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South Midlands Connect to Work Programme (Milton Keynes Area)

Milton Keynes City Council

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

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 procured supported employment services for the Milton Keynes area through the South Midlands Connect to Work Programme. The service is intended to help disabled people, people with health conditions and people facing complex barriers to move towards sustainable employment and overcome economic inactivity. The provider is expected to deliver five connected stages: engaging with local services and participants; vocational profiling to identify strengths, needs and employment goals; engaging employers; matching participants with suitable vacancies; and providing tailored on- and off-the-job support to sustain employment and support career progression. The work covers training, health and social work, and related social services, and is delivered in Milton Keynes. The programme forms part of a wider regional arrangement involving Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire, but this contract concerns Milton Keynes.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to Intuitive Thinking Skills Ltd on 21 July 2026, subject to a standstill period ending on 12 August 2026. The award is for £1,615,950 excluding VAT (£1,939,140 including VAT). The contract is scheduled to run from 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2030, with signature due by 31 August 2026. It used an above-threshold open procedure under the Light Touch Regime, with electronic tender submission. Evaluation was based entirely on quality. Ten bids reached the final stage, including nine from SMEs. There was one lot, marked suitable for both SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises. The procurement had a tender deadline of 1 April 2026 and an enquiry deadline of 24 March 2026.

This award demonstrates sustained local demand for an integrated supported employment provider able to work with people furthest from the labour market and with employers. A credible competitor for a future Milton Keynes requirement would need a structured supported employment model covering participant engagement, vocational assessment, employer relationship-building, job matching and sustained in-work support. Relevant experience should include working with disabled people, people with health conditions and people facing complex barriers, while coordinating effectively with local services and employers. The buyer evaluated bids solely on quality, so evidence of outcomes, service design, safeguarding, participant-centred delivery and the ability to tailor support to individual circumstances would be important. The nine SME final-stage bids indicate that the requirement can be contested by smaller specialist providers, including organisations with voluntary or community-sector experience.

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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/072752-2026
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
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
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
31 Jul 20263 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
1 Apr 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
1 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
21 Jul 20261 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
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

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 Ltd

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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