---
title: "Payroll Bureau Services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06eccf"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06eccf"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eccf.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06eccf.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "The Arts Council of England"
published: "2026-08-26"
---

# Payroll Bureau Services

Buyer: The Arts Council of England  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06eccf

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

## Summary

The Arts Council of England procured a payroll bureau managed service. The requirement is for payroll management carried out through a third-party payroll solution, providing the organisation with an externally managed payroll capability rather than a standalone software purchase. The service falls within payroll management services and is classified as a services procurement. Delivery covers the United Kingdom. The buyer is a central government public authority based in Manchester. The procurement covered one requirement rather than separate service packages, so relevant suppliers would need to support the payroll service as a whole. This opportunity is relevant to payroll bureaux, managed payroll providers and organisations able to operate payroll services using an established third-party payroll platform.

The procurement has been completed and awarded. It used a direct award below the applicable threshold, without competition. The contract was signed on 17 June 2026 and runs from 28 September 2026 to 28 September 2028. The contract is active. The Access Group was selected as the supplier for the payroll bureau managed service. The awarded contract value is £94,036 excluding VAT and £112,843 including VAT. The procurement was evaluated through a non-competitive direct-award route, so no competitive scoring basis is stated. The requirement was handled as a single lot. The contract is below the relevant threshold, and the service is being delivered across the United Kingdom.

This award is useful market evidence for payroll bureaux and managed service providers targeting the Arts Council of England. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need to provide end-to-end payroll management, operate a reliable third-party payroll solution and take responsibility for delivering the service across the United Kingdom. The selected supplier is a large organisation, indicating that the buyer accepted a provider with the operational capacity to manage the requirement at national scale. Providers should be able to demonstrate dependable payroll administration, strong service management and the ability to integrate or work effectively with an external payroll platform. Experience delivering outsourced payroll services to public authorities would help establish credibility when this requirement next reaches the market.

## Notice

Payroll Bureau managed service using third party payroll solution.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081402-2026 |
| 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 | 26 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 17 Jun 2026 |
| Contract period | 28 Sep 2026 - 28 Sep 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £94,036 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | The Arts Council of England |
| Locality | MANCHESTER |
| Postcode area | Manchester |
| Postcode | M1 1FN |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLD3 Greater Manchester |
| ITL 3 | TLD33 Manchester |
| Local authority | Manchester |
| Electoral ward | Piccadilly |
| Westminster constituency | Manchester Central |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | The Access Group |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79211110 - Payroll management services

## Release History

- 26 Aug 2026 at 14:52 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081402-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081402-2026
  26th August 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

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