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PQNV 025 - Digital Mental Health Prevention and Emotional Wellbeing Support Offer in Shropshire

Shropshire Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

25 Sep 2026 at 17:20

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Shropshire Council is exploring future options for digital mental health prevention and emotional wellbeing support for Shropshire residents. The service being considered would offer timely, non-clinical help to people with low-level or emerging mental health needs, supporting self-management and helping prevent needs escalating to specialist services. Digital support would sit within a wider mix of potential help, including social prescribing, voluntary and community organisations, and community-based services. The Council is interested in models accessible without diagnosis or clinical referral, with safe routes to further support and the ability to reach people who may not use traditional services. The work would serve Shropshire’s rural area and must reflect the varied needs and circumstances of its residents. This is a health service (CPV 85100000).

The process is at the planning and market-engagement stage, not a tender or commitment to buy. Shropshire Council is seeking provider views and evidence to inform an options appraisal; it may decide not to commission a service. Responses to the engagement exercise were requested by 12 October 2026, with follow-up meetings potentially taking place in the week beginning 2 November 2026. The Council’s engagement material gives an indicative affordability envelope of about £30,000 a year excluding VAT; this is not an approved budget. A single service lot is planned, with a possible contract period from 20 July 2027 to 19 July 2030. No procurement procedure, bid evaluation method or participation requirements have been set out at this stage.

This engagement is relevant to providers of digital mental health and wellbeing services, including alternatives to anonymous online peer support and self-help tools. The Council is asking about services that support prevention, early help and self-management, offer an engaging user experience, and can reach residents across a rural area, including people with low digital confidence or additional accessibility, disability, language or cultural needs. Providers should be ready to explain how they would tailor the service to local pathways and priority groups, manage demand and capacity, and support uptake. The Council is also looking for credible evidence of effectiveness, measurable wellbeing and prevention outcomes, useful reporting on reach and inequalities, and robust safeguarding, escalation and clinical governance. Responses will inform service design, not assess providers for any later procurement.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

PQNV 025 - Digital Mental Health Prevention and Emotional Wellbeing Support Offer in Shropshire

Notice Description

THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION. THIS IS A MARKET ENGAGEMENT. Shropshire Council is currently reviewing its future approach to universal mental health prevention and early-help support. As one part of this review, the Council wishes to understand the range of digital mental health prevention and emotional wellbeing models currently available, their evidence base, accessibility, affordability and potential applicability to Shropshire. This engagement does not indicate that the Council has decided to recommission a digital service. Findings will inform a wider options appraisal alongside local needs evidence, review of current provision, stakeholder engagement and consideration of alternative approaches. The overarching aim is to ensure that residents with low-level mental health or emerging wellbeing needs can access timely, appropriate support that helps prevent escalation into more complex need and reduces avoidable demand on statutory services. Digital support is being considered as part of a wider suite of accessible offers that may include social prescribing, Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) provision and community-based support. Any future model will need to take account of Shropshire's rurality and the diverse needs, preferences and circumstances of local residents, alongside local system priorities, strategies and policies. Strategic context Mental health and wellbeing are central to quality of life, resilience and the ability to participate in education, work, family life and communities. Good mental wellbeing is also protective against physical illness, social inequalities and unhealthy lifestyles. Demand for mental health support has increased significantly, particularly among children and young people, many of whom experience long waits for care. Nationally, around one in five people are affected by a common mental health condition, and a substantial proportion of mental health problems are established by early adulthood (age 24). This reinforces the importance of prevention and early intervention. Providing timely support for people with low-level mental health needs can help people manage distress earlier, maintain independence and stay connected to education, work, family life and their communities. The emerging national direction for mental health in England also places greater emphasis on shifting from crisis-led care towards prevention, delivering support at place and within communities, and embracing the opportunities offered by digital innovation. The future offer in Shropshire should therefore support earlier, proportionate and accessible help, while complementing wider local mental health, wellbeing and community support pathways. Current service context Shropshire Council currently commissions a digital mental health and emotional wellbeing offer for residents aged 16+, providing anonymous online access to moderated peer support, self-management resources and learning tools. The current arrangement provides a limited number of licenses annually. The Council is not necessarily seeking a like-for-like replacement through this engagement and is interested in understanding alternative digital models, approaches and innovations that could achieve preventative and early-help outcomes. The Council is interested in understanding features that; Are accessible without diagnosis or clinical referral Supports people experiencing emerging mental ill health or reduced emotional wellbeing Encourages self-management and early-help Provides safe onward escalation where necessary Is accessible across a large rural geography Can reach groups that may not engage with traditional services Is capable of generating meaningful information about reach, utilisation and outcomes to support review of impact and best value discussions

