This public procurement record has 10 releases in its history.

Award

24 Sep 2026 at 10:52

Award

20 Jul 2026 at 15:05

AwardUpdate

15 May 2026 at 16:36

Award

07 May 2026 at 08:20

Award

22 Apr 2026 at 15:46

Tender

13 Jan 2026 at 08:58

PlanningUpdate

27 Nov 2025 at 15:12

PlanningUpdate

17 Oct 2025 at 08:31

Planning

16 Oct 2025 at 15:39

Planning

20 May 2025 at 16:00

Summary of the contracting process

Leicester City Council led the commissioning of Connect to Work Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services with Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council. The requirement covers employment support for eligible residents, delivered separately within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The service is intended to help people access work through the Connect to Work provision. Each area had its own lot, with the same service requirement across all three. The procurement falls within education and training services, although its core delivery is specialist employment support. The councils’ arrangement places Leicester City Council as the lead accountable body and procurement lead, while each participating authority’s boundary defines where its lot’s service is delivered.

The procurement has been awarded and all three contracts are active and signed. It used an open procedure. Twin Training International Limited received the Leicester lot, valued at £4,633,525 excluding VAT (£5,560,230 including VAT); Intuitive Thinking Skills Ltd received both the Leicestershire lot, valued at £3,671,850 excluding VAT (£4,406,220 including VAT), and the Rutland lot, valued at £437,125 excluding VAT (£524,550 including VAT). The award date was 22 April 2026; contracts were signed on 31 August 2026 and run from 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2030. The original lot rules separated Leicester from the other two lots: Leicester could not go to the same supplier as Leicestershire or Rutland. Evaluation weighted quality at 90% and price at 10%.

This award shows demand from the three councils for locally delivered IPS employment support, with the same service model adapted to residents in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. A credible competitor would need to demonstrate the ability to deliver specialist employment support across the chosen authority’s area and meet the quality requirements that dominated evaluation. Delivery capacity should match the scale of each area: Leicester was the largest lot, Leicestershire substantial, and Rutland smaller. The successful suppliers secured Leicester separately from Leicestershire and Rutland, which were both awarded to one provider; the original rules therefore favoured a delivery model that could cover the relevant areas while respecting that separation. SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises were expressly considered suitable for all lots.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

PAN3317 - Connect to Work IPS Provision.

Notice Description

LCC is the lead Accountable Body for this Connect to Work Provision in Leicester in association with Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council and LCC shall be working with these three constituent Local Authorities and be responsible for the commissioning and procurement of the Connect to Work delivery. The requirement is divided into three Lots each providing identical services as follows: Lot 1 - Leicester The Supplier will deliver the IPS provision for residents who are eligible within the Leicester City Council Local Authority boundary. Lot 2 - Leicestershire The Supplier will deliver the IPS provision for residents who are eligible within the Leicestershire County Council Local Authority boundary. Lot 3 - Rutland The Supplier will deliver the IPS provision for residents who are eligible within the Rutland County Council Authority boundary.

Lot Information

Lot 1 - Leicester Lot 2 - Leicestershire Lot 3 - Rutland

Planning Information

The PME process involves suppliers to attend a Microsoft Teams online session at 10.00am on Thursday 30 October 2025 to discuss the requirement and have an opportunity to provide a high level overview of the Connect to Work commissioning process and ask questions to shape any future procurement activity. A maximum of two hours have been allocated for this and will include a short presentation. Please complete and submit the Microsoft Form found within the PME documentation requesting attendance to the Online Session. Attendance requests must be received by 12:00 noon on 29 October 2025 at the very latest. Further information about this exercise can be found in the PME documentation found within the EastMidsTenders portal: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert/?advertId=2c3ca6f0-62aa-f011-813a-005056b64545. Any queries/questions regarding this opportunity must be received via the ProContract portal only by 12:00 noon on 29 October 2025 at the very latest

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-051948
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090467-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
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
£8,742,500 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£8,742,500 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£8,742,500 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£8,742,500 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
12 Feb 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
24 Dec 2025Expired
Award Date
22 Apr 20266 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Leicester City Council
Additional Buyers

Leicestershire County Council

Rutland County Council

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

Buyer Location

Locality
LEICESTER
Postcode
LE1 1FZ
Postcode Area
Leicester
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF21 Leicester
Delivery Location
TLF21 Leicester, TLF22 Leicestershire CC and Rutland

Local Authority
Leicester
Electoral Ward
Castle
Westminster Constituency
Leicester South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

Twin Training International Ltd

Intuitive Thinking Skills

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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