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South Midlands Connect to Work Programme (Milton Keynes Area)

Milton Keynes City Council

This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

Award

28 Sep 2026 at 16:12

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

31 Jul 2026 at 14:16

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

24 Mar 2026 at 11:28

UK4 - Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

19 Mar 2026 at 11:52

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

16 Feb 2026 at 11:32

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

19 Sep 2025 at 13:04

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Milton Keynes City Council commissioned delivery of the Milton Keynes part of the South Midlands Connect to Work Programme, a supported-employment service for people with disabilities, health conditions or other complex barriers to work. The aim is to help people furthest from the labour market find and sustain suitable employment. Delivery covers five stages: engaging with local services and participants; profiling participants’ strengths, needs and work goals; building relationships with employers; matching people to suitable vacancies and helping employers create appropriate roles; and providing tailored support in and out of work to sustain employment and support progression. The programme is delivered in Milton Keynes, within the wider South Midlands regional initiative.

The procurement is complete: Intuitive Thinking Skills Ltd was selected and the contract was signed. The award was made on 21 July 2026. The contract runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2030. Its value is £1,615,950 excluding VAT (£1,939,140 including VAT). The Council used an open procedure under the Light Touch Regime. There was one lot, and the evaluation was based entirely on quality, with quality weighted at 100%; the detailed criteria were set out in the tender documents. Ten bids were received for the lot, including nine from SMEs. The Council’s initial contract term was described as three years and seven months.

This award shows sustained local demand for an integrated supported-employment service, rather than a standalone training course or recruitment service. A credible competitor for a similar requirement would need to deliver the full participant journey: engage people and local services, assess individual strengths and support needs, build employer relationships, match participants to suitable jobs, and support both the employee and employer after placement. The ability to tailor support to people facing disability, health-related and other complex barriers is central to the service. Suppliers would also need to work effectively with local services and employers in Milton Keynes, and demonstrate a strong quality-led delivery model. SMEs were represented among the bidders, indicating that smaller providers competed for this contract.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

South Midlands Connect to Work Programme (Milton Keynes Area)

Notice Description

Milton Keynes City Council has been awarded grant funding by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to participate in the Connect to Work initiative, via the accountable body 'West Northants Council (WNC)' as part of the South Midlands region. Connect to Work is the initial and significant element of the Get Britain Working Strategy, the aim of which is to support people with disabilities, those with health conditions and people with complex barriers, to find suitable work. The Connect to Work Programme aims to support individuals furthest from the labour market into sustainable employment. It is a voluntary programme launched by DWP (the Department for Work and Pensions) to help tackle economic inactivity by providing a specific form of supported employment targeted at the right people at the right time, based on their individual circumstances. It is a national programme, delivered in clusters of local authorities. In the case of this region, the South Midlands cluster - namely Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes City, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. For the purposes of this contract, it relates to the Milton Keynes City element of the programme. The Contractor will be expected to deliver the five stages of the supported employment model: - Engagement: Building relationships with local services to raise aspirations and confidence among potential Participants. - Vocational Profiling: A detailed discovery process to identify Participants' strengths, needs, and employment goals. - Employer Engagement: Building partnerships with employers to understand their needs and support Participants through the recruitment process. - Job Matching: Identifying job vacancies that match Participants' profiles and working with employers to create suitable roles. - On and Off the Job Support: Providing tailored support to Participants and employers to ensure sustained employment and career progression. The Council proposes to enter into a contract that will be for a term of 3 years and 7 months with the successful tenderer (Service Provider) unless terminated in accordance with the Conditions of Contract. This procurement was undertaken via the Open procedure under the Light Touch Regime.

Planning Information

Milton Keynes City Council (‘the Council’) would like to engage with potential providers for a Connect to Work Programme to help tackle economic inactivity. The Connect to Work Programme (CTW) is a grant funded initiative from the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) targeting the ‘economically inactive’ in local areas. CTW forms part of the Government’s strategy ‘Get Britain Working’ and it aims to help annually around 93,000 disabled people, those with health conditions and people with complex barriers to seek and find sustainable employment each year. Milton Keynes City Council is working as part of the South Midlands regional group of local authorities, including West and North Northants, Central Beds, Beds Borough and Luton Councils. West Northants are the accountable body for the region and have decentralised their model to allow for localism and areas to meet the needs of their demographic. Each LA has created their own delivery plan and grant cost register to feed into the regional ones. We are keen to hear from providers on the following questions. Please respond to the attached document latest by 5pm on 7th October 2025 via In-Tend Correspondence section/market engagement stage. If there is sufficient interest in a market engagement event to explore the proposal in more detail, this will be held on 14th October 2025, via Microsoft Teams. Please also indicate in your response to the Market Engagement if you would like to receive an invitation which will be sent separately subject to interest. The Market Engagement document can be accessed on our e-tendering portal: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/milton-keynes/aspx/Home

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-059e24
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091566-2026
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

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

80500000 - Training services

85000000 - Health and social work services

85300000 - Social work and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,615,950 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,615,950 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,615,950 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£1,615,950 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
28 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
1 Apr 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
1 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
21 Jul 20262 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
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Milton Keynes City 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
MILTON KEYNES
Postcode
MK9 3EJ
Postcode Area
Milton Keynes
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ12 Milton Keynes
Delivery Location
TLJ12 Milton Keynes
Local Authority
Milton Keynes
Electoral Ward
Central Milton Keynes
Westminster Constituency
Milton Keynes Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Intuitive Thinking Skills

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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