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Escorting and Related Services

Home Office

This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

Planning

02 Oct 2026 at 10:13

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

01 Oct 2026 at 14:44

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

02 Jun 2026 at 11:54

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

02 Jun 2026 at 11:53

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

05 Feb 2026 at 16:01

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

18 Jul 2025 at 15:09

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Home Office is planning a national Escorting and Related Services contract covering the movement of detained people within the UK and overseas, mainly by air, and the operation of holding facilities. Services include 24-hour in-country and overseas escorts, medical escorts, management and maintenance of residential short-term holding facilities, and operation of non-residential holding rooms at airports, seaports and immigration reporting centres. The work also covers holding rooms and escorting at the UK control zones in Calais, Coquelles and Dunkerque. Supporting services include operational control, performance reporting, audits, complaints, welfare, child care, risk assessment, staffing and training. The Home Office is consulting specifically on whether residential short-term holding facilities should be separated from the wider future escorting contract. Delivery spans the UK and Northern France.

This is at the planning stage: the Home Office is testing the market, not inviting tenders. It expects to use an open competitive flexible procedure, with its steps to be set out later. The planned contract is one lot, marked as suitable for small and medium-sized businesses. Its estimated value is £1.201 billion excluding VAT (£1.4412 billion including VAT). The anticipated contract period runs from 1 May 2029 to 30 April 2039, with award expected by 13 August 2028. The buyer expects to publish a tender notice on 8 March 2027, with bids anticipated by 4 June 2027 and enquiries by 14 May 2027. For the current engagement, a questionnaire is expected to be sent after an NDA by 9 October 2026, with responses due by 23 October 2026. Engagement responses inform planning only, not evaluation.

The work is suited to suppliers able to manage complex, round-the-clock escorting and secure holding-facility operations across multiple locations, including overseas travel and UK border sites in Northern France. Relevant capabilities include operational control, staffing and personnel management, performance monitoring and reporting, auditing, complaints handling, welfare provision, care of children, risk assessment, use-of-force arrangements and workforce training. Providers of medical escorts, transport coordination and facilities management may also be well placed, particularly those able to work alongside travel-service providers and manage both residential and non-residential facilities. The Home Office is testing the commercial and operational case for delivering residential holding facilities separately, so suppliers with experience of standalone facility operations and alternative delivery or commercial models can contribute to that planning. The engagement requires an NDA; organisations registering on the Home Office portal need a valid DUNS number.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Escorting and Related Services

Notice Description

The Home Office is seeking to engage with suppliers who are interested in becoming the commercial partners responsible for delivering the Escorting Services contract, which provides the in-country and overseas escorting of detained persons and management of Short-Term Holding Facilities (STHF), across the UK and Northern France. Background: The Home Office is responsible for detaining and enforcing the removal of people from the UK who have no legal basis to remain here. The Escorting Services contract is fundamental to delivering this through the movement of people within the UK, which supports the functioning of the immigration detention / removal estate; the removal of people from the UK, which is predominately via air travel and a mix of escorted (to destination) and unescorted (not escorted to destination). The contract also includes the operation, management and maintenance of Residential Short-Term Holding Facilities and the operation and management of Non-Residential Short-Term Holding Facilities at air/seaports and Immigration Enforcement reporting centres (STHFs). STHFs support the wider immigration detention / removal estate, enforcement activity within the community and protection of the UK border. Requirement (please note not exhaustive and subject to change): Management Services - includes operational control centre, performance monitoring and reporting, audit arrangement, and complaint procedures. Core Services - includes welfare, care of children, risk assessments, use of force, staffing & personnel and training. In-Country Escorting - 24/7 escorting between locations within the UK. Includes prisons, police stations, hospitals (inc bed watches), STHFs, Immigration Removal Centres. Also includes escort to aircraft for purpose of removal (unescorted) and provision of medical escorts. Overseas Escorting - 24/7 escorting from place of detention within the UK to designated overseas destination, primarily via air travel with a mix between scheduled and charter flights. Also includes provision of medical escorts and interfacing with the authorities travel service provider. Non-Residential STHF - the operation and management of designated holding rooms across all parts of the UK. There are currently 28 of these facilities which operate up to 24/7 and can hold people up to 24 hours and beyond in certain circumstances. Residential STHF - the operation, management and maintenance of RSTHF across all parts of the UK. There are currently 3 of these facilities which operate 24/7 and can hold people up to 7 days in certain circumstances. Juxtaposed Controls (Northern France) 24/7 escorting services with the UK control zones (Calais, Coquelles, and Dunkerque) and operation and management of 5 (currently) holding rooms at these French ports.

Planning Information

The Home Office is undertaking a targeted market engagement exercise to inform future procurement and delivery arrangements for Residential Short-Term Holding Facilities (RSTHFs) as part of the wider Escorting and Related Services Procurement. Specifically, this engagement seeks to test the market's appetite for, and views on, the potential disaggregation of RSTHFs from the future escorting contract. Through this exercise, the Authority aims to better understand the viability of standalone RSTHF delivery, potential operating and commercial models, associated risks and opportunities, and whether separation could improve operational outcomes, resilience and value for money. Responses will be used solely to support strategic planning and future procurement decisions and will not form part of any procurement evaluation process. A questionnaire shall be sent to prospective suppliers by 9th October 2026, following the execution of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Supplier will have until the 23rd October 2026 to complete the questionnaire and upload their response to the Home Office's Jaggaer e-sourcing portal. Please note: To express your interest in the Market Engagement process, your organisation must be registered on the Home Office eSourcing Portal. If you have not yet registered, this can be done online at https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html To register, you must have a valid DUNS number for the organisations which you are registering and who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so. Once registered, please search for the following project information: project_19029 - Escorting and Related Services pqq_891 - NDA stage - Preliminary Market Engagement: Residential Short Term Holding Facilities for Escorting and Related Services. Available at: https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/go/7658823701A0FBDFD5E3

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-056241
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093163-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

50 - Repair and maintenance services

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

50111100 - Vehicle-fleet management services

55500000 - Canteen and catering services

60130000 - Special-purpose road passenger-transport services

79710000 - Security services

79993100 - Facilities management services

80000000 - Education and training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,201,000,000 £1B-£10B
Lots Value
£1,201,000,000 £1B-£10B
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Oct 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
8 Mar 20276 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 May 2029 - 30 Apr 2039 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Home Office
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

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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