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Maternity Cover Contingent Labour

INFECTED BLOOD COMPENSATION AUTHORITY

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

06 Jul 2026 at 12:49

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

02 Jul 2026 at 13:52

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Infected Blood Compensation Authority has concluded a direct award contract for "Maternity Cover Contingent Labour" in the services category. This procurement process, managed through a direct award due to market failure, was aimed at recruiting a senior data team member for maternity cover. The contract, valued at £156,468 with a gross amount of £187,761.6, was awarded to The Evergreen Group Limited. This contract is set to start on 28th July 2026 and will initially last for 6 months, potentially extending up to a total of 12 months if required, with options for further three-month extensions. The project is located in the United Kingdom, primarily in Newcastle upon Tyne, and is critical for maintaining the operational efficiency of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.

This tender creates significant growth opportunities for businesses, especially those specialising in personnel supply services, such as temporary staffing. SMEs and organisations experienced in providing specialised and competitive staffing solutions are ideal candidates, given the project's requirements and specialised nature. The direct award highlights a critical demand for capable suppliers capable of fulfilling niche roles efficiently and promptly, presenting an opportunity for businesses specialising in direct staffing solutions to leverage their expertise and expand their market presence in public sector contracts.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Maternity Cover Contingent Labour

Notice Description

Maternity cover contingent labour recruitment for an initial period of 6 months with the option to extend for up to a maximum contract length of 12 months.

Procurement Information

Justification for Direct Award Under Section 41 & Schedule 5 1. Statutory Ground The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is invoking Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 to make a direct award of a public contract, relying on the direct award justification set out in Schedule 5, Paragraph 4 (Absence of Competition / Technical Reasons). Specifically, the services can only be supplied by a particular supplier because no reasonable alternative or substitute exists due to an absence of competition in the market, namely, following testing of both public sector frameworks and the open market, only one supplier (DataTech) was identified as possessing the immediate capability and specialised technical personnel required to meet the operational demands of the role. 2. Evidence of Market Testing & Market Failure This direct award is not being made for administrative convenience; rather, it is a necessary response to a verified market failure following exhaustive attempts by IBCA to secure this critical contingent labour resource via other compliant routes: Framework Engagement: IBCA formally utilised Government Commercial Agency (GCA) Framework RM6288 (Workforce Solutions), which serves as the primary, mandated public sector route for temporary resourcing. Despite executing this process, the framework provider was unable to identify or put forward any suitable candidates meeting the essential technical, operational, or experience criteria required for the role. Open Market Advertisement: Supplementing the framework route, IBCA advertised the requirement on the open commercial market via LinkedIn to capture wider industry interest. This exercise similarly failed to yield any qualified or viable candidates. Consequently, IBCA has robustly tested both the standard public sector framework and the broader open market, empirically proving an absence of available, qualified competition for this specialised position. 3. Operational Urgency and Impact The post in question has been vacant for a considerable period. This ongoing vacancy has now reached a critical threshold, creating acute operational pressure. Further delay in filling this role presents an immediate and material risk to IBCA's ability to execute its core, statutory public duties, specifically the timely processing and delivery of compensation to victims. Having verified a total absence of alternative market capacity, a direct award to DataTech Ltd is the sole viable mechanism to secure the highly specialized data leadership capacity required to prevent material failure of IBCA's statutory delivery timelines. 4. Proportionality and Mitigations To ensure this direct award remains strictly proportionate to the objective of bridging this critical resourcing gap, IBCA has structured the contract as follows: An initial short-term duration of six (6) months. A built-in mechanism for up to two (2) extensions of three (3) months each up to a maximum total lifecycle of 12 months.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c28f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063207-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79620000 - Supply services of personnel including temporary staff

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£156,468 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
6 Jul 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
2 Jul 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
27 Jul 2026 - 27 Jan 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
INFECTED BLOOD COMPENSATION AUTHORITY
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE,
Postcode
NE7 7EB
Post Town
Newcastle upon Tyne
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC43 Tyneside
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Newcastle upon Tyne
Electoral Ward
Manor Park
Westminster Constituency
Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

THE EVERGREEN GROUP

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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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