Official UK procurement notice
Sunderland Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS)
Authority: NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNorth of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service working for and on behalf of NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (the Relevant Authority) who are undertaking a competition to provide. Alternative Provider Medical Service (APMS) to be delivered for patients of Sunderland.
Contract Start Date: 15 April 2027
Contract End Date: 14 April 2036
The contract term is for an initial period of 7 years, with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the discretion of the Relevant Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.
CPV: Health services · Medical practice and related services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service…Published value£10,793,077
North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service working for and on behalf of NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) (NENC ICB) (the Relevant Authority), who are undertaking a competition process to commission an Alternative Provider Medical Service (APMS) to be delivered for patients of Sunderland.
The contract term is for an initial period of 7 years commencing on 15 April 2027, with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the discretion of the Relevant Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.
The annual contract value is £1,199,231.
This is an Existing Service.
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Contract Notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Healthcare Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Procurement Regulations 2024 (Procurement Act 2023) and/ or Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award
The closing date for submission of competition response is by Noon on 11 November 2026. Additional information: The Provider Response Documentation includes the contract award criteria, including the agreed relative importance of key criteria (for example, weightings apportioned to questions within the key criteria) against which responses will be evaluated. The providers will be assessed against the relevant 5 key criteria.
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 (5)
- Quality and Innovation: 40%
- Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice: 17%
- Value: 10%
- Social Value: 10%
- Collaboration and Service Sustainability: 23%
Published award criteria (5)
- Quality and Innovation: 40
- Collaboration and Service Sustainability: 23
- Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice: 17
- Social Value: 10
- Value: 10
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 10 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1 point. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £21,586,154 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board buys Health services (CPV 8510), and who usually turns up
NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board’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 services (CPV 8510) →
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.
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 East 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.
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 42 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.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
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 bid41% / 24%
2–350% / 45%
4–69% / 18%
7+0% / 13%
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 estimate23% / 40%
Within ±2%77% / 52%
Above estimate0% / 8%
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 #1North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service…CPV 8510Published estimate£11m
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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid12%
2–350%
4–632%
7+6%
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.
Based on 54 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£9.8m–£11m
Estimate£11m
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRITISH PREGNANCY ADVISORY SERVICEWorked for this buyer | NECS466 Termination of Pregnancy Service (TOPS) for and on behalf of NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Boardnotice published Dec 2023 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £804m21 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 2 live · £63m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 2% below n=13 | |
| £122m13 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 3 live · £28m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=1 | |
| £47m13 awards in 36m · last 4 months ago | 2 live · £16m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=2 | |
| £75m13 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | 2 live · £14m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=8 | |
| £12m5 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | 1 live · £189k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=3 |
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 · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- 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
- 12 Oct 2026, 09:20 BST
- Last source update
- 12 Oct 2026, 09:20 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 11 Nov 2026 – …
- Authority reference
NHSE1114- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-095906- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078547Find a Tender
Publisher note: NECS is utilising an electronic tendering tool to manage this competition and communicate with potential providers. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to potential providers and all communications with NECS, including response submissions, will be conducted via the Atamis portal at: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome It is free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should providers have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the Atamis helpdesk via: Support-health@Atamis.co.uk or phone number 0800 0988201 The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 08.00 am - 06.00 pm The "Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006" as amended by the "Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulation 2014" (TUPE) may apply to this contract. However, Providers are advised to obtain their own legal advice and carry out due diligence including the New Fair Deal non-statutory policy setting out how pensions issues are to be dealt with when staff are compulsorily transferred from the public sector to independent providers delivering public services Competition documentation will be available on the e-tendering site from 12 October 2026.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 11 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- —
- Submission channel
- {"written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bids opened
- 11 Nov 2026, 13:00 GMT
Timeline
12 Oct 2026 → 11 Nov 2026 · 3 dates- Notice published14 days ago12 Oct 2026, 09:20 BST
- Today26 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 16 days11 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Bids openedin 16 days11 Nov 2026, 13:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care BoardReview body
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice; the tender pack is on the portal.