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Student Assistance and Support Services

APUC Limited

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

25 Sep 2026 at 01:00

OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

25 May 2026 at 01:00

OJEU - F14 - Corrigendum
Tender

29 Apr 2026 at 01:00

OJEU - F2 - Contract Notice
Summary of the contracting process

APUC Limited procured student assistance and support services for Scotland’s higher and further education sector. The requirement was split into two lots. The Full Student Support Service combines one-to-one counselling by video, telephone and face-to-face, an out-of-hours or 24/7 student helpline, and online mental health and wellbeing support. The separate Student Wellbeing Tool lot covers an online peer-support portal with creative tools, courses, web-based therapy and a student knowledge hub offering wellbeing advice and self-help resources. The services are intended to give students access to counselling, practical support and digital mental health resources. APUC is the purchasing organisation, acting for the education sector; the service locations are institutions in Scotland.

The procurement is complete and contracts are active. APUC used an open procedure and awarded both lots through a framework agreement with up to six participants. The Full Student Support Service lot was awarded to HealthHero Solutions Limited, Uwill and Health Assured; its contract value is £100,000. The Student Wellbeing Tool lot was awarded to Togetherall, Spectrum Life and TalkLife; its contract value is £100,000. Both contracts were signed on 3 August 2026. Each lot has a stated duration of 1,080 days and may be extended once for 12 months. The procurement’s estimated value was £800,000. Evaluation for both lots weighted technical quality at 60% and price at 40%. The submission deadline was amended to 10 June 2026. For the full support service, required insurance cover was £5 million employers’ liability, £1 million professional indemnity and £5 million public liability.

This award shows demand from Scotland’s higher and further education institutions for both integrated student support and standalone digital wellbeing provision. A credible competitor for the full service would need to deliver counselling across video, telephone and face-to-face channels, alongside a student helpline and online support. Counsellors and other personnel attending institutions or interacting with students must hold PVG Scheme membership. Key staff need recognised counselling or psychotherapy credentials, or chartered counselling or clinical psychology status with relevant professional registration. The digital-tool requirement favours suppliers able to provide a student-facing peer-support portal, online courses, web-based therapy and self-help resources. Across either lot, suppliers need resilient supply-chain tracking and prompt subcontractor payment systems, and must provide quarterly performance and institution-level spend reporting.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Student Assistance and Support Services

Notice Description

The Authority was seeking Contractor(s) for the provision of student assistance and support services to the Scottish HE/FE sector (https://www.apuc-scot.ac.uk/?#!/members). These services include: counselling sevices, student support helpline and online mental health and wellbeing support.

Lot Information

Student Wellbeing Tool

Provision of online mental health and wellbeing support: online peer to peer web portal, offering creative tools, courses and web-based therapy and online knowledge hub for students including, but not limited to, advice on wellbeing and self-help practises.

Renewal: 1 x 12-month extension.

Full Student Support Service

This lot will combine: - Counselling on a one-on-one basis given via SVC, telephone and in a face-to-face setting; - Student support helpline (out of hours, 24/7 or as required) via telephone and/or online methods); - Online mental health and wellbeing support: online peer to peer web portal, offering creative tools, courses and web-based therapy and online knowledge hub for students including, but not limited to, advice on wellbeing and self-help practises.

Renewal: 1 x 12 month extension.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000829016
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP565299
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85312300 - Guidance and counselling services

85312320 - Counselling services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£800,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£100,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
25 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
1 Jun 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
3 years - 30/04/2029.

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
APUC Limited
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
STIRLING
Postcode
FK8 2DZ
Postcode Area
Falkirk and Stirling
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM0 Eastern Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM02 Perth and Kinross, and Stirling
Delivery Location
TLM77 Perth and Kinross, and Stirling
Local Authority
Stirling
Electoral Ward
Stirling East
Westminster Constituency
Stirling and Strathallan

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
6
Supplier Names

HealthHero Solutions Limited (formerly Validium)

Uwill Inc

Health Assured

Togetherall

Spectrum.Life

TalkLife

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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