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Connect to Work - Somerset Council

Somerset County Council

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

11 Sep 2026 at 16:22

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

19 Jun 2026 at 15:24

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

28 Jul 2025 at 15:24

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Somerset Council is procuring supported employment services under the Connect to Work programme, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions. The service is intended to help economically inactive people who want to work, and people already in employment who are at risk of leaving it, to access and sustain suitable work. Delivery is divided into two service models: Individual Placement and Support (IPS), and the Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF). The work is delivered in Somerset and is classified as personnel placement services. Somerset Council is the buying organisation. The requirement is for one or more delivery partners able to provide locally led, integrated employment support using evidence-based approaches aligned with the Government’s Get Britain Working strategy.

The procurement is complete and was run as an above-threshold open procedure. Six bids were received for IPS and seven for SEQF. Elevate Employment Services Limited was selected for Lot 1 (IPS) on 9 September 2026, at £1,200,000 excluding VAT (£1,440,000 including VAT). Dimensions Somerset SEV Limited was selected for Lot 2 (SEQF) on the same date, at £800,000 excluding VAT (£960,000 including VAT); its award has a standstill period ending 22 September 2026. Both contracts are scheduled to run from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2029, with a possible extension to 31 March 2030. Each lot may be renewed at the council’s discretion for continued funded delivery, with an additional value of up to £200,000 excluding VAT. Both lots used the same evaluation weighting: quality 60%, price 30% and social value 10%.

This award demonstrates established demand from Somerset Council for specialist supported employment providers able to deliver either IPS or SEQF services at meaningful local scale. A credible future competitor would need practical capability in helping economically inactive people move into work, supporting people at risk of losing employment, and sustaining suitable jobs after placement. Evidence-based supported employment expertise, robust service delivery systems and the capacity to work through a locally led and integrated model would be important. The evaluation placed greater emphasis on quality than price and included a distinct social value element, so suppliers should be able to show strong outcomes, dependable operational delivery and measurable wider community benefit. Both models were considered suitable for SMEs, while IPS was also suitable for voluntary, community and social enterprises.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Connect to Work - Somerset Council

Notice Description

The Connect to Work (Connect to Work - GOV.UK) programme is a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) funded initiative designed to support individuals who are economically inactive or at risk of leaving employment to access and sustain suitable work. The programme forms part of the Government's Get Britain Working strategy, which aims to reduce economic inactivity and support more people into good, sustainable employment through locally led and integrated approaches. The purpose of this procurement is to appoint one or more Delivery Partners to deliver supported employment services as part of the Connect to Work programme in Somerset. The programme will support: * individuals who are economically inactive and wish to work; and * individuals who are in work but at risk of falling out of employment Support will be delivered using the following evidence-based supported employment models that form separate Lots: * Lot 1 - Individual Placement and Support (IPS); and * Lot 2 - Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF)

Lot Information

IPS

Renewal: At Authority's sole discretion for the continuation of funded service delivery. This may have a value up to PS200,000 ex VAT - this value has not been included in the Total contract value as it is not assigned to either Lot. The FTS system does not allow the addition of this value to the total where this is different from the sum of the Lots.

SEQF

Renewal: At Authority's sole discretion for the continuation of funded service delivery. This may have a value up to PS200,000 ex VAT - this value has not been included in the Total contract value as it is not assigned to either Lot. The FTS system does not allow the addition of this value to the total where this is different from the sum of the Lots.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-056749
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086606-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79610000 - Placement services of personnel

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£2,000,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£2,000,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
11 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
17 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
10 Oct 2025Expired
Award Date
9 Sep 20261 months ago
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active, Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Somerset 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
TAUNTON
Postcode
TA1 4DY
Postcode Area
Taunton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK6 North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK62 Somerset
Delivery Location
TLK23 Somerset CC
Local Authority
Somerset
Electoral Ward
Bishop's Hull & Taunton West
Westminster Constituency
Taunton and Wellington

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

ELEVATE EMPLOYMENT SERVICES LIMITED

Dimensions Somerset SEV Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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