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Always-on' partnership with UCAS 26/27

NHS England

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

08 Aug 2026 at 17:11

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

08 Aug 2026 at 16:28

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

NHS England procured targeted marketing and recruitment support to raise awareness of NHS careers and encourage applications and acceptances to nursing and allied health profession degree programmes. The service covers targeted communications, management of NHS health careers webpages, audience segmentation, admissions data insights and campaign reporting for the recruitment cycle. This is a public-sector healthcare recruitment and higher-education marketing requirement, delivered through a national higher education admissions context. The buying organisation is NHS England, a central government public authority. The procurement has one service lot and the named supplier is UCAS Media Limited, based in Cheltenham. Businesses operating in healthcare workforce recruitment, student marketing, higher-education communications, digital campaign management or admissions-data analysis would find the requirement most relevant.

The procurement is complete and was awarded by direct award to UCAS Media Limited. The award date was 6 August 2026. The awarded value is £533,409 including tax, for a 12-month contract running from 20 August 2026 to 19 August 2027. A contract signature was scheduled for 20 August 2026, following a standstill period ending on 19 August 2026. NHS England used a direct award under Schedule 5, Paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023. The stated basis was that UCAS is uniquely placed through its national higher-education admissions platform and is the only supplier with direct access to higher-education applicant data; the stated rationale classification is single-supplier technical reasons. The award was above the relevant threshold.

For a future requirement of this type, a credible competitor would need to combine targeted marketing with recruitment outcomes in nursing and allied health education. Relevant capability includes audience segmentation, campaign planning and delivery, digital communications, management of careers webpages, admissions or applicant-data analysis, and clear reporting on campaign performance. Experience working across the NHS, higher education and student or graduate audiences would be important, as would the ability to turn admissions insights into communications that encourage applications and acceptances. The selected approach also shows the value placed on access to national higher-education applicant data and an established admissions platform. Suppliers without that platform would need to demonstrate an equivalent lawful data position, comparable reach and evidence that their insights and campaigns can support NHS workforce recruitment at national scale.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Always-on' partnership with UCAS 26/27

Notice Description

NHS England intends to award a 12 month contract to UCAS for the delivery of targeted marketing and recruitment support services to increase awareness of NHS careers and encourage applications and acceptances to nursing and allied health profession (AHP) degree programmes for the 2026/27 recruitment cycle. The contract includes targeted communications, management of NHS health careers webpages, audience segmentation, admissions data insights, and campaign reporting. The award is being made via a Direct Award under Schedule 5, Paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023, as UCAS is uniquely placed to deliver these services through its national higher education admissions platform and is the only supplier with direct access to higher education applicant data.

Procurement Information

The direct award is permitted under Schedule 5, Paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023, as both statutory conditions applicable to the contract have been met,

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06df8f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075491-2026
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

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

CPV Codes

79342000 - Marketing services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£533,409 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
8 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
6 Aug 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
20 Aug 2026 - 19 Aug 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
NHS England
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 8UG
Postcode Area
South East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI45 Lambeth
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Lambeth
Electoral Ward
Waterloo & South Bank
Westminster Constituency
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

UCAS Media Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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