---
title: "NENC057 LGBTQ+ Mental Health Support Service Sunderland and South Tyneside Invitation to Tender NHS North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-059062"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-059062"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059062.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059062.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NHS NORTH EAST AND NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD"
published: "2026-01-06"
---

# NENC057 LGBTQ+ Mental Health Support Service Sunderland and South Tyneside Invitation to Tender NHS North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board

Buyer: NHS NORTH EAST AND NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-059062

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## Summary

The NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, acting as the contracting authority, has awarded a contract for the NENC057 LGBTQ+ Mental Health Support Service in Sunderland and South Tyneside. This procurement, conducted under an open competition, focused on providing guidance and counselling services and concluded with the contract awarded to Crystal Pathways Ltd, an SME based in London. The contract, which has an estimated value of GBP 592,000, will commence on April 1, 2026, for a three-year term with an option to extend for an additional two years based on performance. All procurement processes leading to the award, including the tender stage, have been completed as of January 6, 2026.

This contract presents significant business growth opportunities primarily for SMEs specialising in mental health services, particularly those experienced in offering support for LGBTQ+ communities. The service aims to deliver counselling and therapy, thereby improving the well-being of young people in the Sunderland and South Tyneside areas. The procurement was open for competitive tendering, allowing companies with expertise in mental health and counselling to showcase their capabilities in enhancing social value and addressing health inequalities, thus offering a profitable and impactful project aligned with social priorities.

## Notice

NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (the Contracting Authority), have undertaken a procurement to commission LGBTQ+ Mental Health Support Service Sunderland and South Tyneside under NHS Standard Contract 25/26 within the Sunderland and South Tyneside areas. The contract term is for an initial period of 3 years commencing on 01 April 2026, with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the discretion of the Contracting Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance. The closing date for submission of tenders was by 12 noon 31 October 2025. This tender opportunity has now closed The publication of this notice marks the conclusion of an adopted Voluntary Standstill Period beginning 22 December 2025 and ending midnight 05 January 2026. This UK7 Contract Details Notice is being published following the completion of the voluntary standstill period and contract award.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the discretion of the Contracting Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.

### Planning Information

NENC057- LGBTQ+ Mental Health Support Service - Sunderland and South Tyneside - Request for Information - NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board 
NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (the Contracting Authority), are conducting a Request for Information (RFI) exercise in order to gain a better understanding of the capacity and appetite of the market to deliver LGBTQ+ Mental Health Support Service - Sunderland and South Tyneside for young people within the South Tyneside and Sunderland areas of the ICB footprint.
It is anticipated that TUPE may apply to the South Tyneside current service elements.
This is a Procurement Act 2023 intended approach notice. 
The awarding of this contract is subject to the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement Regulations 2024. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this service.
It is important to note that this PIN/RFI is not a call for competition and as such potential providers will need to express an interest in any future tender opportunity once a contract notice is published on Find and Tender on the Central Digital Platform ( CDP).
It should be noted that this PIN/RFI invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this RFI exercise only, and it is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process. This PIN/RFI is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise. An expression of interest is no indication of a commitment to participate in the RFI process nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who express an interest.
To register an interest in responding to this market engagement exercise and obtain a copy of the Request for Information documentation please go to the e-tender portal: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome.
Please note that the deadline for RFI responses is 
12 noon on Friday 12 September 2025. 
Please note that all communications and RFI submissions will be conducted via the Atamis e-tender portal only. 
It is free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should bidders have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the Atamis helpdesk via:
Phone number 02922 809277 and by email at support-health@atamis.co.uk 
The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 9am - 5.30pm
RFI documentation will be available on the e-tendering site from 29 August 2025.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000556-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 Jan 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 31 Oct 2025 |
| Future notice date | 12 Sep 2025 |
| Award date | 12 Dec 2025 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £600,000 |
| Lots value | £600,000 |
| Awards value | £592,000 |
| Contracts value | £592,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NHS NORTH EAST AND NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD |
| Locality | SUNDERLAND |
| Post town | Sunderland |
| Postcode | SR5 3XB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC44 Sunderland |
| Local authority | Sunderland |
| Electoral ward | Castle |
| Westminster constituency | Washington and Gateshead South |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLC22 Tyneside, TLC23 Sunderland |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CRYSTAL PATHWAYS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services

## Release History

- 6 Jan 2026 at 10:35 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000556-2026
- 19 Dec 2025 at 09:05 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084687-2025
- 10 Oct 2025 at 08:17 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063992-2025
- 29 Aug 2025 at 11:42 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052431-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000556-2026
  6th January 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084687-2025
  19th December 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063992-2025
  10th October 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052431-2025
  29th August 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://crystalpathways.co.uk
- https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://northeastnorthcumbria.nhs.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-059062. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-059062.json.