Scope
Reference
CS26550
Description
Hampshire County Council is seeking a supplier to take on provision of catering services to Educational Establishments across the county of Hampshire, following the cessation of the Contracting Authority's in house service, Education Catering.
189 Educational Establishments have confirmed to the Contracting Authority that they wish to access catering services through this Contract from the outset, with the breakdown by establishment type, pupil numbers on role etc included as Annex 1 A of this ITT. These numbers reflect the schools which have chosen to "opt in" to this arrangement and are not anticipated to change significantly but may be subject to some change before the Contract commences. Educational Establishments are opted in for the initial period of the contract with the option to extend for an additional 2 years. This extension is dependent on the Contracting Authority extending this Contract.
Educational Establishments that choose not to access services through this Contract at the outset will have the option of joining later during the life of the Contract and will be able to access the services under the same terms as those that were part of the Contract from the start. Establishments would only be added subject to agreement from all parties.
Educational Establishments may be either Local Authority maintained schools or Academies. These entities have different legal statuses, and each academy trust accessing services through this contract will be required to complete a Deed of Adherence (sample provided in Annex 3d) with the Contractor & The Contracting Authority prior to implementation.
All Tenderers must have signed and completed Annex 5 - TUPE Confidentiality Undertaking Template by the Clarification deadline.
Tenderers who submit a tender without having completed and returned Annex 5 as an attachment via the Intend Correspondence function before the deadline for clarification questions (19th May 2025 at 17:00), will have their submission rejected.
Total value (estimated)
- £92,185,453 excluding VAT
- £110,622,543.60 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 5 January 2026 to 4 January 2031
- Possible extension to 4 January 2033
- 7 years
Description of possible extension:
There is 1 contract extension with a maximum duration of 2 years and 0 month, and a value ex VAT of £ 26,338,701
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 55524000 - School catering services
- 15894210 - School meals
- 55500000 - Canteen and catering services
- 55520000 - Catering services
- 55523000 - Catering services for other enterprises or other institutions
Contract locations
- UKJ3 - Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Participation
Legal and financial capacity conditions of participation
As per In-tend Participation Stage Questionnaire (In-tend hosted questionnaire)
Technical ability conditions of participation
As per In-tend Participation Stage Questionnaire (In-tend hosted questionnaire)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
19 May 2025, 5:00pm
Tender submission deadline
27 May 2025, 2:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
14 July 2025
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price criterion 1 | Pricing schedule Annex 2, Price evaluation. See Pricing Annex 2a. |
Price | 40.00% |
| Quality criterion 2 | Quality of food ingredients & Sourcing |
Quality | 15.00% |
| Quality criterion 5 | Operational Service Resilience |
Quality | 10.00% |
| Quality criterion 3 | Special Diets Allergens |
Quality | 7.50% |
| Quality criterion 4 | Account Contract Management |
Quality | 7.50% |
| Quality criterion 8 | Staffing |
Quality | 7.50% |
| Quality criterion 1 | Mobilisation |
Quality | 5.00% |
| Quality criterion 7 | Maximise and Increase Uptake |
Quality | 5.00% |
| Quality criterion 6 | Corporate Social Responsibility |
Quality | 2.50% |
Other information
Payment terms
As per Schedule 3 Payment & Invoicing of the Contract Document (ITT Annex 3) and ITT Annex 1 C - Payment & Invoicing arrangements
Description of risks to contract performance
Tight Timescales for delivery
The project must be awarded and the successful supplier able to be communicated to schools by September. This means the tender timetable is very tight and will involve moderation over July (Summer holidays). Mitigated by all panel being aware of the timescale and resource requirement over this time.
No bids received
Market engagement was conducted and a series of questions asked to gain the attractiveness and viability of the offer to the market. We received 7 responses back and have confidence that the project will gain interest from the market.
Increased cost
The risk of a high meal price has been mitigated by using the Straight-Line methodology and placing a cap on the max meal price. This will ensure the bids remain within the stated parameters and limits the risk of a high meal price. The Contract will have a dedicated Contract Manager and a KPI on monthly payment reports to ensure the supplier is charging educational establishments, pupils, parents and guardians accurately.
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Special regime
Light touch
Justification for not publishing a preliminary market engagement notice
The private sector school meals market is well established both nationally and locally in Hampshire. Suppliers range from small local and regional organisations to large national and multinational organisations. At least 17 private sector school catering suppliers currently operate in Hampshire.
Soft market testing has been carried out with the current 11 catering suppliers on the County Council's education catering framework agreement. They confirmed available capacity and interest to provide catering to Hampshire schools.
A formal engagement process was undertaken with existing school customers of the EC service to understand schools' views of the proposal to cease the services provided by EC and of the two remaining viable options of service closure (with schools managing their own catering arrangements) and a managed outsource of the service.
Contracting authority
Hampshire County Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PBHM-7586-PWLP
E2 Court The Castle
Winchester
SO23 8UJ
United Kingdom
Email: procurement.support@hants.gov.uk
Website: https://www.hants.gov.uk
Region: UKJ36 - Central Hampshire
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government