---
title: "DHSC: National Breastfeeding Helpline"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-1212ad05-f673-42c5-99f9-25e72c773c0c"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-1212ad05-f673-42c5-99f9-25e72c773c0c"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-1212ad05-f673-42c5-99f9-25e72c773c0c.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-1212ad05-f673-42c5-99f9-25e72c773c0c.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (DHSC)"
published: "2025-04-25"
---

# DHSC: National Breastfeeding Helpline

Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (DHSC)  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-1212ad05-f673-42c5-99f9-25e72c773c0c

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## Summary

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has awarded a contract for the National Breastfeeding Helpline to The Breastfeeding Network as a direct award for a 12-month period starting from 1st April 2025 and ending on 31st March 2026. This procurement falls under the services category, specifically described as a call centre with guidance and counselling components, delivered within the United Kingdom. The procurement process was conducted through a negotiated procedure without prior publication due to the unique positioning of the supplier and technical reasons, with the contract valued at £786,363. The procurement stage is complete, following an award made on 28th March 2025. DHSC plans to initiate an open procedure for the long-term provision of this service later in 2025/26, with market engagement anticipated around early 2025/26.

This contract presents opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) to demonstrate their capabilities within the call centre and counselling service sectors. Businesses skilled in call centre operations, particularly those with expertise in health-related guidance services, could find substantial growth possibilities by engaging in the forthcoming market engagement activities announced by DHSC. These engagements will provide insights into the long-term requirements of the National Breastfeeding Helpline service, enabling suitable entities to prepare and compete for future tenders that may arise as DHSC explores sustainable service delivery solutions.

## Notice

DHSC have made a direct award to the Breastfeeding Network (BfN) for a 12-month period to provide a continuity of service for the 24-hour National Breastfeeding Helpline (NBH). This direct award has been made in accordance with Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) competition is absent for technical reasons. In 2024/25, the NBH was expanded to pilot a night service so that services are available to members of the public 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The current NBH service includes a 24-hour telephone helpline and voicemail service, social media, webchat and links to the BfN's drugs in breastmilk advice service. DHSC have deemed that BfN are currently the only supplier who are positioned to run the 24-hour service without helpline users facing a gap or reduction in service provision, based upon BfN's capacity to manage service demand and them additionally having the means to increase capacity of the night service in early 2025/26. BfN also previously commissioned an independent evaluation for the 2024/25 pilot and are uniquely positioned to put arrangements in place for an independent evaluation of the full night service pilot which is required by DHSC. For these reasons, BfN are currently the only provider who could deliver the full scope of service requirements at the required scale. DHSC are exploring longer term solutions in respect to the ongoing provision of the NBH, and intend to conduct an open procedure in late Q2 or early Q3 of 2025/26 to source a replacement contract. To support this, DHSC intend to conduct market engagement at the end of Q1 or beginning of Q2 2025/26. A UK2 preliminary market engagement notice will be published to advertise any upcoming engagement.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/35387304-96dd-42b3-8a07-23872fe299e5 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated procedure without prior publication (above threshold) |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 25 Apr 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 10 Feb 2025 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 28 Mar 2025 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2025 - 31 Mar 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £786,363 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £786,363 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (DHSC) |
| Locality | LEEDS |
| Post town | Leeds |
| Postcode | LS2 7UE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE4 West Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE42 Leeds |
| Local authority | Leeds |
| Electoral ward | Little London & Woodhouse |
| Westminster constituency | Leeds Central and Headingley |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | THE BREASTFEEDING NETWORK |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 79512000 - Call centre
- 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services

## Release History

- 25 Apr 2025 at 16:46 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/35387304-96dd-42b3-8a07-23872fe299e5
- 25 Apr 2025 at 16:44 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/6f28a477-1601-48f6-969f-baae67c50415

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/35387304-96dd-42b3-8a07-23872fe299e5
  25th April 2025 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/6f28a477-1601-48f6-969f-baae67c50415
  25th April 2025 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/e0a4a40c-1d23-467f-91de-58a1b5e02242
  REDACTED C337378 Simplified Conditions of Contract for Services
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/43ff2a07-a942-4aea-a5a0-d4539a9c8778
  REDACTED C337378 Simplified Conditions of Contract for Services

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-1212ad05-f673-42c5-99f9-25e72c773c0c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-1212ad05-f673-42c5-99f9-25e72c773c0c.json.