---
title: "Careline Contract for North Essex"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-056aa5"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-056aa5"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-056aa5.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-056aa5.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "TENDRING DISTRICT COUNCIL"
published: "2026-04-07"
---

# Careline Contract for North Essex

Buyer: TENDRING DISTRICT COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-056aa5

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## Summary

Tendring District Council has completed the procurement process for the "Careline Contract for North Essex," awarded directly to Colchester Amphora Trading Limited. The process was managed by Essex County Council as the procuring entity on behalf of Tendring District Council. The contract involves the transition of approximately 1,200 existing service users to Amphora's expanded Helpline service, which includes monitoring, response, lifting, CCTV monitoring, and call-handling services. The contract, initiated on 1st August 2025, will run until 31st March 2027, with a possibility of extension until 2028. Located in Clacton-on-Sea, the Council's decision was guided by the necessity for service continuity and integration with the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance's vision. The procurement method employed was a direct award, deemed necessary due to the exclusive capabilities of Amphora in delivering the required services.

This tender creates substantial opportunities for businesses operating in administration services, community service provision, domestic help, CCTV services, and home-help niches. Although the direct award limits competition, it highlights the strategic importance of partnerships with local authority-owned companies, offering insights into potential collaboration with public sector bodies. Companies with established connections in public health and wellbeing sectors, specifically those capable of providing comprehensive service packages, could find significant growth opportunities through similar tenders. The successful delivery of such services could enhance a company's portfolio, showcasing the ability to meet stringent public-sector demands and foster future collaborations, especially in light of local government reorganization plans.

## Notice

The transfer of Tendring Careline's Service, circa 1,200 existing service-users to the expanded Helpline service provided by Amphora on 1 August 2025.

### Procurement Information

Tendring District Council ('the Council') has a requirement for a monitoring, response, and lifting service to be provided to fee-paying Tendring residents and the tenants of its own sheltered housing schemes; along with a CCTV monitoring service and Out of Hours call-handling service that together maintain the range of services currently and previously provided by the Council's 'Careline' service. As a member of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance, working in partnership with fellow local authorities and health bodies, the Council requires the provision of these services to align with the Alliance's aims and objectives for an integrated health system approach. Colchester Amphora Trading Limited (Amphora) is a subsidiary of Colchester City Council's wholly-owned arms length trading company Colchester Commercial (Holdings) Limited. It provides the 'Helpline' service which is identical to Careline in respect of its combined provision of a monitoring, response, and lifting service; CCTV monitoring; and Out of Hours call-handling service. As a local-authority owned company, Amphora has established relationships with key public sector partners engaged in the activity of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance, as well as the Police in respect of CCTV monitoring and Colchester City Council in the provision of Out of Hours call-handling - which are integral in respect of future proposals for Local Government Reorganisation which, by 2028, will see Tendring District Council, Colchester City Council, Essex County Council and potentially other neighbouring district Councils merge to form a new Unitary authority with statutory responsibilities, amongst other things, for adult social care. Through market analysis at the time for determining the award of the contract, Amphora was found to be the only provider capable of delivering the full range of services to the required standard and within an appropriate timeframe that would align with the aims and objectives of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance and the direction of travel in respect of Local Government Reorganisation. The Council's view is that the services cannot be disaggregated and provided separately; significant inefficiencies and negative staff resourcing implications would arise for the Council from disaggregation. The delivery of the Service was required to ensure uninterrupted service continuity to the older and vulnerable residents (Service Users). Accordingly the Council has decided to make a direct award to Amphora pursuant to Paragraphs 5 and 6, Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act, in that the Council has determined accordingly that a) competition for the Services is absent for technical reasons and b) due to exclusive rights held by Amphora including its relationship to Colchester City Council and, by extension, the North East Essex health and Wellbeing Alliance, only Amphora can supply the full range of services to the required standard and within the required timescales.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031496-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 Apr 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 30 Jul 2025 |
| Contract period | 6 Aug 2025 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £473,200 |
| Contracts value | £469,500 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | TENDRING DISTRICT COUNCIL |
| Additional buyers | ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | CLACTON-ON-SEA |
| Post town | Colchester |
| Postcode | CO15 1SE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex |
| ITL 3 | TLH36 Heart of Essex |
| Local authority | Chelmsford |
| Electoral ward | Moulsham and Central |
| Westminster constituency | Chelmsford |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | COLCHESTER AMPHORA TRADING |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 75 - Administration, defence and social security services
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
- 98 - Other community, social and personal services

### Codes

- 75100000 - Administration services
- 75200000 - Provision of services to the community
- 79622000 - Supply services of domestic help personnel
- 92222000 - Closed circuit television services
- 98513310 - Home-help services

## Release History

- 7 Apr 2026 at 13:02 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031496-2026
- 1 Aug 2025 at 15:35 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045376-2025
- 31 Jul 2025 at 16:08 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044938-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031496-2026
  7th April 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045376-2025
  1st August 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044938-2025
  31st July 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.amphora-trading.co.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-h6vhtk-056aa5. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-056aa5.json.