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653F_27 Managed Services for Temporary Agency Resources (MSTAR5)

Leicestershire County Council

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

28 Aug 2026 at 10:29

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

28 Jul 2026 at 14:04

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

07 May 2026 at 15:12

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
Planning

15 Apr 2026 at 10:30

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Leicestershire County Council, trading as ESPO, intends to establish a national framework for managed services for temporary agency resources. The framework would appoint a Managed Service Provider to manage a supply chain of recruitment agencies supporting customers’ staffing needs across the United Kingdom. The service scope includes Neutral Vendor and Master Vendor models, a Vendor Management System, talent pool technology, and Statement of Works services for project delivery. This is a recruitment and workforce management service rather than the direct supply of temporary workers alone. The arrangement is intended for public sector customers requiring coordinated access to agency resources, technology-enabled workforce management and project-based staffing solutions.

The procurement is at the planning stage and is not yet a call for competition; tender documents are not available. ESPO expects to publish the tender notice on 2 October 2026. The planned framework has one lot and is expected to run from 11 April 2027 to 10 April 2029, with a possible extension to 10 April 2031. Its estimated value is £3,333,333,333 excluding VAT and £4,000,000,000 including VAT. The lot is planned to be suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. Market engagement has already included a Request for Information, whose response deadline was 8 May 2026, and remaining one-to-one sessions are expected to finish by 30 October 2026.

This procurement is likely to suit established managed service providers able to coordinate a broad agency supply chain and deliver staffing solutions nationally. Relevant businesses may include recruitment-sector firms offering Neutral Vendor or Master Vendor services, Vendor Management Systems, talent pool platforms, or Statement of Works and project delivery capability. ESPO is engaging with market leaders, incumbent providers, SMEs and new entrants, so suppliers of different sizes and backgrounds are being considered during preparation. Businesses should assess their ability to integrate recruitment agencies, manage customer staffing requirements and support technology-enabled workforce services. The framework is not currently a bidding opportunity; interested suppliers should prepare for the future tender and monitor the subsequent competition.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

653F_27 Managed Services for Temporary Agency Resources (MSTAR5)

Notice Description

ESPO have been conducting preliminary market engagement with the intention of establishing a national framework for the appointment of a Managed Service Provider to manage a supply chain of agencies to fulfil a customer's staffing needs. Services available include Neutral/Master Vendor, Vendor Management System (VMS), Talent Pool Technology and Statement of Works (Project Delivery). Please note this is not a call for competition, the tender documentation is not yet available.

Planning Information

Suppliers are required to register and complete the relevant stages on the Central Digital Platform if they wish to participate in or bid for this framework. Engagement has already been undertaken via a Request for Information (RFI) questionnaire, with details being captured on the EastMidsTenders eProcurement Portal (www.eastmidstenders.org). The deadline for responding to the RFI was 17:00 (5pm) on 08 May 2026 (THIS DEADLINE HAS NOW PASSED). Suppliers may however still express an interest if they wish as follows (this option remains open up until the Engagement deadline captured in this notice): (a) Go to https://www.eastmidstenders.org/; (b) Register (if not already registered on ProContract); (c) Search for opportunity '653F_27' (via "View Opportunities" from the EastMidsTenders Portal); d) Express an interest. In case of any questions or clarifications, these should be submitted to ESPO as a message on the eProcurement Portal. As a follow on to the RFI, 1-2-1 preliminary market engagement sessions are taking place (with all remaining market engagement now expected to be completed during October). These are limited in number (undertaken via in-person or Teams meeting, invites to be issued out by ESPO for these). Meetings are based on ESPO seeking further information on points raised within the Supplier's RFI already submitted, with these meetings seeking to involve a sample of market leaders, incumbents, SMEs and new entrants to the market, to capture a variety of views and ensure our sample of suppliers reflects the diverse range of MSPs within the staffing solutions market. For those not selected to participate in 1-2-1 sessions, outcomes of the engagement piece will be published within the Invitation To Tender Document, access to which will be published via the Tender Notice at a later date. Those that did not wish to participate in engagement or are not chosen for 1-2-1 sessions will not be at an unfair disadvantage when bidding for this framework. For the avoidance of doubt those not participating in the engagement piece will not be impacted in being able to participate in any resulting tender exercise, and will not be excluded from tendering.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0682a3
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082070-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
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

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

CPV Codes

79600000 - Recruitment services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£3,333,333,333 £1B-£10B
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
28 Aug 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
2 Oct 20261 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
11 Apr 2027 - 10 Apr 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Leicestershire 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
LE19 1ES
Postcode Area
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
Blaby
Electoral Ward
Enderby
Westminster Constituency
South Leicestershire

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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