--- title: "NEPRO Four" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-060847" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-060847" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060847.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060847.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED" published: "2026-05-06" --- # NEPRO Four Buyer: THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-060847 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-060847) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060847.json) ## Summary The Association of North East Councils Limited, acting as a centralised public procurement authority, is preparing for the next phase of the NEPRO framework, titled "NEPRO Four". This involves a neutral vendor framework for procuring Specialist Professional Services across the UK public sector. This opportunity is currently in the planning stage, with details published in May 2026. The tender is expected to commence in September 2027 and will be available in several UK regions, including Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man. The project aims to continue providing a compliant purchasing route across categories such as financial services, IT consulting, health and social work services, with the strategic involvement of a delivery partner. The procurement will follow a competitive flexible procedure in line with the Procurement Act 2023, with a future notice expected by 18 June 2026. This tender represents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in professional services, consulting, and specialist framework delivery. It provides a platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to its focus on diverse service categories and the potential for building strategic relationships with NEPO and its members. Companies that have experience in neutral vendor frameworks and managing multi-scale projects across the public sector will find considerable growth potential here. The opportunity to contribute to social value and environmental governance issues is particularly relevant, aligning with increasing demands for accountable and sustainable service delivery. Businesses looking to expand their footprint within the public sector while delivering value-for-money solutions will find this opportunity appealing. ## Notice NEPRO3, originally NEPRO, was first introduced in 2012 acting as a neutral vendor framework delivered through a dedicated delivery partner. From the first iteration of NEPRO we have continued to grow, providing a fully compliant, outcomes-based route for procuring Specialist Professional Services and Consultancy across the public sector. The current and third iteration of the framework, NEPRO3, is scheduled to run until 31 August 2027, at which point it will be re-tendered. The framework agreement will require a Delivery Partner to strategically work with NEPO for the delivery of Specialist Professional Services procurements across various categories for our members. It is envisaged that this will continue to be a neutral vendor framework and will have an end-to-end process of support for our users across their individual projects. The current framework agreement has 20 categories of services to procure from, as well as a supply chain of over 6,000 suppliers. The solution will be procured using the procedures outlined in the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023). The purpose of this Pipeline Notice is to provide prior information to the market on the intentions of NEPO to procure such a framework. It is expected that the Delivery Partner will be able to meet the following, in line with ongoing business requirement discussions around NEPRO3: * Build a strategic relationship with NEPO, working to continuously improve the solution for our end users. * Deep understanding of public procurement regulations and specialist knowledge across categories to best support Members. * Ability to manage multiple projects of various scales across the UK public sector simultaneously and deliver value-for-money from beginning to end. * A strong qualified supply chain for Members to access. * Experience working in a Neutral Vendor framework or the evidence to provide that the supplier can. * Ability to monitor supplier performance and the end-to-end process. * Ability to work with our members to understand needs and support them with their projects, as well as building strong relationships. * Ability to collate and report on information for the benefit of our members and for transparency. * A clear focus on Social Value and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) benefits offered through the solution. * Ability to comply with rebate procedures. This may be subject to amendment following from Market Engagement which is expected to take place around late February/early March 2026. NEPO is a Centralised Procurement Authority as defined in the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), providing central purchasing activity on behalf of Contracting Authorities. The agreement will be available to NEPO Member Authorities and all current and future Associate Members. Current Associate Members are listed in the Associate Member section of the NEPO website at: https://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/current-associate-members NEPO intends to make the agreement available for use by all Contracting Authorities throughout all administrative regions of the UK (as defined by the Procurement Act 2023). A list of permissible users is available at: http://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/permissible-users Organisations wishing to access the NEPO agreement will be required to register as a NEPO Associate Member in the first instance. Further information can be found at: www.nepo.org Further and full information regarding Contracting Authorities that may use the agreement will be found in the procurement documents when published. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041648-2026 | | Notice type | UK1 - Pipeline Notice | | Procurement type | Framework | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 6 May 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 18 Jun 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 31 Aug 2027 - 31 Aug 2031 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Planned | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED | | Locality | GATESHEAD | | Post town | Newcastle upon Tyne | | Postcode | NE8 3DF | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear | | ITL 3 | TLC43 Tyneside | | Local authority | Gateshead | | Electoral ward | Bridges | | Westminster constituency | Gateshead Central and Whickham | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 66 - Financial and insurance services - 70 - Real estate services - 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security - 80 - Education and training services - 85 - Health and social work services - 90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services - 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services - 98 - Other community, social and personal services ### Codes - 66000000 - Financial and insurance services - 70333000 - Housing services - 71000000 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services - 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services - 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security - 80000000 - Education and training services - 85000000 - Health and social work services - 90713000 - Environmental issues consultancy services - 92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services - 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services ## Release History - 6 May 2026 at 20:42 - PlanningUpdate - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041648-2026 - 19 Jan 2026 at 08:22 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004160-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041648-2026 6th May 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004160-2026 19th January 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - http://www.nepo.org - http://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/permissible-users - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/current-associate-members ## 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-060847. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-060847.json.