This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

26 Jun 2026 at 12:53

Award

31 Mar 2026 at 10:21

Summary of the contracting process

The public procurement process for the "Visual Impairment Enablement/Support Services" has been awarded by Leicestershire County Council, alongside Leicester City Council and Rutland County Council, under direct award due to urgency in maintaining statutory services. The award, dated 26th June 2026, covers locations under the region UKF2, in the United Kingdom. This service falls under the "social work services without accommodation" category. The contract starts on 9th July 2026 and ends on 31st March 2029. The procurement method was a direct award due to urgent statutory requirements, and BID SERVICES was selected as the supplier.

This tender presents an opportunity for businesses specialising in social services without accommodation, particularly those with experience in visual impairment support. While the direct award has already been made, understanding the market dynamics, as demonstrated by the urgency of this procurement, can guide businesses seeking future opportunities. The requirement for specialised capabilities and the involvement of multiple councils highlight the potential for suppliers with regional coverage and expertise in providing statutory and supportive services.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

Visual Impairment Enablement/Support Services

Notice Description

These services meet each Council's statutory requirements to maintain a register of people with a visual impairment and also provide a range of related reablement support services. Please note that due to a technical issue with the Find a Tender platform, this notice was not able to be published at the required time. Subsequently, the contract start date within the notice has been set incorrectly in order for the platform to allow the notice to be published. The correct contract start date is 05/05/2026.

Procurement Information

The current provider of these services, who was the same for each of the 3 Councils, gave notice on all contracts in February 2026. There is unavoidable urgency as the Councils need to maintain provision of these services, of which some elements are a statutory requirement for each Council to provide and the elements that are not statutory are important as they support potentially vulnerable people. Before notice was served to each Council, there were no financial or contractual issues or indications that would have enabled the Councils to foresee a need to procure new services. The supply market for this type of service is very small and requires highly specialised capabilities. Due to this, the Councils have decided to award one contract across all three of their areas to ensure that a new provider is able to establish a sustainable service in the area. The Councils have undertaken a rapid engagement with the supply market regionally and have taken a decision to award to a provider that the Councils consider to be able to establish a sustainable and effective service by the commencement date required.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0678c7
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/060359-2026
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

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85312000 - Social work services without accommodation

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£2,400,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
26 Jun 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
31 Mar 20264 months ago
Contract Period
8 Jul 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Additional Buyers

LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL

RUTLAND 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
LEICESTER
Postcode
LE3 8RA
Post Town
Leicester
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF22 Leicestershire CC and Rutland
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Rutland
Electoral Ward
Oakham South
Westminster Constituency
Rutland and Stamford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

BID SERVICES

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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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