultation exercise, which ended on 11 January 2026. The Minister stated that "once the consultations have concluded, the Government will assess the proposals against the criteria in the invitation and decide, subject to parliamentary approval, which, if any, proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification". The Government has confirmed that it is minded to create three unitary Councils, subject to parliamentary approval.
On 4 December 2025, the Secretary of State for Local Government made a written statement [UIN HCWS1128] stating that the government intends to establish a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Norfolk and Suffolk as soon as possible, and that it is minded to hold inaugural mayoral elections in May 2028.
Should these processes lead to unitary local government in Norfolk and/or to the establishment of a Mayoral Strategic Authority covering Norfolk (i) the contract may be transferred, assigned or novated to any successor authority(ies) to the council, or to any joint body incorporating or formed by any such successor and/or to any Mayoral Strategic Authority; and/or (ii) the council or a successor authority or joint body may order services on behalf of other local authorities serving any area within Norfolk's current geographical boundaries.
In the event of a change from two-tier to unitary local government in Norfolk and/or the establishment of a Mayoral Strategic Authority covering Norfolk it may be necessary to modify this contract to the extent necessary to permit its continued satisfactory performance.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 4 Sept 2026, 11:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Not allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
This procurement will be managed electronically via the Council`s e-procurement system. To participate in this procurement and gain access to documents when they are available, applicants must first be registered on the system at in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc ↗. Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at intendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/Buyer… ↗. Once registered you will be able to see the procurement project under the `tenders` section and `express an interest` in this tender. If
you encounter any difficulties whilst using the system you can contact the In-tend support team by phoning +44 8442728810 or e-mailing support@in-tend.co.uk.
Timeline
5 Aug 2026 → 18 Jan 2027 · 4 dates- Tender notice published82 days ago5 Aug 2026, 11:14 BST
- Submission deadline52 days ago4 Sept 2026, 11:00 BST
- Award decision expected by25 days ago1 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today26 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 83 days18 Jan 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published5 Aug 2026, 11:14 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Terms and conditions and schedules
- Bidding documents and specifications ITT to be completed
- Bidding documents and specifications breakdown of hourly rate
- Bidding documents and specifications
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender