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Provision of External Tutors for Ambulance Driver Training

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

01 Oct 2026 at 12:14

Award Notice
Planning

10 Apr 2024 at 13:02

Planning Notice
Summary of the contracting process

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust procured outsourced ambulance driver training, including external tutors, vehicles and training venues. Courses cover emergency and non-emergency driving for ambulance, patient transport and rapid response vehicles, with training tailored to staff roles including Emergency Care Assistants, Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics. The stated courses include FutureQual Level 3 Certificate in Emergency Response Ambulance Driving and FutureQual Level 3 Award in Patient Care Services: Ambulance Driving. Delivery is across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The procurement also includes the separate supply of external tutors for driver training courses; that lot was cancelled. The training supports the ambulance service’s operational workforce and is delivered through a framework further competition.

The process is complete and the contract was awarded to EMSTAR. Four bids were recorded for the tutor-supply lot, which was cancelled. The awarded contract relates to outsourced driver training and is active; its value is £434,000, signed on 21 September 2026. The wider procurement estimated £4 million, with £3.3 million assigned to outsourced courses and £600,000 to tutor supply; these are separate lot estimates, not the contract award value. The competition was run among suppliers on an existing framework, without a new open call. The Trust assessed cost and tutor availability against training-course dates. The tender submission deadline was 26 April 2024. The outsourced training lot has no stated award-period dates.

This award demonstrates demand from East Midlands Ambulance Service for outsourced driver training delivered across six counties, with course volumes that can vary as workforce requirements change. A credible competitor would need to supply qualified trainers and the vehicles and venues needed to run both emergency and non-emergency courses. The stated requirement calls for an accredited company holding recognised qualifications to deliver FutureQual courses, and compliance with FutureQual-accredited course learning. Capability should cover the specified Level 3 emergency response ambulance driving certificate and patient care services ambulance driving award, adapting training to different ambulance staff groups and vehicle types. The buyer’s stated evaluation makes dependable tutor availability against scheduled course dates important alongside competitive pricing. Experience coordinating course delivery at this regional scale would support a strong position when this requirement returns to market.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of External Tutors for Ambulance Driver Training

Notice Description

**THIS IS A CONTRACT AWARD**<br/><br/>Provision of External Tutors for Driver Training Courses, against Lot 1 of the East of England Ambulance Service (Reference T24-05.<br/><br/>A further competition benchmark has been carried out with the suppliers listed on this framework and the Trust has awarded based on both the cost and availability of when external tutors are needed in accordance with training course dates.

Lot Information

Supply of External tutor(s) for Driver Training Courses

**THIS IS A CONTRACT AWARD**

Provision of External Tutors for Driver Training Courses, against Lot 1 of the East of England Ambulance Service (Reference T24-05.

A further competition benchmark has been carried out with the suppliers listed on this framework and the Trust has awarded based on both the cost and availability of when external tutors are needed in accordance with training course dates.

Outsourced Driver Training Courses (including the supply of external tutor(s), vehicles and venues)

Volumes of personnel requiring training will fluctuate with changes to workforce requirements. Driver Training includes the use of ambulances, patient transport vehicles and rapid response vehicles. Students needs depend on whether the students are, Emergency Care Assistants (ECA), Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) or Paramedics operating on A&E response vehicles or other clinical groups. The Supplier will be required to deliver both Emergency and Non-Emergency Driving Courses. The Supplier must be an accredited company and hold the recognised qualification to deliver the FutureQual courses. The Supplier will be required to deliver the following courses: including but not limited to: FutureQual Level 3 Certificate in Emergency Response Ambulance Driving (L3CERAD) FutureQual Level 3 Award in Patient Care Services: Ambulance Driving The FutureQual Level 3 Certificate in Emergency Response Ambulance Driving (L3CERAD) course duration is currently twenty (20) days and conducted over four (4) weeks. The FutureQual Level 3 Award in Patient Care Services: Ambulance Driving is course duration is currently five (5) days and conducted over one (1) week. Course duration may be subject to change during the life of this contract. Suppliers must follow the Futurequals accredited course learning.

Procurement Information

Further competition was undertaken via an already established framework in place under 2024/S 000-011631

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04510d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092796-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£4,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£3,900,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£434,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Oct 20263 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Active, Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Additional Buyers

East of England Ambulance Service

London Ambulance Service NHS Trust

North East Ambulance Services NHS Foundation Trust

North West Ambulance Service N H S Trust

Scottish Ambulance Service NHS Trust

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust

West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
NOTTINGHAM
Postcode
NG8 6PY
Postcode Area
Nottingham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF1 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF14 Nottingham
Delivery Location
TLF East Midlands (England)
Local Authority
Nottingham
Electoral Ward
Bilborough
Westminster Constituency
Nottingham South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Emstar Llp

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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