Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Cambridgeshire County Council
New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald
Huntingdon
PE28 4YE
Contact
Mr Marcus Wood
procurementandcommercial@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Telephone
+44 7700000000
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKH12 - Cambridgeshire CC
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/
Buyer's address
https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert/Index?advertId=306695c0-d1fb-ee11-812a-005056b64545
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert/Index?advertId=306695c0-d1fb-ee11-812a-005056b64545
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
23114 Adult Education Budget Re-Procurement
Reference number
DN719682
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 80400000 - Adult and other education services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Cambridgeshire County Council are inviting Adult Education providers to bid for a place on the Cambridgeshire Skills Approved Provider List' to deliver AEB. Successful bidders will have the chance to be granted funding for the academic year(s) 1 August 2024 – 31 July 2026, with the possibility to extend the Approved Provider List for two further years. There is total funding of £638,000 available per year.
The Council receives two separate Adult Education Budget (AEB) grants from:
1. Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)/Department for Education (DfE)
2. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA)
The Council delivers adult education in-house, but a proportion of the grants are sub-contracted to independent providers that deliver training that complements the in-house delivery.
The Adult Education Budget (AEB) aims to engage adults and provide the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or other learning. It enables more flexible tailored programmes of learning to be made available, which may or may not require a qualification, to help eligible learners engage in learning, build confidence, and/or enhance their wellbeing.
The relevant CPCA and ESFA Funding Rules and eligibility criteria for the academic year (1 August 2024 – 31 July 2025) will apply to this funding.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: Yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Lot No
1
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH12 - Cambridgeshire CC
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 1: CPCA Adult Skills Fund (ASF) - Accredited / regulated qualifications and legal entitlements: Up to £350,000 per year
The ASF aims to engage adults and provide the skills and learning they need to progress into, or within, work; or equip them for an apprenticeship or other learning.
All Delivery Partners must have due regard to the skills analysis and priorities of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) and those detailed in the Local Skills Improvement Plan.
The ASF supports three legal entitlements to full funding for eligible adult learners. These are set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills and Children's Learning Act 2009, and enable eligible learners to be fully funded for the following qualifications:
• English and maths, up to and including level 2, for individuals aged 19 and over, who have not
previously attained a GCSE grade 4 (C), or higher, and/or
• first full qualification at level 2 for individuals aged 19 to 23, and/or
• first full qualification at level 3 for individuals aged 19 to 23
Eligible learners exercising their legal entitlement, must only be enrolled on qualifications from the published approved list of qualifications in the level 2 and level 3 legal entitlement and/or the approved list of qualifications in the English and maths legal entitlement for the relevant funding year here: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/
The ASF also supports delivery of other qualifications up to level 2. This provision either is fully or co-funded, depending on the learner’s age, prior attainment and circumstances. We can only fund qualifications listed as available to our funding streams and fundable here: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/
All delivery must comply with the relevant funding rules:
Skills Library - Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk)
The funding rates we pay for qualifications (minus our management fee) are published here: https://findalearningaimbeta.fasst.org.uk/
We will not award funding to providers who already hold a CPCA direct ASF grant or contract (or are a subcontractor to a direct grant or contract holder) within the CPCA area.
Supporting document: Guiding Principles of Accredited Delivery
Priority for allocation of funding will be given to providers delivering face to face learning in the following areas or targeted to learners living in these specific areas/wards:
- Fenland – all wards
- East Cambridgeshire - all wards
- Huntingdonshire – Huntingdon North, Yaxley, Warboys, The Stukeleys, Folksworth, St Neots, St
Ives and Ramsey wards
- Cambridge City – Abbey, Kings Hedges, Arbury, East Chesterton, Trumpington, Coleridge, Cherry
Hinton, Romsey and Petersfield
- South Cambs – The Mordens, Melbourne, Milton and Waterbeach, Fen Ditton and Fulbourn,
Sawston, Caxton and Papworth, Balsham, Bar Hill, Barrington, Bassingbourn and Cambourne
Please note that we are not looking for any courses to be delivered in Peterborough.
Adult Education Budget (AEB) postcode files - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Lot No
2
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH12 - Cambridgeshire CC
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 2: CPCA Tailored Learning – non-regulated: Up to £150,000 per year
As outlined in the government response to the DfE consultation Skills for jobs, the purpose of Tailored Learning (previously known as Community Learning), is primarily to support learners into employment and to progress to further learning, in line with the overall purpose of the Adult Skills Fund.
