Planning

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

St Helens Healthy Child Programme, 0 to 19 years - Soft Market Testing

St Helens Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

24 Aug 2026 at 13:09

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

St Helens Council is exploring the procurement of a Healthy Child Programme for children and young people aged 0 to 19 in St Helens. This is a public health nursing service delivered through two age-based elements: health visiting for children aged 0 to 5 and school nursing for those aged 5 to 19. The programme is based on the Department of Health and Social Care national delivery model and is led by specialist community public health nurses. Its intended outcomes include giving children a healthy start, identifying and addressing health needs early, preventing ill health, supporting school readiness and learning, protecting children and families, and promoting health equity. The service is classified as health and social work services and would be delivered in the United Kingdom.

This procurement is at the planning stage and is currently a soft market testing exercise, not a call for competition or an invitation to tender. St Helens Council expects to use the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 for any future procurement. The scope and budget remain indicative and subject to confirmation. The anticipated maximum annual value is approximately £4,192,701, with an overall recorded value of £29,348,907 excluding VAT and £35,218,688 including VAT. The planned contract period is 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2032, with an option to extend to 31 March 2034. Market engagement documentation is scheduled for 1 September 2026, with responses requested by noon that day. There is one planned lot.

The market engagement will suit organisations with established expertise and experience in delivering integrated public health nursing for children, young people and families across health visiting and school nursing services. Relevant providers are likely to include NHS-linked organisations, community healthcare providers, local government service organisations and experienced voluntary or independent-sector specialists able to work within the Healthy Child Programme model. Participants are being asked to explain how they would approach delivery, including how they would identify and manage circumstances affecting service implementation and performance. The council is seeking practical insight into market capability, procurement feasibility and the challenges of establishing the service. Suppliers should therefore be prepared to demonstrate credible clinical leadership, workforce capacity, safeguarding capability and experience promoting prevention, early intervention and health equity.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

St Helens Healthy Child Programme, 0 to 19 years - Soft Market Testing

Notice Description

Please note that this is not a call for competition. This is a soft market testing exercise undertaken on behalf of St Helen's Council under the provisions of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 . Purpose: The service delivers the Healthy Child Programme, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) national delivery model for public health nursing. It is led by specialist community public health nurses and structured around two age-based phases, health visiting for ages 0 to 5 and school nursing for ages 5 to 19. The aims of the programme are to: ? ensure a healthy start to life. ? identify and address health needs early. ? prevent health problems. ? support school readiness and learning. ? protect children and families. ? promote health equity. St Helens Council are undertaking a soft market testing exercise to fully understand what the market can offer and the challenges in procuring and setting up this service. It is hoped that this will be an opportunity for us to obtain an insight of how participants might approach delivery of the service, and how they might address circumstances that may impact on the service. It will also help us to further understand the market. We anticipate that should a tender exercise be undertaken, the maximum annual value for the contract might be in the region of PS4,192,701, and the duration to be 5 years, with the option to extend by up to a further 2 years. We are therefore seeking expressions of interest from participants with the relevant expertise and experience to assist us in determining the feasibility of this project by answering the questions in the attached documentation. Please refer to the attached documentation for full details. Please also note that at this stage, the scope and the budget are indicative only and are subject to confirmation. Note that any contract awarded following any future tender process will be subject solely to St Helen Council's Terms and Condition. Deadline for submission: 12 noon on 1st Sept 2026.

Planning Information

Soft market testing documentation and information can be obtained from The Chest portal at https://www.the-chest.org.uk/ The Chest project reference is: DN827186 St Helens Healthy Child Programme, 0 to 19 years - Soft Market Testing

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ea80
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080337-2026
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
Not specified
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
£29,348,907 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Aug 20262 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Sep 20265 days to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2032 Over 5 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
St Helens 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
ST HELENS
Postcode
WA10 1HP
Postcode Area
Warrington
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD7 Merseyside
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD71 East Merseyside
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
St. Helens
Electoral Ward
St Helens Town Centre
Westminster Constituency
St Helens South and Whiston

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.

Loading OCDS record...