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Childcare Grant Payment Services

Student Loans Company

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

AwardUpdate

21 Aug 2026 at 16:49

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Student Loans Company procured a childcare grant payment service: a third-party service to process childcare grant payments directly to childcare providers. This is a financial transaction processing and clearing-house service, classified under CPV 66172000, rather than childcare provision itself. The requirement covers one lot and is delivered for the Student Loans Company, with the procurement activity located in Darlington. The contracted service operates across the United Kingdom. Businesses relevant to this requirement are payment service providers, transaction processors, clearing-house operators and firms able to manage payments between a public body and childcare providers. The work combines payment processing with the operational handling needed to route grant payments accurately to their intended recipients.

The procurement has been awarded and the contract is active. Wider Plan Limited was selected as the supplier. The contract was signed on 1 June 2018, began on 14 June 2018 and runs to 31 March 2028. Its value is £8,500,000. The original tender described a 1,800-day contract period. The award used a tender procedure under the 2014 EU public procurement legal framework; the published information does not state a procurement method or evaluation weighting. The contract has been extended to 31 March 2028, with additional value added. The stated reason is that major Student Loans Company projects may change the service specification, making it difficult to define replacement requirements coherently at this point.

This award demonstrates established public-sector demand for a managed payment service supporting childcare grants, with UK-wide delivery and a substantial multi-year operating requirement. A credible future competitor would need dependable financial transaction processing and clearing-house capability, together with systems that can make accurate payments directly to a distributed network of childcare providers. It would also need the operational capacity to handle public funds, maintain reliable payment records, support reconciliation and manage service continuity for the Student Loans Company. Experience delivering regulated or high-volume payment services for public bodies would strengthen a supplier’s position, as would the ability to adapt the service when programme requirements or related government projects change.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Childcare Grant Payment Services

Notice Description

Lot Information

Lot 1

Provision of 3rd Party Services to process the payment of Childcare Grants directly to Childcare providers

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e9f5
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080091-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

66 - Financial and insurance services

CPV Codes

66172000 - Financial transaction processing and clearing-house services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£8,500,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Aug 20265 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
1 Jun 20188 years ago
Contract Period
14 Jun 2018 - 31 Mar 2028 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Student Loans Company
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
DARLINGTON
Postcode
DL1 1RW
Postcode Area
Darlington
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC3 Tees Valley
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC33 Darlington
Delivery Location
TLC13 Darlington
Local Authority
Darlington
Electoral Ward
Red Hall & Lingfield
Westminster Constituency
Darlington

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Wider Plan Limited

Further Information

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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