The current system will also support wider outcomes, including using it to:
• improve health and wellbeing
• equip parents/carers to support their child’s learning, and
• develop stronger and more integrated communities
The objectives, set out in the funding rules ask you to widen participation and transform people’s destinies by supporting progression relevant to personal circumstances. We expect you to encourage and support all learners to progress onto new or more stretching provision to help them into more formal learning or employment. We would not expect to see multiple enrolments on similar level courses, or a repeat of similar learning aims where this does not benefit the learner’s development.
Lots 1 and 2 are for learners living CPCA devolved postcodes: with priority for allocation of funding given to providers delivering face to face learning in the following areas or targeted to learners living in these specific areas/wards:
• Fenland – all wards
• East Cambridgeshire - all wards
• Huntingdonshire – Huntingdon North, Yaxley, Warboys, The Stukeleys, Folksworth, St Neots
and Ramsey wards
• Cambridge City – Abbey, Kings Hedges, Arbury, East Chesterton, Trumpington, Coleridge,
Cherry Hinton, Romsey and Petersfield
• South Cambs – The Mordens, Melbourne, Milton and Waterbeach, Fen Ditton and Fulbourn,
Sawston, Caxton and Papworth, Balsham, Bar Hill, Barrington, Bassingbourn and Cambourne
Please note that we are not looking for any courses to be delivered in Peterborough.
For reference: Cambridgeshire Insight – Deprivation – Indices of Multiple Deprivation
All delivery must comply with the relevant funding rules:
Skills Library - Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk)
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Lot No
3
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH12 - Cambridgeshire CC
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 3 ESFA Adult Skills Fund (ASF) – Accredited / regulated qualifications and legal entitlements: up to £75,000 per year
The ASF supports three legal entitlements to full funding for eligible adult learners. These are set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills and Children's Learning Act 2009, and enable eligible learners to be fully funded for the following qualifications:
• English and maths, up to and including level 2, for individuals aged 19 and over, who have not
previously attained a GCSE grade 4 (C), or higher, and/or
• first full qualification at level 2 for individuals aged 19 to 23, and/or first full qualification at level
• for individuals aged 19 to 23
Eligible learners exercising their legal entitlement, must only be enrolled on qualifications from the published approved list of qualifications in the level 2 and level 3 legal entitlement and/or the approved list of qualifications in the English and maths legal entitlement for the relevant funding year here: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/
Lots 3 and 4 are for learners living in non-devolved postcode areas: Adult Education Budget (AEB) postcode files - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
As such priority will be given to to providers delivering learning to eligible learners living in other counties bordering Cambridgeshire including Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west.
Please note that we are not looking for any courses to be delivered in Peterborough.
The ASF also supports delivery of other qualifications up to level 2. This provision either is fully or co-funded, depending on the learner’s age, prior attainment and circumstances. We can only fund qualifications listed as available to our funding streams and fundable here: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/
All delivery must comply with the relevant funding rules:
Adult education funding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Lot No
4
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKH12 - Cambridgeshire CC
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 4 ESFA Tailored Learning up to £25,000 per year:
As outlined in the government response to the DfE consultation Skills for jobs, the purpose of tailored learning (previously known as Community Learning), is primarily to support learners into employment and to progress to further learning, in line with the overall purpose of the Adult Skills Fund.
The current system will also support wider outcomes, including using it to:
• improve health and wellbeing
• equip parents/carers to support their child’s learning, and
• develop stronger and more integrated communities
The objectives, set out in the funding rules ask you to widen participation and transform people’s destinies by supporting progression relevant to personal circumstances. We expect you to encourage and support all learners to progress onto new or more stretching provision to help them into more formal learning or employment. We would not expect to see multiple enrolments on similar level courses, or a repeat of similar learning aims where this does not benefit the learner’s development.
Lots 3 and 4 are for learners living in non-devolved postcode areas: Adult Education Budget (AEB) postcode files - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
As such priority will be given to to providers delivering learning to eligible learners living in other counties bordering Cambridgeshire including Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west
Please note that we are not looking for any courses to be delivered in Peterborough.
All delivery must comply with the relevant funding rules:
Adult education funding - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Lots 3 and 4 are for learners living in non-devolved postcode areas: Adult Education Budget (AEB) postcode files - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Form of procedure
Open procedure
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
31 August 2026
Local time
12:00pm
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English