Planning

Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme: Preliminary Market Engagement.

SWINDON BOROUGH COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

29 Apr 2026 at 11:17

Summary of the contracting process

Swindon Borough Council is currently in the planning stage of a public procurement process for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme aimed at supporting eligible children in Swindon. The programme is within the services industry category and involves child daycare, holiday camp, entertainment, and sport-related services. Located in Swindon, UK, the council seeks to establish a framework contract with suppliers to deliver high-quality activity provision that includes nutritious meals, supporting children from families eligible for benefits-related free school meals. The preliminary market engagement is open with suppliers required to register interest via the ProContract portal by 15th May 2026.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in child daycare, entertainment, community action programmes, and physical well-being services. Suppliers with experience in delivering activity-based services and meeting HAF standards set by the Department for Education are well-positioned to compete. The council intends to award an initial 2.5-year contract, with a possibility of extension, creating long-term growth prospects for eligible suppliers. Engaging in this tender means businesses can contribute to community improvement by aiding families to overcome financial barriers, thereby advancing their service offerings in the children's services market.

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Notice Title

Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme: Preliminary Market Engagement.

Notice Description

Swindon Borough Council is planning to tender to the supplier market, seeking to award a framework contract to a range of suppliers to deliver the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) on behalf of the local authority. The purpose of this is to support Swindon Borough Council in enabling eligible children and young people to access activity. The framework suppliers will be responsible for supporting children eligible for the service, ensuring that children and young people in Swindon have access to high-quality activity provision that includes a nutritious meal at every session. The supplier must deliver high quality activity provision that meets the HAF Standards (as per the Department for Education's requirements). The HAF programme has provided national support to children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals through holiday periods. The HAF Programme supports eligible families to overcome financial and time pressures, by using grant funding to fund places with activity providers, to enable eligible children and young people to attend activities in the Spring, Summer and Winter school term holidays. Swindon Borough Council is interested in receiving tenders to deliver the HAF service. All delivery under this framework must take place in Swindon. The intention is that Swindon Borough Council will go to market to award an initial 2.5-year contract, with an option to extend for a further 1-year period. In preparation for this, please find enclosed our Preliminary Market Engagement questions to review the current supply market. The same information will be requested from a number of Suppliers, who wish to participate to assist the Council with the specification/tender preparations. Any contracts for services relating to this exercise shall be subject to separate procurement processes in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. All participants in this event shall be responsible for their own costs (including third party costs) and the Contracting Authority shall have no liability to any participant. The purpose of this questionnaire is to gain intelligence on the supply market for Swindon Borough Council's Specification requirements, including information that will help define the most appropriate Specification aligned to the Councils budget. The attached Specification is a first draft and outlines our Specification Requirements. If there are any components in Specification that would prevent your company from bidding, please advise. The closing date for the return of the Suppliers response to the Councils Pre Market Engagement Questions is 15/05/26.

Planning Information

Engagement Process Description To participate in the Preliminary Market Engagement Suppliers will need to Register as a Supplier with ProContract, www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk, then Register an Interest before obtaining access to the Preliminary Market Engagement documents. Responses to the Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire are required to be submitted no later than 15th May 2026, 17:00 hrs UK Local time via ProContract tender portal - https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk/ Project Reference Number: DN814493

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-068dde
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039126-2026
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
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

85 - Health and social work services

92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

98 - Other community, social and personal services


CPV Codes

55243000 - Children's holiday-camp services

85312110 - Child daycare services

85322000 - Community action programme

92300000 - Entertainment services

92620000 - Sport-related services

98330000 - Physical well-being services

Notice Value(s)

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

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 Apr 20263 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
15 May 20262 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Dec 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
SWINDON BOROUGH 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
SWINDON
Postcode
SN1 2JH
Post Town
Swindon
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK71 Swindon
Delivery Location
TLK14 Swindon

Local Authority
Swindon
Electoral Ward
Eastcott
Westminster Constituency
Swindon South

Further Information

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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