Notice Information
Notice Title
Supported Employment Services
Notice Description
Dorset Council is seeking a single supplier to deliver a Dorset Supported Employment Service which supports Care Act eligible people living with learning disabilities, mental health needs and physical disabilities seeking employment and voluntary opportunities and supporting them to achieve economic wellbeing and social inclusion whilst maximising their potential as a person living in Dorset. The service will be for adults 16yrs+ and will be able to support young people as they enter adulthood, allowing them the opportunity to receive support to achieve their own employment goals. This is separate to the Connect to Work programme, however there will be a direct interface. See specification for more details. A Preliminary Market Engagement Event was held on 09 July 2025 in relation to this procurement. This is an open procedure in accordance with section 20(1) and (2)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023. The procedure does not allow for refining of the award criteria, and there is no scope to negotiate. In accordance with Section 18 of the Procurement Act 2023, the use of lots was considered during the planning phase of this procurement and it was determined that dividing the requirement into lots would not be appropriate or beneficial in this instance. Therefore, a single contract approach has been adopted. The Contract will be for an initial 2 years, with three optional 12-month extension periods (1+1+1), subject to satisfactory performance and funding, giving a potential total contract period of 5 years. The estimated annual contract value is PS180,000 with a total contract value of PS900,000 if all extensions are taken. The current funding available is PS160,000, with the additional PS20,000 subject to grant funding. The budget of up to PS180,000 is not guaranteed and is subject to fluctuations. Please note, these figures are exclusive of VAT. The contracting authority reserves the right to use additional funding received under this contract, subject to availability should funds become available during the term. The contracting authority reserves the right to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Procurement Act 2023.
Lot Information
Lot 1
Options: The contracting authority reserves the right to extend or renew the term of the contract as stated above. The contracting authority reserves the right to additional goods, services, or works while the contract is valid. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to modify this contract during its term in accordance with Section 74(1)(a) and Paragraph 1 of Schedule 8 of the Procurement Act 2023. These modifications may include: * Adjustments to service volumes, or delivery locations within Dorset where they are necessary to respond to changes in funding, policy or service demand. * Changes to funding levels, including application of grant funding or budget reductions. * Further extensions (both for time and value), subject to performance and funding availability alongside governance approvals which might be necessary to respond to changes in funding, policy, or service demand. * Extension of the contract term beyond the 10 per cent provided in Section 74(3)a * Inclusion of additional supported employment needs, provided they fall within the broad scope of the original specification Any modification made under this clause will be documented and, where required, published. The contracting authority also reserves the right to carry out a subsequent procurement of similar goods, services or works in reliance on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Procurement Act 2023.
Renewal: The Contract will be for an initial 2 years, with three optional 12-month extension periods (1+1+1), subject to satisfactory performance and funding, giving a potential total contract period of 5 years.
Planning Information
Dorset Council is undertaking a preliminary market engagement event, with the aim of requesting feedback from the supported employment provider market. The soft market testing exercise is intended to allow interested organisations with appropriate experience to express an interest in the opportunity and to outline their views and ideas about the future provision of these services, specifically in the following areas: • What works well in your area? • What barriers do we need to consider going forward? • What will make our service a success? We invite relevant companies and organisations to join us at a Preliminary Market Engagement Event on Wednesday 9th of July of 2025 at 2pm-3pm so that we can explore best practice and service design. To register your interest and to receive a MS Teams invite to the market engagement event, please send an email to adultscommissioningteam@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 5pm on Tuesday the 8th of July 2025. If your organisation is unable to attend the event but would like a copy of the slides, please also email adultscommissioningteam@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk to express an interest.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-0550f4
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064235-2025
- Current Stage
- Tender
- All Stages
- Planning, Tender
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK4 - Tender Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Open
- Procurement Method Details
- Open procedure
- Tender Suitability
- SME, VCSE
- Awardee Scale
- Not specified
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
80 - Education and training services
85 - Health and social work services
-
- CPV Codes
80400000 - Adult and other education services
85000000 - Health and social work services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- £900,000 £500K-£1M
- Lots Value
- £900,000 £500K-£1M
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 10 Oct 20251 months ago
- Submission Deadline
- 5 Nov 2025Expired
- Future Notice Date
- 21 Aug 2025Expired
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 2-3 years
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Active
- Lots Status
- Active
- Awards Status
- Not Specified
- Contracts Status
- Not Specified
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- DORSET COUNCIL
- Contact Name
- Alice Crocker
- Contact Email
- dp@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
- Contact Phone
- +44 1305221250
Buyer Location
- Locality
- DORCHESTER
- Postcode
- DT1 1XJ
- Post Town
- Dorchester
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLK South West (England)
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLK6 North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLK64 Dorset
- Delivery Location
- TLK25 Dorset
-
- Local Authority
- Dorset
- Electoral Ward
- Dorchester West
- Westminster Constituency
- West Dorset
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064235-2025
10th October 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034080-2025
20th June 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk/
The full set of Associated Tender Documents are being provided on the same day that the Tender Notice is published. All Tender documents can be found at the above address.
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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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