Provision of an E Bulk Solution for the Administration of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Caerphilly County Borough Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Tender

07 Sep 2026 at 11:31

Planning

04 Jun 2026 at 09:13

Summary of the contracting process

Caerphilly County Borough Council is procuring a hosted electronic bulk DBS checking service for the end-to-end administration of Disclosure and Barring Service applications. The service must allow secure submission, processing, tracking and management of applications across multiple Council services, teams and user groups, supporting the Council’s Registered Body status. It includes a cloud-based platform and related document management and administrative services. The successful provider must offer an accessible bilingual service in Welsh and English, meeting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 AA standards. An optional digital identity verification service may also be awarded. The work will support services delivered across the Caerphilly County Borough area. Relevant activities include DBS processing, compliance software, identity verification, secure data handling and employment-related administration.

The procurement has reached tender: the Council invited offers through a below-threshold open competition. Enquiries had to be submitted by 28 September 2026 at 17:00, and tenders had to be submitted by 5 October 2026 at 12:00 through the Proactis eTendering System. The contract is scheduled to run from 16 December 2026 to 15 December 2029, with an option to extend annually for up to a further 24 months, to 15 December 2031. The estimated value is £100,000 excluding VAT and £120,000 including VAT. There is one lot. Evaluation is based on the tender response at 30%, system demonstration at 40% and price at 30%. The process has four evaluation stages, with pass/fail requirements or minimum scores applying at each stage.

This opportunity suits an approved DBS e-Broker authorised to submit applications for Registered Bodies, with proven experience delivering secure, compliant, high-volume employment screening services. Suppliers should be able to provide and support a fully hosted cloud platform, including application submission, workflow management, tracking, records and reporting across multiple Council services and user roles. Strong data protection, information governance and cyber-security arrangements are important, particularly for any supplier offering the optional digital identity verification service. The service must be accessible in both Welsh and English and comply with WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards. The requirement is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises, provided they can meet the mandatory checks, demonstrate the system effectively and satisfy the staged evaluation requirements.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

Provision of an E Bulk Solution for the Administration of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

Notice Description

The Authority is seeking to appoint a suitably experienced and compliant Bidder to provide a secure, efficient and fully compliant electronic bulk ("e-Bulk") solution for the end-to-end administration of DBS applications. The solution must support the Authority's Registered Body status and provide a fully hosted, cloud-based platform that enables the secure processing, tracking and management of DBS applications across multiple Council services and user groups. The Successful Provider must be an approved DBS e-Broker, authorised to submit applications on behalf of Registered Bodies. The Authority requires an accessible, bilingual in Welsh and English, compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WGAC) 2.2 AA accessibility standards, and capable of supporting multiple Council service areas and user roles. An optional Digital Identity Verification service may also be awarded as part of the contract, subject to the Authority's assessment of the Provider's data protection, information governance and security arrangements. The procurement process will be conducted in four (4) stages. Bidders must successfully meet the requirements of each stage before progressing to the next stage of evaluation. Where a stage is assessed on a pass/fail basis, bidders must achieve a "Pass" outcome in order to proceed. Where a stage is subject to scored evaluation, bidders must achieve the minimum threshold score specified within the tender documentation. Any bidder that fails a pass/fail requirement, receives a score below the minimum required threshold, or otherwise fails to satisfy the requirements of a stage, will be excluded from further consideration and their tender submission will not be evaluated in subsequent stages. The Council reserves the right to reject any tender that fails to meet the mandatory requirements of this procurement exercise. Full details can be found in the ITT.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Option to extend for a further period of up to twenty-four (24) months, extended annually

Planning Information

The Purpose of preliminary market engagement is to advise and engage with the Market prior to going to tender for the Provision of Employment and Digital ID Checks . To register an interest Service Providers must send their request via email to procurement@caerphilly.gov.uk. **please note registering an interest against this notice on sell2wales may not get recorded by the Council** All requests must be received by 15:00 hours Friday 03 July 2026 to the procurement inbox. This notice is to commence market engagement prior to going to tender to understand services available to the Council. Please note that this notice is not a contract notice for a call for competition, it is to advise the market of the Councils intension to visit the market for such services in the future. Full details of service specification shall be issued with the call for competition and will be fully detailed in the tender documents. The Council reserves the right to hold a supplier engagement event and will invite interested parties who register an interest to procurement@caerphilly.gov.uk It is intended that the contract will commence on 01 December 2026 for a period of three (3) years with the option to extend for up to a further period of two (2) years.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06acf7
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084298-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - open competition
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

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


CPV Codes

48170000 - Compliance software package

72512000 - Document management services

75112000 - Administrative services for business operations

79130000 - Legal documentation and certification services

79600000 - Recruitment services

79900000 - Miscellaneous business and business-related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£100,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£100,000 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
5 Oct 20262 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
31 Jul 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
16 Dec 2026 - 15 Dec 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Caerphilly County 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
HENGOED
Postcode
CF82 7PG
Postcode Area
Cardiff
Country
Wales

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL53 Gwent Valleys
Delivery Location
TLL16 Gwent Valleys

Local Authority
Caerphilly
Electoral Ward
Ystrad Mynach
Westminster Constituency
Caerphilly

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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