--- title: "MH Act Code of Practice - Lived Experience Advisory Groups 2026" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06658e" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06658e" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06658e.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06658e.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Award" buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE" published: "2026-07-06" --- # MH Act Code of Practice - Lived Experience Advisory Groups 2026 Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE Current stage: Award OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06658e [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06658e) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06658e.json) ## Summary The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) in London has successfully concluded an open procurement procedure for the "MH Act Code of Practice – Lived Experience Advisory Groups 2026" project in the services industry category. The objective of this initiative is to engage individuals with lived experience of the Mental Health Act to inform the updated Code of Practice. The contract, valued at £379,680 excluding VAT, is divided into four lots focusing on distinct demographics including general lived experience, children and young people, individuals with learning disabilities and autism, and ethnic minority communities. The procurement stage has advanced to the award phase as of July 2026, with contracts commencing on 21 July 2026 and having an initial term of 21 months, plus an optional extension of up to six months. This tender represents substantial opportunities for suppliers in social research and mental health sectors, particularly those capable of diverse engagement and reporting. It caters to organisations with capacities in participant recruitment and engagement methodologies, offering a total budget that supports additional engagement hours if necessary. Businesses experienced in forming partnerships with public authorities or demonstrating innovation and quality in service delivery, including SMEs and VCSEs, would find this procurement particularly suited to their growth strategies. Successful bidders include large firms such as The Public Service Consultants Limited and established charities like MIND, showcasing a competitive landscape for both large and small educational service providers. ## Notice The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will enter into a contract to deliver a programme of engagement with people who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice. This includes recruiting a diverse cohort of participants, co-producing engagement methods, delivering structured and ad hoc engagement activities, safeguarding participant wellbeing, and providing high-quality report that include summary of engagement, feedback and views. The service is divided into 4 different lots. Values are exclusive of VAT: Lot 1: Group 1 - General lived experience Lot 2: Group 2 - Children and young people Lot 3: Group 3 - People with a learning disability and autistic people Lot 4: Group 4 - Ethnic minority and racialised communities The value of contracts (all lots) PS299,680+ options PS80,000 total PS379,680 excluding vat. The option relates to the possibility to add additional hours of engagement if needed. Term of the contract: An initial term of twenty-one (21) months, with the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months. ### Lot Information Group 1 - General lived experience programme of engagement with general people who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice Options: It is not possible at this stage to predict how many additional engagement hours will be required for each Lot. DHSC has a total maximum budget of PS39,000 for additional hours across all Lots. For contractual purposes only, and to allow for the full range of potential optional spend, DHSC has assumed a notional maximum of PS20,000 per Lot for additional hours. We do not anticipate that we will use the full optional scope value in all of the Lots. Renewal: the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months. Group 2 - Children and young people programme of engagement with children and young people who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice Options: It is not possible at this stage to predict how many additional engagement hours will be required for each Lot. DHSC has a total maximum budget of PS39,000 for additional hours across all Lots. For contractual purposes only, and to allow for the full range of potential optional spend, DHSC has assumed a notional maximum of PS20,000 per Lot for additional hours. We do not anticipate that we will use the full optional scope value in all of the Lots. Renewal: the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months. Group 3 - People with a learning disability and autistic people programme of engagement with people with learning disability and autistic people who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice Options: It is not possible at this stage to predict how many additional engagement hours will be required for each Lot. DHSC has a total maximum budget of PS39,000 for additional hours across all Lots. For contractual purposes only, and to allow for the full range of potential optional spend, DHSC has assumed a notional maximum of PS20,000 per Lot for additional hours. We do not anticipate that we will use the full optional scope value in all of the Lots. Renewal: the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months. Group 4 - Ethnic minority and racialised communities programme of engagement with ethnic minority and racialised communities who have lived experience of the Mental Health Act, ensuring their perspectives meaningfully inform the drafting of the updated Code of Practice Options: It is not possible at this stage to predict how many additional engagement hours will be required for each Lot. DHSC has a total maximum budget of PS39,000 for additional hours across all Lots. For contractual purposes only, and to allow for the full range of potential optional spend, DHSC has assumed a notional maximum of PS20,000 per Lot for additional hours. We do not anticipate that we will use the full optional scope value in all of the Lots. Renewal: the option to extend for one or more further periods up to a maximum of six (6) months. ### Planning Information The Department of Health and Social Care has now completed its preliminary market engagement phase and, through this notice, is publishing a consolidated document containing all supplier queries received during the PME, together with the corresponding official responses and the event presentation. In addition, and to support collaboration, DHSC is facilitating networking opportunities for suppliers who are interested in forming partnerships to deliver this service. Suppliers may submit their details via a dedicated Microsoft Form, which will remain open until 24 April 2026 7pm. The form is available via the PME Q&A document that can be found in Atamis system https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome using the contract number or by clicking the following link https://forms.office.com/e/xtYgn8DSHm Details submitted via the form will be collated to support partnership‑building and, once the tender is launched (scheduled for 27 April 2026), will be shared with suppliers on request ONLY. This notice does not represent a call for competition; it is issued solely to publish the questions and answers arising from the Preliminary Market Engagement (PME), which has now concluded. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063385-2026 | | Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Large, SME | | All stages | Planning, Tender, Award | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 6 Jul 2026 | | Submission deadline | 1 Jun 2026 | | Future notice date | 27 Apr 2026 | | Award date | 5 Jul 2026 | | Contract period | 20 Jul 2026 - 20 Apr 2028 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £383,500 | | Lots value | £383,500 | | Awards value | £379,679 | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Complete | | Lots status | Complete | | Awards status | Active | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | South West London | | Postcode | SW1H 0EU | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) | ## Supplier | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Number of suppliers | 4 | | Supplier names | ARTICLE 39; MIND (THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH; RETHINK MENTAL ILLNESS; THE PUBLIC SERVICE CONSULTANTS LIMITED T/A THE PSC | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security ### Codes - 79315000 - Social research services ## Release History - 6 Jul 2026 at 17:05 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063385-2026 - 5 May 2026 at 15:40 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041222-2026 - 17 Apr 2026 at 14:26 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035310-2026 - 16 Apr 2026 at 11:17 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034633-2026 - 25 Mar 2026 at 11:21 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027230-2026 - 24 Mar 2026 at 11:11 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026685-2026 - 19 Mar 2026 at 11:00 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025049-2026 - 9 Mar 2026 at 15:16 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020989-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063385-2026 6th July 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/041222-2026 5th May 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035310-2026 17th April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034633-2026 16th April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027230-2026 25th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026685-2026 24th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025049-2026 19th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020989-2026 9th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://forms.office.com/e/xtYgn8DSHm - https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care - 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-06658e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06658e.json.