Award

ASC160 Better Care Transformation Programme Consultancy

SANDWELL METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

02 Dec 2025 at 10:36

Award

02 Dec 2025 at 10:20

Summary of the contracting process

The Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has completed the procurement process for the "ASC160 Better Care Transformation Programme Consultancy", focusing on specialist consultancy services within the business and management consultancy industry. This project, located in the UKG37 region, involves the continuation and extension of an existing transformation programme. The procurement was conducted through a direct award method, with ARCC HR LTD, based in Chester, chosen as the supplier. Key dates to note include the award announcement on 2nd December 2025, with a contract period commencing on 1st January 2026 and potentially extendable until 30th June 2027. The procurement is in the Award stage, with significant financial implications, as the gross value of the contract is £600,000.

This tender presents numerous opportunities for businesses specialising in consultancy services. With a focus on leveraging existing organisational knowledge and proprietary analytical models developed by ARCC, businesses with expertise in transformation processes can benefit significantly. The direct award indicates a preference for entities that hold substantial prior experience with the client organisation, suggesting a competitive advantage for businesses that can demonstrate deep domain expertise and the capacity to handle complex transformation initiatives efficiently. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with such competencies would find this contract aligned with their strengths and capabilities, offering scope for professional growth and the development of enhanced service offerings.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Notice Title

ASC160 Better Care Transformation Programme Consultancy

Notice Description

Procurement of specialist consultancy services. A continuation and extension of the existing transformation programme previously delivered by ARCC under the ESPO 664_21 framework. The new agreement builds directly upon diagnostic findings, financial modelling, and service redesign work already completed by ARCC 2025.

Procurement Information

A change in supplier would result in significant duplication of cost and delay. Based on previous experience with comparable reviews, a new consultancy would require 6-14 weeks of discovery and scoping to recreate organisational intelligence already held by ARCC. ARCC retains intellectual property and proprietary analytical models developed for Sandwell under previous projects. While the Council holds rights to deliverables, the underlying data frameworks, diagnostic tools, and methodologies remain ARCC's IP. Recommissioning a new supplier would require redevelopment of these tools at additional public cost.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05ec94
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078785-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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


CPV Codes

79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£500,000 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Dec 20252 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
1 Dec 20252 months ago
Contract Period
1 Jan 2026 - 31 Dec 2026 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
SANDWELL METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement_smbc@sandwell.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
OLDBURY
Postcode
B69 3DE
Post Town
Birmingham
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG3 West Midlands
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG37 Sandwell
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Sandwell
Electoral Ward
Oldbury
Westminster Constituency
West Bromwich

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

ARCC HR

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

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.

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-05ec94-2025-12-02T10:36:11Z",
    "date": "2025-12-02T10:36:11Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-05ec94",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PJHD-8764-YRJJ",
            "name": "Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PJHD-8764-YRJJ"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Sandwell Council House, Freeth Street",
                "locality": "Oldbury",
                "postalCode": "B69 3DE",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKG37"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "Procurement_SMBC@sandwell.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment",
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "description": "Public authority - central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-COH-09859800",
            "name": "ARCC HR LTD",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-COH",
                "id": "09859800"
            },
            "additionalIdentifiers": [
                {
                    "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                    "id": "PGTY-2472-GQRV"
                }
            ],
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "C/O Ellis & Co",
                "locality": "Chester",
                "postalCode": "CH1 2HT",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKD63"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "tenders@arcc-hr.co.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "supplier"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "http://www.arcc-consulting.co.uk",
                "scale": "sme",
                "vcse": false,
                "publicServiceMissionOrganization": false,
                "shelteredWorkshop": false
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PJHD-8764-YRJJ",
        "name": "Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council"
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ASC160",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "ASC160 Better Care Transformation Programme Consultancy",
        "description": "Procurement of specialist consultancy services. A continuation and extension of the existing transformation programme previously delivered by ARCC under the ESPO 664_21 framework. The new agreement builds directly upon diagnostic findings, financial modelling, and service redesign work already completed by ARCC 2025.",
        "status": "complete",
        "procurementMethod": "direct",
        "procurementMethodDetails": "Direct award",
        "procurementMethodRationale": "A change in supplier would result in significant duplication of cost and delay. Based on previous experience with comparable reviews, a new consultancy would require 6-14 weeks of discovery and scoping to recreate organisational intelligence already held by ARCC. ARCC retains intellectual property and proprietary analytical models developed for Sandwell under previous projects. While the Council holds rights to deliverables, the underlying data frameworks, diagnostic tools, and methodologies remain ARCC's IP. Recommissioning a new supplier would require redevelopment of these tools at additional public cost.",
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "status": "complete"
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "conflictOfInterest",
                "documentType": "conflictOfInterest",
                "description": "Not published"
            }
        ],
        "procurementMethodRationaleClassifications": [
            {
                "id": "additionalRepeatExtensionPartialReplacement"
            }
        ]
    },
    "awards": [
        {
            "id": "1",
            "status": "pending",
            "value": {
                "amountGross": 600000,
                "amount": 500000,
                "currency": "GBP"
            },
            "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
            "aboveThreshold": true,
            "suppliers": [
                {
                    "id": "GB-COH-09859800",
                    "name": "ARCC HR LTD"
                }
            ],
            "items": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "additionalClassifications": [
                        {
                            "scheme": "CPV",
                            "id": "79400000",
                            "description": "Business and management consultancy and related services"
                        }
                    ],
                    "deliveryAddresses": [
                        {
                            "region": "UKG37",
                            "country": "GB",
                            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                        },
                        {
                            "region": "UKG37",
                            "country": "GB",
                            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                        }
                    ],
                    "relatedLot": "1"
                }
            ],
            "contractPeriod": {
                "startDate": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
                "endDate": "2026-12-31T23:59:59Z",
                "maxExtentDate": "2027-06-30T23:59:59+01:00"
            },
            "hasRenewal": true,
            "renewal": {
                "description": "If work has not completed can be extended for another six months without financial increase."
            },
            "relatedLots": [
                "1"
            ],
            "documents": [
                {
                    "id": "078766-2025",
                    "documentType": "awardNotice",
                    "noticeType": "UK5",
                    "description": "Transparency notice on Find a Tender",
                    "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078766-2025",
                    "datePublished": "2025-12-02T10:20:58Z",
                    "format": "text/html"
                },
                {
                    "id": "078785-2025",
                    "documentType": "awardNotice",
                    "noticeType": "UK6",
                    "description": "Contract award notice on Find a Tender",
                    "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078785-2025",
                    "datePublished": "2025-12-02T10:36:11Z",
                    "format": "text/html"
                }
            ],
            "milestones": [
                {
                    "id": "1",
                    "type": "futureSignatureDate",
                    "dueDate": "2025-12-15T23:59:59Z",
                    "status": "scheduled"
                }
            ],
            "date": "2025-12-01T00:00:00Z",
            "standstillPeriod": {
                "endDate": "2025-12-11T23:59:59+00:00"
            }
        }
    ],
    "language": "en"
}