Planning

Residential Intermediate Care Beds

SEFTON METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

30 Jan 2026 at 10:57

Planning

29 Jan 2026 at 11:28

Summary of the contracting process

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council is currently in the planning stage for the procurement of "Residential Intermediate Care Beds" in collaboration with the NHS Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) - Sefton Place. This initiative falls under the services category, specifically focusing on Social work and related services (CPV code 85300000). The procurement aims to enhance winter resilience from the winter of 2026/27 onwards. The process includes a preliminary market engagement stage, with interested providers invited to participate in a soft market engagement questionnaire and potentially a virtual engagement event. Interested parties should register their interest via the Proactis portal, with a deadline for questionnaire submission by 27th February 2026. The planned procurement will serve the UKD73 region, i.e., the Bootle area in the United Kingdom.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in healthcare services, particularly those with capabilities in providing residential intermediate care. Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can find this opportunity particularly advantageous as the procurement process is classified under the "lightTouch" regime, suggesting a more flexible and less onerous procedure. Providers with strengths in areas such as service delivery models, workforce skills, and governance quality are well-suited to compete for this contract. By engaging in the preliminary market phase, businesses can gain insights and prepare for a competitive bidding process, potentially leading to a long-term contract with a start on 1st November 2026.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Residential Intermediate Care Beds

Notice Description

Sefton Council, in partnership with NHS Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) - Sefton Place, is exploring options for the future commissioning of Residential Intermediate Care (IC) Beds to support winter resilience from Winter 2026/27 onwards, with potential year-round baseline capacity. The purpose of this Notice is to engage with the market, understand provider capacity and interest, and inform the development of a future procurement process. This Notice does not constitute the launch of a procurement exercise.

Planning Information

Providers are invited to participate in the following activities: a) Soft Market Engagement Questionnaire A short questionnaire will be issued to gather information on: • Available capacity • Service delivery models • Quality governance • Workforce/skills • Price assumptions • Mobilisation readiness for Winter 2026 b) Provider Engagement Event Depending on the response rate the Council may choose to hold a virtual engagement event over the forthcoming weeks. Providers should register their interest by completing and returning the Market Engagement Response form available from the Proactis portal. Project Reference DN803566 https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=33ab0047-02f3-f011-813c-005056b64545&fromRfxSummary=True&rfxId=24ac586e-01f3-f011-813c-005056b64545

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0611d2
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008354-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

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

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85300000 - Social work and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Jan 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
27 Feb 20263 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 31 Oct 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
SEFTON METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
cdp@sefton.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
BOOTLE
Postcode
L20 7AE
Post Town
Liverpool
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD7 Merseyside
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD73 Sefton
Delivery Location
TLD73 Sefton

Local Authority
Sefton
Electoral Ward
Linacre
Westminster Constituency
Bootle

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-0611d2-2026-01-30T10:57:09Z",
    "date": "2026-01-30T10:57:09Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-0611d2",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PTHP-5656-DLCN",
            "name": "Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PTHP-5656-DLCN"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Bootle Town Hall",
                "locality": "Bootle",
                "postalCode": "L20 7AE",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKD73"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "cdp@sefton.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "http://sefton.gov.uk",
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PTHP-5656-DLCN",
        "name": "Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council"
    },
    "planning": {
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "Providers are invited to participate in the following activities: a) Soft Market Engagement Questionnaire A short questionnaire will be issued to gather information on: * Available capacity * Service delivery models * Quality governance * Workforce/skills * Price assumptions * Mobilisation readiness for Winter 2026 b) Provider Engagement Event Depending on the response rate the Council may choose to hold a virtual engagement event over the forthcoming weeks. Providers should register their interest by completing and returning the Market Engagement Response form available from the Proactis portal. Project Reference DN803566 https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=33ab0047-02f3-f011-813c-005056b64545&fromRfxSummary=True&rfxId=24ac586e-01f3-f011-813c-005056b64545",
                "dueDate": "2026-02-27T23:59:59Z",
                "status": "scheduled"
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "007953-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/007953-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-01-29T11:28:34Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            },
            {
                "id": "008354-2026",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008354-2026",
                "datePublished": "2026-01-30T10:57:09Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "DN803566",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "Residential Intermediate Care Beds",
        "description": "Sefton Council, in partnership with NHS Cheshire & Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) - Sefton Place, is exploring options for the future commissioning of Residential Intermediate Care (IC) Beds to support winter resilience from Winter 2026/27 onwards, with potential year-round baseline capacity. The purpose of this Notice is to engage with the market, understand provider capacity and interest, and inform the development of a future procurement process. This Notice does not constitute the launch of a procurement exercise.",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "85300000",
                        "description": "Social work and related services"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UKD73",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    },
                    {
                        "region": "UKD73",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "mainProcurementCategory": "services",
        "specialRegime": [
            "lightTouch"
        ],
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true
                },
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2026-11-01T00:00:00Z",
                    "endDate": "2029-10-31T23:59:59Z"
                },
                "status": "planning"
            }
        ],
        "status": "planning",
        "amendments": [
            {
                "id": "008354-2026",
                "description": "Amended link to opportunity on tendering portal"
            }
        ]
    },
    "language": "en"
}