---
title: "Access to medicine and the professions 2026/27"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06e893"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e893"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e893.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e893.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NHS England"
published: "2026-08-20"
---

# Access to medicine and the professions 2026/27

Buyer: NHS England  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06e893

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e893)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e893.json)

## Summary

NHS England commissioned education and training services to support young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The programme helps participants prepare for and apply to medical, dental and other health-related undergraduate degree programmes over one academic year. The work is focused on widening access to the health professions and supporting prospective students through the application pathway. Delivery is associated with NHS England in London, while the programme itself serves young people participating in the access initiative. The awarded supplier is the Medical Schools Council, an organisation representing medical schools. Businesses with experience in educational outreach, widening participation, student recruitment and preparation for competitive healthcare degree programmes would recognise this as a specialist access and progression service.

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded under the light-touch regime using a direct award below the relevant threshold, without competition. It was a single-lot service requirement. The contract was signed on 18 August 2026 and runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027. The awarded supplier is the Medical Schools Council. The contract value is £345,000 including gross value, in GBP. The stated evaluation route was a direct award rather than a competitive assessment. The arrangement is recorded as an active contract, and the procurement status is complete. The requirement was for one academic year of support for applicants from lower socio-economic backgrounds seeking entry to medical, dental and other health-related undergraduate programmes.

This procurement indicates demand from NHS England for structured widening-participation services linked specifically to medical, dental and other health-related undergraduate entry. A credible future competitor would need the ability to identify and support young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, provide sustained guidance across an academic year, and help applicants prepare strong applications to competitive professional degree programmes. Relevant capability would include education outreach, student mentoring, admissions guidance, understanding of medical and dental school entry routes, and relationships with schools, universities or healthcare education stakeholders. The selected supplier’s profile also shows the value of recognised sector knowledge and access to the medical education community. Organisations able to combine national reach with specialist health-professions expertise would be best placed to compete when this requirement returns.

## Notice

Supporting young people from lower socio economic backgrounds to prepare for and apply for medical, dental schools and other health related under grad degree programmes of study, over one academic year. Start: 01/09/2026 End: 31/08/2027 Awarded under the Light Touch Regime - CPV Code 80000000 - Education and training services sub-threshold.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079445-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 18 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Sep 2026 - 31 Aug 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £345,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NHS England |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South East London |
| Postcode | SE1 8UG |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI4 Inner London - East |
| ITL 3 | TLI45 Lambeth |
| Local authority | Lambeth |
| Electoral ward | Waterloo & South Bank |
| Westminster constituency | Vauxhall and Camberwell Green |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Medical Schools Council |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services

### Codes

- 80000000 - Education and training services

## Release History

- 20 Aug 2026 at 13:16 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079445-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079445-2026
  20th August 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.england.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-06e893. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e893.json.