Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
NHS England
Wellington House, 133-135 Waterloo Rd
London
SE1 8UG
Contact
NHSE DDAT Contract Management Team
england.commercialqueries@nhs.net
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKJ1 - Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Health
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
National Recruitment Software System
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Provision of a software platform for use by the Four Nations to facilitate local, regional and national recruitment across the following NHS staffing groups:
- Foundation
- Medical
- Dental
- Pharmacy
- Healthcare Science
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £12,360,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Direct Award for the provision of a software platform for use by the Four Nations to facilitate local, regional and national recruitment.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
NHS England (NHSE) is required to maintain the provision of a National Recruitment Platform to support Local, Regional and National recruitment across the Four Nations. This platform specialises in the recruitment of the following staffing groups:
- Foundation
- Medical
- Dental
- Pharmacy
- Healthcare Science
There is a clear clinical risk should the national recruitment platform not be maintained and service continuity is of paramount importance. A stable recruitment system is required to ensure delivery of business as usual recruitment processes across the four nations. The wider landscape across national recruitment is changing and with annual increases in application numbers this has created an administrative burden for NHSE England’s regional recruitment teams.
NHSE has commissioned industry leaders to undertake assessments of the market, through discovery exercises, to understand whether there is competition in the market capable of meeting NHSE’s Technical requirements. The assessments have considered product disaggregation and wider market analysis. NHSE is currently undertaking an Alpha project to assess options that might allow for the development of alternative products or pre-built systems that will meet all the technical requirements (in Lots or otherwise) that NHSE believes does not exist currently .
Additionally, previously competed procurements have only resulted in one bidder or one bidder with support from a partner supplier.
At this stage, NHSE has concluded that competition in the market does not exist in the form of a customisable Commercial Off the Shelf product. This is primarily due to the specialist nature of the technical requirements and in particular the need for interoperable functionality with other clinical government recruitment platforms.
NHSE remains committed to keeping this position under regular review to ensure that the best value for money is delivered.
NHS England commenced negotiations for the direct award of the services with Hicom Technology Limited in December 2024 and is satisfied that the tests permitting the use of the Negotiated Procedure without prior publication (Reg 32(2)(b)(ii) and (iii) PCR 2015) and the Government Commercial Function’s Procurement Act 2023 Guidance: Transitional and Saving Arrangements have been met.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
28 May 2025
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 1
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Hicom Technology Limited
Red House, Cemetery Pales, Brookwood, Woking,
Surrey
GU24 0BL
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
National registration number
04516040
Internet address
The contractor is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £12,360,000
Total value of the contract/lot: £12,360,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The High Court
The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom