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Unplanned Rapid Response Night Sitting

Norfolk County Council

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

TenderCancellation

12 Aug 2026 at 09:59

UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice
Tender

25 Jun 2026 at 14:00

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

01 May 2026 at 12:26

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Norfolk County Council sought an unplanned rapid response night-sitting service for adults aged 18 and over across Norfolk. The service is a health and social care provision, covering urgent assessment, intervention and coordination for people with sudden deterioration in health, functional ability or social circumstances outside standard office hours. It is intended to provide short-term, multidisciplinary support during evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays, helping to prevent avoidable hospital admissions, support early discharge and keep people safely and independently in their own homes or usual place of residence. Delivery requires close working with primary care, urgent and emergency care, ambulance services, acute trusts, adult social care, mental health services and voluntary-sector organisations, supporting coordinated care closer to home.

The procurement reached tender: Norfolk County Council invited offers through an open procedure, managed electronically through its e-procurement system. The tender had one unloted requirement, with a gross estimated value of £2,220,000 (£1,850,000 excluding VAT). The contract period was 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2029, with an option to extend by up to 24 months, to 31 October 2031. Enquiries were due by 24 July 2026 at 11:00 and tenders by 27 July 2026 at 11:00. The intended award decision date was 3 September 2026. Evaluation weighted quality at 70% and price at 30%; quality covered understanding the service, performance and monitoring, and policies and procedures. The procurement was subsequently cancelled on 12 August 2026 because the council needed to consider wider implications, including local government reform, and decided not to continue.

This requirement suited providers able to deliver urgent, short-term, multidisciplinary health and social care for adults in their own homes or usual places of residence, particularly outside normal office hours. Strong candidates would need to assess changing health, functional and social needs, intervene promptly, coordinate care and work reliably with a broad local health and care network. Relevant capability includes partnership working with primary care, ambulance and emergency services, acute trusts, adult social care, mental health services and voluntary organisations, alongside effective performance monitoring and clear operational policies and procedures. The opportunity was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises. It would therefore have been relevant to established local or regional care providers with the staffing, governance and operational resilience to provide responsive coverage across Norfolk.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Unplanned Rapid Response Night Sitting

Notice Description

The Rapid Response Service in Norfolk provides a timely, short term, multi disciplinary response to adults with urgent care and support needs arising outside of standard office hours, including evenings, nights, weekends and bank holidays. The service is designed to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, facilitate early discharge, and maintain individuals safely and independently within their own homes or usual place of residence. Operating across Norfolk, the service delivers urgent assessment, intervention and coordination of care for adults aged 18 and over who experience a sudden deterioration in health, functional ability, or social circumstances. The service works in close partnership with primary care, urgent and emergency care, ambulance services, acute trusts, adult social care, mental health services, and the voluntary sector to ensure a seamless and person centred response. The Rapid Response Service supports the local system's ambition to deliver care closer to home, reduce avoidable hospital attendances and admissions, and improve outcomes for residents by providing responsive, high quality care at the point of need, particularly during periods when core services are limited. The value is not sufficient for it to be commercially viable if lotted and it would also increase contract management costs. On 19 November 2025, the Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness made a written statement [UIN HCWS1071] saying that three proposals for unitary local government in Norfolk had been received - these could entail the creation of one, two or three unitary councils. The Minister announced a consultation exercise, which ended on 11 January 2026. The Minister stated that "once the consultations have concluded, the Government will assess the proposals against the criteria in the invitation and decide, subject to parliamentary approval, which, if any, proposals are to be implemented, with or without modification". The Government has confirmed that it is minded to create three unitary Councils, subject to parliamentary approval. On 4 December 2025, the Secretary of State for Local Government made a written statement [UIN HCWS1128] stating that the government intends to establish a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Norfolk and Suffolk as soon as possible, and that it is minded to hold inaugural mayoral elections in May 2028. Should these processes lead to unitary local government in Norfolk and/or to the establishment of a Mayoral Strategic Authority covering Norfolk (i) the contract may be transferred, assigned or novated to any successor authority(ies) to the council, or to any joint body incorporating or formed by any such successor and/or to any Mayoral Strategic Authority; and/or (ii) the council or a successor authority or joint body may order services on behalf of other local authorities serving any area within Norfolk's current geographical boundaries.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The Contract may be extended by up to 24 months at the Council's discretion.

Planning Information

Virtual Market Engagement Event to be held via MS Team on 13th May 2026, 11am - 12 noon. Discussion points • Outline of the Service Model and Service Description • Contract and Financial Information • Procurement Process and Legislation Interested parties will need to register their interest for the market engagement on In-Tend and a separate invite will be sent. Applicants must first be registered on https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc (https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc) Full instructions for registration and use of the system can be found at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/BuyerProfiles (https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/BuyerProfile). Once registered you will be able to see the procurement project under 'tenders' section and 'express an interest'. Please then use the correspondence facility to let us know that you are interested in attending a market engagement session(s). The procurement, once issued, will also be managed via In-Tend.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-069034
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/076538-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85000000 - Health and social work services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,850,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,850,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
12 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
27 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
1 Jun 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 31 Oct 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
2031-10-31

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Norfolk 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
NORWICH
Postcode
NR1 2DH
Postcode Area
Norwich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH5 Norfolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH51 Norwich and East Norfolk
Delivery Location
TLH15 Norwich and East Norfolk, TLH16 North and West Norfolk, TLH17 Breckland and South Norfolk
Local Authority
Norwich
Electoral Ward
Lakenham
Westminster Constituency
Norwich 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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