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HMP Southwest Buddy Scheme

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

06 Aug 2026 at 16:17

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

06 Aug 2026 at 15:54

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust procured the HMP Southwest Buddy Scheme, a guidance and support service for prisons. The requirement has two elements: training and continuing professional development for buddies across the prison estate, and the day-to-day management of buddies. Training and programme development are owned by the healthcare provider, while daily management is shared between HMPPS and the health and social care team. The work concerns prison-based health and social care delivery, requiring coordination across established operational pathways and stakeholder arrangements. The buying organisation is Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, based in Dartford. The service is classified as guidance services and is relevant to providers with experience of buddy schemes, prison or secure-setting services, healthcare support, workforce development and coordinated day-to-day service management.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded through a direct award. Recoop was selected for the single lot, with an award date of 6 August 2026 and an awarded value of £154,000 including gross value, in GBP. The award is above the relevant threshold. The contract period is 1 September 2026 to 30 November 2029, with signature scheduled by 24 August 2026 and the standstill period ending on 18 August 2026. Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust justified the direct award under section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 on technical grounds, citing the need for continuity and compatibility with existing pathways, procedures, systems, equipment and stakeholder arrangements. The stated rationale is to avoid disruption, retraining and changes to established service delivery. The award status is recorded as pending.

For a future requirement of this kind, credible suppliers would need to combine prison or other secure-setting experience with healthcare and social care service delivery. The scope favours organisations able to design and deliver buddy training, provide continuing professional development, and manage a distributed programme across a prison estate. They would also need dependable operational management for day-to-day buddy activity, with clear coordination between healthcare providers, HMPPS and health and social care teams. Experience of maintaining continuity across established procedures, systems, referral or support pathways and stakeholder relationships would be commercially important. Suppliers should be able to demonstrate safe implementation, consistent service standards, staff retraining capability where needed, and the capacity to work within existing operational arrangements rather than requiring wholesale changes.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

HMP Southwest Buddy Scheme

Notice Description

The buddy scheme is split into two different elements. The first being the training and continued professional development of the buddies and the programme across the prison estate. This responsibility will be owned and developed by the healthcare provider. The second element to the service is the day to day management of the buddies which will be a dual responsibility between HMPPS and the health and social care team

Procurement Information

The Contracting Authority considers that a direct award is justified under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 due to technical reasons connected with the delivery of the requirement. The requirement necessitates continuity of established operational arrangements, processes and service delivery methodologies that are integral to the effective and safe provision of the service. The technical characteristics of the requirement are such that maintaining compatibility with existing pathways, procedures, equipment, systems and stakeholder arrangements is essential to ensuring uninterrupted service delivery. Introducing alternative arrangements at this stage would require significant changes to established operational processes, retraining of staff, amendments to documented procedures, and the implementation of new interfaces and working practices. This would create a material risk of disruption to service delivery and could adversely affect quality, performance and continuity of care. A direct award represents the most proportionate approach to maintaining operational stability, preserving continuity of service and ensuring the ongoing delivery of services to the required standard whilst meeting the Authority's objectives.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06de39
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074946-2026
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
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85312310 - Guidance services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£154,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
6 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
6 Aug 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 30 Nov 2029 3-4 years
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
Oxleas 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
DARTFORD
Postcode
DA2 7WG
Postcode Area
Dartford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ43 Kent Thames Gateway
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Dartford
Electoral Ward
Maypole & Leyton Cross
Westminster Constituency
Dartford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Recoop

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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