Planning Information

Organisations interested in participating in this pre-market engagement exercise are asked to respond to the questions below by 4pm on Monday 12th October 2026 by emailing Josh.Tildesley@shropshire.gov.uk Please use the following title for your email: PME: Digital Mental Health Prevention and Emotional Wellbeing Support Offer Following receipt of responses, providers will be invited to attend a short follow up Microsoft Teams meeting week commencing 2nd November 2026, if needed. Please note, this date may change. Appointments will last approximately 45 minutes. If required, providers will be contacted by Josh.Tildesley@shropshire.gov.uk to arrange a meeting with the lead Public Health Consultant and system partners. Once confirmed, participants will receive a Microsoft Teams meeting invitation and joining instructions. Personal details will be stored securely, treated confidentially and used only for the purpose of communicating about this engagement opportunity. Questions Your delivery model and preventative role: Briefly describe your digital offer, the population it is intended for and how it supports mental health prevention, early help and self-management before specialist or clinical intervention is required. What is distinctive about your approach compared with conventional digital self-help or peer support models? Accessibility, reach and engagement: How do residents' access and engage with the service and what level of annual reach and active use could reasonably be expected for a Shropshire Local Authority area offer? Please describe any registration or license limits, how demand above capacity would be managed and what support you provide to promote uptake and continued engagement. Inclusion and Shropshire fit: How would your service provide accessible, inclusive and equitable service for Shropshire residents including for rural communities, people experiencing digital exclusion or low digital confidence and those with additional accessibility, disability, language or cultural needs? How could the offer be tailored to local needs, pathways (including local information and signposting) along with identifying priority populations. Digital innovation and user experience: What digital tools, features or service design approaches would you use to promote early help, improve user experience, encourage engagement and provide added value beyond traditional support models? Evidence and Outcomes: What evidence supports the effectiveness of your approach for prevention and early help outcomes? Please state if this is independent evidence or internal provider generated evaluation and describe the outcomes routinely measured, including any evidence relating to wellbeing changes, self-management, prevention of escalation or use of other services. Reporting and intelligence: What routine commissioner information, insights and data can be provided to support service monitoring, learning, assurance and reporting to relevant boards or governance groups? For example, on access, utilisation, demographics/inequalities, outcomes and user experience? Affordability, added value and sustainability: For the purposes of this market engagement only, please describe what could be provided within an indicative annual affordability envelope of approximately £30,000 excluding VAT. This does not represent an approved budget or commitment to commission. Safeguarding, risk and clinical governance: Please describe safeguarding, risk management, escalation and clinical governance arrangements would you put in place to ensure residents receive safe, appropriate and timely support, including where needs escalate beyond the intended scope of the service? This pre-market engagement exercise does not constitute the commencement of a formal procurement process, and the Council is not committed to undertaking a procurement following this engagement. For the avoidance of doubt, information provided in response to this engagement will not be used by the Council to assess providers in any subsequent procurement process. The purpose of this exercise is to enable potential providers to share views, evidence and insight to inform the Council’s consideration of future service design and commissioning options. Any information provided by the Council during this process is for the purposes of pre-market engagement only. No representation, warranty or undertaking is given by the Council as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided, and the Council accepts no liability in relation to it.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-077af9
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091189-2026
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

85100000 - Health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£30,000 Under £100K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
25 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
20 Jul 2027 - 19 Jul 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
Shropshire 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
SHREWSBURY
Postcode
SY3 8HQ
Postcode Area
Shrewsbury
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG2 Shropshire and Staffordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG22 Shropshire
Delivery Location
TLG22 Shropshire
Local Authority
Shropshire
Electoral Ward
Porthill
Westminster Constituency
Shrewsbury

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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