Find a TenderAwardedContract award notice

Published 29 Apr 2026, 12:09 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Welfare Benefits Helpline and Specialist Benefits Advice Service in East Sussex

Official notice

Authority: East Sussex County Council (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdLight touch regimeSME suitableVCSE suitable

Sectors: Health & Social Care (85) Delivery: South East (UKJ22)

Published estimate£2,567,462≈ £856k / year · £3,080,954 inc. VAT · 1 value update

Submissions closed 10 Jul 2026awarded 20 Oct 2026

Award (standstill) to CITIZENS ADVICE 1066

Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Mar 2030 · up to 31 Mar 2033 with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

East Sussex County Council is undertaking an award for a Strategic Partner to provide a Welfare Benefits Helpline and Specialist Benefits Advice Service in East Sussex.

The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 5 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST.

CPV: Health and social work services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1AwardedRenewal 3 yrsSMEVCSEPublished value£2,567,462

Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 – 31 Mar 2030 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Mar 2033 with extensionsValue: £2,567,462 exc. VAT · £3,080,954 inc. VAT

Delivery: South EastEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

Extensions: A extension period of up to 36 months will be included within the contract terms.

85000000 Health and social work services

Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1

Technical & professional ability
Two nationally recognised relevant quality assurance standards for welfare benefits advice services, the Advice Quality Standard (AQS) and the Specialist Quality Mark Standard (SQM). All delivery partners must be accredited with either assurance standard prior to the contract start date.

What it takes to win
i
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 more

How bids were scored

Quality: 85%Price: 15%

Published sub-criteria (2)

Quality (including Social Value): 85%
Price (Bid Integrity): 15%

Published award criteria (2)

Quality (including Social Value)
Price (Bid Integrity)

Conditions of participation1

Technical & professional ability
Two nationally recognised relevant quality assurance standards for welfare benefits advice services, the Advice Quality Standard (AQS) and the Specialist Quality Mark Standard (SQM). All delivery partners must be accredited with either assurance standard prior to the contract start date.

What this means for your bid

Price carries 15 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1.5 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

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: Light touch regime
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: Yes · next expected 5 Oct 2026
First published: 29 Apr 2026, 12:09 BST
Last source update: 20 Oct 2026, 14:26 BST
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 5 Oct 2026
Authority reference: 14572
FTS notice number: 2026/S 000-052275
Latest notice: Contract award notice (UK6)
Classification (CPV): Health and social work services
Delivery area: South East (UKJ22)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-068dd7 Find a Tender

Review and risk notes

Risks: There is a known risk of changes to funding over the lifetime of the contract. This may include additional Government funding being allocated to the service provision and may include funding for the inclusion of a debt advice service. These risks have been covered under the contract terms.

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: ProContract (Due North) · Who buys & how to bid on ProContract

Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free · short registration with manual review; public opportunity list

Submission deadline: 10 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

supplierlive.proactisp2p.com ↗

Proactis Opportunity Reference Number: RFX1001513

Timeline

29 Apr 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 10 dates

Planning notice published180 days ago
29 Apr 2026, 12:09 BST
Market engagement166 days ago
13 May 2026, 23:59 BST
Welfare Benefits contract:
Virtual Market Engagement Event
Wednesday 13 May 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Register your place via email:
allyson.king@eastsussex.gov.uk
Please include organisation and names and email addresses of those due to attend.
Please let us know if you wish to attend by 5pm 11 May 2026.
Tender notice published145 days ago
3 Jun 2026, 12:01 BST
Next notice expected145 days ago
3 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
Submission deadline108 days ago
10 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
Award decision expected by21 days ago
5 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
Assessment summaries sent7 days ago
20 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Latest notice published6 days ago
20 Oct 2026, 14:26 BST
Today
26 Oct 2026
Standstill endsin 3 days
29 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
Contract startsin 156 days
1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

11 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 29 Apr 2026

Preliminary market engagement notice published
29 Apr 2026, 12:09 BST
UK2
Pipeline notice published
20 May 2026, 09:39 BST
UK1
Published value published: £2,567,462
20 May 2026, 09:39 BST
Status changed to planned
20 May 2026, 09:39 BST
Procurement method changed
20 May 2026, 09:39 BST
Tender notice published
3 Jun 2026, 12:01 BST
UK4
Status changed to active
3 Jun 2026, 12:01 BST
Deadline published: 10 Jul 2026, 12:00 BST
3 Jun 2026, 12:01 BST
Contract award notice published
20 Oct 2026, 14:26 BST
UK6
Status changed to complete
20 Oct 2026, 14:26 BST
Contract signature expected
1 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
scheduled

Routine re-releases (4)

2026-04: 1 release · 29 Apr 2026

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1some still in standstill

Awarded value £2,567,4621 award exc. VAT

Bids received 2

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
CITIZENS ADVICE 1066VCSE1 Apr 2027 – 30 Apr 2030 · up to 31 Mar 2033Extensions: If funding is made available the contract can be extended for 3 years.	£2,567,462	20 Oct 2026standstill to 29 Oct 2026	Standstill

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
2final-stage tenders	0	2	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

East Sussex County Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PXGX-2145-PRQJ County Hall, St Anne's Crescent, Lewes, South East, BN7 1UEContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

CITIZENS ADVICE 1066Awarded supplierGB-COH: 02923647GB-PPON: PPDG-9512-HYPM Citizens Advice 1066 The Magnet Centre, 1 Christ Church Courtyard, St. Leonards-On-Sea, South East, TN37 6GLContact email

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender20 Oct 2026, 14:26 BST
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender3 Jun 2026, 12:01 BST
Pipeline notice planningPipeline noticeUK1Pipeline notice on Find a Tender20 May 2026, 09:39 BST
Preliminary market engagement notice planningPreliminary market engagement noticeUK2Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender29 Apr 2026, 12:09 BST