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Provision of Workforce and Associated Services

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Tender

13 Aug 2026 at 13:48

Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

12 Aug 2026 at 10:26

Tender Notice
Planning

24 Jun 2026 at 13:01

Planning Notice
Summary of the contracting process

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust is procuring a fully managed neutral-vendor service for temporary clinical agency workforce across all its sites in North Cumbria. The appointed supplier will source and fulfil temporary clinical staffing requirements through approved agencies, manage the supply chain and support safe staffing, continuity of care and value for money. It will also provide a 24-hour electronic booking portal, auditable rostering and workforce-management software, timesheet and payment processing, reporting, costing data and system integration with the Trust. The service includes direct engagement of applicable temporary workers, governance and assurance, agency compliance monitoring, right-to-work and professional-registration checks, mandatory training, IR35 compliance, and support for agency and bank-worker payments. The procurement category is recruitment services.

The procurement has reached tender: the buyer invited offers through a restricted procedure and a mini-competition under the Health Trust Europe Total Workforce Solutions III framework, Strategic Workforce Services Lot 2c. It is a two-stage process, with scored quality, social-value and cost submissions followed by a scored demonstration. Bids were due by 7 September 2026 at 12:00 BST, through the Authority’s electronic procurement portal. The contract is valued at £688,094.79 including the stated currency, and runs from 4 January 2027 to 3 January 2028, with two optional 12-month extensions, giving a possible total term of three years. Evaluation comprises quality at 40%, social value at 10%, demonstration at 15% and cost at 35%. Only suppliers on the specified framework lot are eligible.

This opportunity suits established workforce-management, recruitment or managed-service providers able to operate as a neutral vendor between an NHS Trust and multiple clinical staffing agencies. Bidders need access to a compliant, high-quality agency supply chain covering clinical disciplines and grades, with the capacity to fulfil requirements reliably across multiple sites and support future changes in demand. The supplier must demonstrate robust governance, NHS workforce-regulation compliance, employment-law and agency-worker compliance, right-to-work checks, mandatory-training and professional-registration assurance, and practical IR35 guidance. Strong candidates will also provide resilient interoperable booking and rostering software, complete audit trails, real-time reporting, service-level and KPI management, direct-engagement expertise, VAT and process efficiencies, and timely payment administration for agency and bank workers.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Workforce and Associated Services

Notice Description

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust is seeking to appoint a Neutral Vendor to provide a fully managed service for the supply of Clinical Workforce (Agency provision) across its sites.<br/>The appointed Neutral Vendor will be responsible for the sourcing, and fulfilment of temporary agency clinical staffing requirements, acting as an intermediary between the Trust and a diverse range of approved staffing agencies, including as a facilitator for a system to manage agencies. The service will support the Trust in maintaining safe staffing levels, ensuring continuity of care, and delivering value for money.<br/>The Supplier will not source Flexible Workers but will provide the software to assist with the booking of the Trust's Flexible Workers, processing of timesheets and payment through the Supplier's portal.<br/><br/>The Supplier shall provide an electronic booking system which will be available 24 hours/day, 365 days per year, from the commencement of the Contract. The supplier's systems must include an auditable rostering software system able to accommodate, roster and manage multiple staff groups and activity, which is interoperable with other systems within the Trust.<br/>This solution must maintain a complete audit trail of system access, bookings, amendments, approvals, timesheet submissions and payment activities.<br/>The Supplier shall offer a Direct Engagement service that offers the Contracting Authority specified VAT and process efficiencies to on-board, process and off board all applicable Temporary Worker in alignment to legislation and HR policies.<br/><br/>The scope of services includes, but is not limited to:<br/>Provision of temporary clinical staff across a range of disciplines and grades.<br/>Management of a compliant and high-quality agency supply chain.<br/>Implementation of robust governance, assurance, and framework compliance measures (e.g. monitoring of agency compliance, right to work, mandatory training, IR35 compliance and professional registration).<br/>Delivery of real-time workforce management, booking, and reporting systems.<br/>The Provider should provide a system that ensures software functionality, a system portal for bookings, provision of direct and non-direct engagement staff costing data.<br/>The Software must have Electronic Communication Functionality with other Software within the Trust.<br/>The supplier's systems must include an auditable rostering software system able to accommodate, roster and manage multiple staff groups and activity, which is interoperable with other systems within the Trust.<br/>The Supplier shall offer a Direct Engagement service that offers the Contracting Authority specified VAT and process efficiencies to on-board, process and off board all applicable Temporary Worker in alignment to legislation and HR policies.<br/><br/>The Neutral Vendor will be expected to work collaboratively with the Trust to:<br/>Ensure compliance with NHS workforce regulations<br/>Establish a scalable and resilient workforce supply model that supports current and future business requirements across all Contracting Authority locations.<br/>Ensure timely fulfilment of workforce requirements through agreed service level agreements (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs).<br/>Maintain full compliance with employment legislation, right-to-work requirements, agency worker regulations, and relevant industry standards.<br/>Provide IR35 guidance for Temporary and Flexible Workers to the Trust.<br/>Ensure timely payment of both agency and bank workers.<br/>Maintain current 80% of direct engagement or increase utilisation to 90%.<br/>Ensure Supplier systems are interoperable with the current systems within the Trust.<br/>The service will operate across all NCIC sites, with flexibility to accommodate future service changes, expansion, or rationalisation in line with organisational and system-wide requirements.

Lot Information

Lot 1

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (the "Authority") intends to procure the provision of direct workforce engagement and associated workforce services to support the delivery of safe, effective and responsive healthcare services across its sites.
The procurement is conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) via Health Trust Europe Framework Total Workforce Solutions III (Strategic Workforce Services), Lot 2c only.

Call-offs under the Framework Agreement will be undertaken via mini-competition, in accordance with the terms of Total Workforce Solutions III (Strategic Workforce Services) and PCR 2015. The Supplier will be appointed based on their ability to meet the Authority's requirements in terms of quality, compliance, availability and value for money.

The Procurement Process will be two-stage: the second stage will require submitting a bid for quality, social value and cost. The second stage will be a demonstration. Both stages will be scored.

The duration of the contract is 12 months, with the option to extend for a 12 month + 12 month period subject to the terms set out within the procurement documentation and framework agreement.

The procurement will be managed electronically via the Authority's e-procurement portal, and all communications will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of PCR 2015 and the framework rules.

Renewal: 12 + 12 month optional extension. Total contract length: 3 years.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06bc1c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077259-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Planning Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Restricted procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
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
£688,094 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£688,094 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
7 Sep 20262 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
4 Jan 2027 - 3 Jan 2028 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CARLISLE
Postcode
CA2 7HY
Postcode Area
Carlisle
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD1 Cumbria
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD13 Cumberland
Delivery Location
TLD12 East Cumbria
Local Authority
Cumberland
Electoral Ward
Castle
Westminster Constituency
Carlisle

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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