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UK2 Notice: Preliminary Market Engagement - Asylum Seeker Travel Services

Home Office

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

27 Aug 2026 at 16:26

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Home Office is planning civilian travel services for the movement of asylum seekers, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and adult asylum seekers. The service will arrange transport on behalf of local authorities and the Home Office when movements are required. It will be used by several core business units, but not for Home Office staff transport. The requirement covers travel management, travel services and taxi services, including arranging suitable transport rather than providing staff travel. Delivery is across the United Kingdom. The Home Office is considering whether to combine or divide the requirement, so suppliers that cannot provide the complete service are encouraged to take part in the planned market engagement. Further information on service requirements, volumes and operational arrangements will be shared with interested organisations after a signed non-disclosure agreement.

This procurement is at the preliminary market engagement and planning stage; it is not an invitation to tender. The Home Office expects to issue a further notice by 14 December 2026. Expressions of interest for the market engagement are due by 24 September 2026, after which invited organisations must complete an initial Supplier Questionnaire subject to signing a non-disclosure agreement. The proposed contract is expected to run from 1 March 2027 to 28 February 2029, with a possible extension to 28 February 2030. The recorded estimated value is £0, although the authority says both value and timelines may change and do not commit it to a procurement. One planned lot is identified, with participation considered suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises.

The engagement is intended for transport operators, taxi and private-hire providers, travel management companies, booking and dispatch specialists, and organisations able to coordinate nationwide civilian travel. Relevant suppliers should be able to arrange safe, reliable journeys for vulnerable people, work with local authorities and central government, and manage varied operational requirements across the United Kingdom. Experience in travel coordination, passenger transport, scheduling, supplier networks, safeguarding-sensitive services and responsive customer or operational support is likely to be useful. The buyer is seeking evidence of market capability, capacity, delivery models and commercial approaches. Smaller and community-focused organisations are expressly considered suitable, and suppliers with only part of the eventual scope may still contribute. Preparation requires registration on the Home Office eSourcing Portal, a valid DUNS number, an expression of interest, a signed NDA and completion of the Supplier Questionnaire.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

UK2 Notice: Preliminary Market Engagement - Asylum Seeker Travel Services

Notice Description

The Home Office (the Authority) has a statutory duty under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to discharge its immigration and asylum functions having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK. In addition to this, under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide temporary support for Asylum Seekers who appear to be destitute or are likely to become destitute within a prescribed period. These obligations include Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) who arrive in the UK and enter the immigration system without a parent or guardian as well as an adult Asylum Seeker Cohort. The service includes the arrangement of transport on behalf of local authorities, as well as the Home Office, for the movement of UASC when these movements are required. A number of core business units will utilise this contract. Further details will be provided through additional materials that will be made available to parties, upon completion and receipt of a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (more information for which is set out in this document). This service will not be used for Home Office staff transport and is intended as a civilian travel programme only. The Home Office is still considering all of its options with regards to aggregation and disaggregation and therefore encourages suppliers who may not be able to deliver the full scope of services to still participate in any subsequent market engagement activity. The purpose of this engagement is to better understand market capability, capacity, delivery models, and commercial approaches available to support the future service. Information regarding service requirements, volumes and operational arrangement will be shared with interested organisations as part of this engagement activity. Please refer to "Engagement process description" below. The content of this Notice, including the estimated contract value and indicative contract timelines, is subject to change and does not commit the Authority to commence any procurement process.

Planning Information

Any previous expression of interest or signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) associated with other Home Office procurements will not be valid for this process and previous participation in market engagement will not result in automatic inclusion in this new preliminary market engagement, and any subsequent tender process. It is our intention to invite those suppliers that express an interest in this procurement to complete an initial Supplier Questionnaire, subject to parties signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Following receipt of responses, the Authority will decide whether to conduct further market engagement activities. These may include an Industry Day, one-to-one engagement sessions with prospective bidders, or the issuing of clarifying questions to suppliers. How to Express Interest 1. Register on the Home Office eSourcing Portal Suppliers must be registered on the Home Office eSourcing Suite to participate. If your organisation is not yet registered, please do so at: https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Select the "To register click here" link and follow the instructions. Note: You must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun & Bradstreet) for the organisation that will be entering into any subsequent contract. 2. Submit an Expression of Interest via Email following the instructions: Send an email to: AsylumSupportProcurementTeam@homeoffice.gov.uk Use the subject line: Asylum Seeker Travel Services – Expression of Interest Please include the following details in the body of the email, using the format below: Organisation name (as on Companies House) DUNS Number Jaggaer Account ID Contact person – Name, job title, email address, contact number Next Steps Following Expression of Interest 3. NDA Issuance Once your Expression of Interest has been received, your organisation will be invited to sign a NDA, which must be completed prior to receiving further materials. 4. Access to Further Information Suppliers will be unable to participate in preliminary market engagement or any subsequent tender process without returning a signed NDA via the Home Office eSourcing Portal. Upon receipt of the signed NDA, you will be provided with access to a Background Note detailing the potential scope of services, along with a Supplier Questionnaire to complete.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06edfd
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081931-2026
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

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

CPV Codes

60120000 - Taxi services

63515000 - Travel services

63516000 - Travel management services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Aug 20265 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
14 Dec 20264 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Mar 2027 - 28 Feb 2029 2-3 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
Home Office
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
SW1P 4DF
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

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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