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Direct Payment Payroll and Banking Services

Somerset Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

18 Aug 2026 at 17:33

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Somerset Council is planning a separate external service for people in Somerset who receive Direct Payments or personalised budgets. The service will support adults, children and young people, carers, and people with Education, Health and Care Plan payments where appropriate and safe. It may be delivered by one provider or split between providers. The payroll element will support people employing Personal Assistants or other directly employed support staff, including payroll processing, payslips, tax, National Insurance, pensions, statutory payments and deductions. The banking element will provide holding, managed or third-party accounts, receiving Council payments, making agreed payments, maintaining financial records and retaining invoices and receipts. The service is classified as health and social work services (CPV 85000000) and will be delivered in Somerset.

This procurement is at planning stage and is not a call for competition. Somerset Council expects to procure the external payroll and banking service from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030. The estimated value is £1,308,000 excluding VAT, or £1,569,600 including VAT, for one planned lot. The Council expects to publish a further notice by 11 September 2026. Preliminary market engagement includes an online Microsoft Teams session on 28 August 2026, from 11:00 to 12:00. Organisations wishing to attend were asked to respond by 12:00 on 27 August 2026, with a maximum of two attendees per organisation. The Council is seeking feedback on service requirements, mobilisation, data, reporting, safeguarding, financial controls, compliance, risks and user experience.

The planned service should suit payroll bureaux, account-management providers, banks, fintech or specialist third-party account operators, and organisations able to combine these capabilities or partner with others. Relevant strengths include accurate and timely payroll processing; HMRC, tax, National Insurance and pension administration; statutory payments and deductions; and practical guidance for individual employers. Banking providers should be able to receive public payments, make authorised payments, maintain auditable records, retain invoices and receipts, and provide clear reporting and monitoring. Providers will need robust security, financial controls, transparent communications and escalation arrangements, with an understanding of safeguarding and legal compliance. Somerset Council is also seeking evidence-based views on good practice, mobilisation, specification risks and how services can preserve user choice and control while protecting public funds.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Direct Payment Payroll and Banking Services

Notice Description

This is not a call for competition and is not yet a contract opportunity. Somerset Council is reviewing how it delivers support for people who receive a Direct Payment or other personalised budget. From 2027, the Council intends to bring the advice and guidance element of the current service in house and procure a separate external payroll and banking service. We are seeking early feedback from providers who deliver payroll, holding account, managed account or third-party banking services. This feedback will help us test whether the proposed service specification is clear, realistic and comprehensive, and whether it reflects the requirements needed to support a good, robust and compliant service.

Planning Information

Service overview The Council is looking to commission one or more providers to deliver payroll and banking support for people in Somerset who receive a Direct Payment or personalised budget. The payroll and banking elements may be delivered by a single provider or by separate providers, depending on the outcome of the procurement process. The service will need to support adults, children and young people, carers and Education, Health and Care Plan direct payment recipients where a Direct Payment or personal budget has been agreed and where the Council considers this to be appropriate and safe. Payroll service The payroll service will support people who employ Personal Assistants or other directly employed support staff. This is expected to include accurate and timely payroll processing, payslips, HMRC submissions, tax and National Insurance administration, pension auto-enrolment support, statutory payments, deductions and associated employer payroll responsibilities. The provider will also need to offer clear information and support to help individual employers understand and meet their payroll-related responsibilities, including early identification of potential non-compliance and appropriate escalation to the Council where required. Banking and managed account service The banking service will provide a holding account, managed account or third-party account function for people who need support to manage Direct Payment funds. This may include receiving Council payments, making agreed payments on behalf of the person, maintaining accurate financial records, retaining evidence such as invoices and receipts, and supporting transparent monitoring of how public funds are used. The service must be able to operate safely, securely and transparently, with appropriate safeguards, financial controls, reporting arrangements and communication with the Council, the person receiving the Direct Payment, and any authorised or nominated person involved in managing the budget. What we are seeking from providers Through market engagement, we would welcome provider feedback on the proposed service model, including whether the service requirements are clear, proportionate and achievable. We are particularly interested in views about good practice, risks, mobilisation, data and reporting requirements, user experience, safeguarding, financial controls, compliance, and any areas where the service specifications should be strengthened. The aim is to ensure that any future specification supports a high-quality, reliable and legally compliant service that gives people choice and control while also protecting public funds and supporting effective Council oversight. An online market engagement session will take place on: Friday 28th August 11:00 - 12:00 On Microsoft Teams Somerset Council is inviting organisations, that might be interested in delivering these services either individually or in partnership with others to attend. Somerset Council are keen to hear feedback from a range of providers as part of the wider consultation for this service. Organisations that take part will not be advantaged or disadvantaged in any way in any potential future formal procurement. Commercial confidentiality will be respected. This notice does not represent a formal commitment by Somerset Council to undertake a procurement procedure. To attend this event please send a message to stephen.barker@somerset.gov.uk providing the name of your organisation, the name of the person(s) wishing to attend (Max 2 per organisation) and a contact email address for each to enable us to send through the full details of the event and the Microsoft Teams invitation. Please ensure that those attending from your organisation are the most appropriate to feed into the discussions. If you are unable to attend the event, the presentation, notes and associated documentation will be available through the e-tender system www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk. Please respond by the deadline of 12:00 on 27th August 2026 if you wish to attend. Thank you. SC reserves the right to cancel or re-arrange this event at its own discretion.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e6f4
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078722-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85000000 - Health and social work services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,308,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
11 Sep 20263 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Somerset 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
TAUNTON
Postcode
TA1 4DY
Postcode Area
Taunton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK6 North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK62 Somerset
Delivery Location
TLK23 Somerset CC
Local Authority
Somerset
Electoral Ward
Bishop's Hull & Taunton West
Westminster Constituency
Taunton and Wellington

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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