--- title: "Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Pre Market Engagement" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-069134" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-069134" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069134.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069134.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "WEST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNCIL" published: "2026-05-05" --- # Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Pre Market Engagement Buyer: WEST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-069134 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-069134) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069134.json) ## Summary West Northamptonshire Council is initiating a pre-market engagement process for the upcoming commissioning of the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme, set to be in effect from 2027 to 2029. The Council, located at Angel Street, Northampton, is in the planning stage of the procurement process, with a significant focus on the education sector. The programme, targeting services across Northampton, aims to provide enriching activities and nutritious meals to children and young people during school holidays. A market engagement event is scheduled for 2 June 2026, and interested parties are encouraged to submit their questionnaires by 22 May 2026. The total planned budget for this initiative is £2,400,000, with the procurement slated under the services category and adhering to the "light touch" regime. This tender offers businesses a valuable opportunity to align their services with a high-impact community programme. Ideal participants are likely to be organisations experienced in delivering educational and nutrition-focused services, especially those catering to vulnerable children and families. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs), are particularly welcome, given the suitability criteria. Companies capable of providing innovative, inclusive approaches that address identified needs in areas like Semilong and Kingsthorpe can contribute significantly to reducing inequalities and achieving positive outcomes for communities in West Northamptonshire. ## Notice West Northamptonshire Council is undertaking pre market engagement with potential providers as part of our intention to commission the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme for a two year period. The Council has delivered the HAF programme locally for the past five years in line with Department for Education (DfE) HAF guidance, supporting eligible children and young people to access healthy meals, enriching activities, and opportunities for learning and personal development during school holidays. The HAF programme is a key contributor to our Best Start in Life ambition, helping to reduce health inequalities, support physical and emotional wellbeing, strengthen family resilience, and ensure that children and young people are safe, healthy, and able to thrive. As community needs across West Northamptonshire continue to evolve, we are seeking innovative, inclusive, and place based delivery models that align with both national expectations and local priorities. This pre market engagement seeks to inform our future commissioning approach and ensure that the HAF programme continues to deliver high quality provision that is accessible, nutritious, and inclusive, while targeting those children and families who will benefit most. We are particularly keen to understand how a potential HAF coordinator service can demonstrate alignment with the following local priority areas, which reflect DfE HAF principles and our Best Start in Life strategy: * Targeting and aligning HAF provision to areas with the highest levels of Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility to reduce inequality and maximise impact * Delivering a high quality hot food and nutrition offer that promotes healthy eating, food education, and positive lifelong habits * Ensuring inclusive, high quality SEND provision that removes barriers to participation and supports a wide range of needs * Developing engaging and age appropriate provision for secondary school aged young people (11+), supporting social connection, wellbeing, and positive outcomes We welcome insights, ideas, and examples of best practice that will support the continued development of a HAF programme that delivers meaningful outcomes for children, young people, and families across West Northamptonshire. Current position The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is funded by grant support from the Department for Education (DfE). It provides free holiday activities, enrichment opportunities, and nutritious meals for children and young people aged 5-16 who are eligible for benefits related free school meals. The programme has been delivered through an externally commissioned arrangement for the past five years. The current HAF Coordinator is Northamptonshire Sport, which manages HAF Northants, a central platform used to promote the programme and communicate with delivery partners. The role of the HAF Coordinator is to oversee delivery of the programme within West Northamptonshire, expand its reach to families who would benefit most, and work closely with the HAF Contract Manager at West Northamptonshire Council. The HAF programme delivery offer is expected to operate during the Easter/Spring, Summer, and Christmas/Winter school holiday periods, each year. We have identified a gap in HAF delivery within several of our most deprived areas, including Semilong, Kingsthorpe, Briars Hill, Kings Heath, and Castle, which we are keen to address through market engagement. Purpose of the Pre Market Engagement The purpose of this pre market engagement exercise is to: * Understand the market and readiness to deliver the HAF Programme across West Northamptonshire. * Explore the most viable commissioning approach to deliver the HAF Programme. * To explore how the current approach does or does not impact on recruitment and retention of good staff. * Raise awareness of, and promote, the forthcoming tender opportunity to potential activity and the HAF coordination service provider * To understand what a suitable delivery model would look like. * Enable potential providers to consider and plan for the resources and capacity that may be required to participate in the future procurement process ### Planning Information 1. We are holding a face-to-face event and would like to invite all interested parties to join us. WNC Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) Market Engagement Event Tickets, Tuesday 2 June • 12:30 - 13:30 | Eventbrite. Link to access is in the questionnaire available via In-Tend. 2. If you feel that your organisation can contribute to this exercise, please complete the questionnaire available via In-Tend Electronic Tendering Site - Home and return it via In-Tend by Friday 22 May 2026. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040954-2026 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 5 May 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 1 Jul 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2029 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £2,000,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | WEST NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNCIL | | Locality | NORTHAMPTON | | Post town | Northampton | | Postcode | NN1 1ED | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLF East Midlands (England) | | ITL 2 | TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | | ITL 3 | TLF24 West Northamptonshire | | Local authority | West Northamptonshire | | Electoral ward | Castle | | Westminster constituency | Northampton North | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 80 - Education and training services ### Codes - 80000000 - Education and training services - 80100000 - Primary education services - 80200000 - Secondary education services - 80210000 - Technical and vocational secondary education services ## Release History - 5 May 2026 at 11:21 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040954-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/040954-2026 5th May 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/ ## 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-069134. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-069134.json.