Scope
Reference
SWE10530
Description
Social Work England is looking to Contract with an external Service Bidder who can support us to deliver against our objectives and achieve our ambitions by delivering an emotional support telephone line to those affected by Fitness to Practise proceedings.
We require an emotional support telephone line for social workers, witnesses and complainants (those that raise Fitness to Practise concerns) and those affected by the Fitness to Practise process, that they can access by phone, and other methods, such as email or live chat/web chat 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
While the service will be open to all involved in Fitness to Practise and their family members, and some may need to use the service once or regularly, the provider will ensure that usage is appropriate and managed in a way that ensures callers don't develop a dependency upon the service and contact ends at an appropriate stage (for example 3 months after the Fitness to Practise matter has concluded).
Total value (estimated)
- £333,333.33 excluding VAT
- £405,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 13 April 2026 to 12 April 2029
- Possible extension to 12 April 2031
- 5 years
Description of possible extension:
This contract allows for two extensions of one year each. This contract is considered a 3+1+1 contract.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services
- 85312310 - Guidance services
Contract locations
- UKE3 - South Yorkshire
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
3 October 2025, 12:30pm
Submission type
Requests to participate
Deadline for requests to participate
15 October 2025, 12:30pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Further instructions are available via the In-tend e-portal.
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
9 February 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | Quality | 55% |
| Price | Price | 40% |
| Interview | Quality | 5% |
Other information
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Competitive flexible procedure description
Stage 1: Conditions of Participation
• Stage 1 involves assessing suppliers against minimum eligibility and compliance requirements. This includes checks on:
o Legal status
o Financial standing
o Technical capability
o Exclusion grounds
• Suppliers who meet the conditions of participation will be shortlisted and invited to Stage 2.
Stage 2: Invitation to Tender
• Shortlisted suppliers from Stage 1 will be invited to submit a detailed written tender and pricing proposal.
• Submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria and weightings outlined below in Section 14.3.
• Each submission will be scored on both quality and price, with a maximum of 95% of the total available marks allocated at this stage
o Up to 55% for quality.
o Up to 40% for price.
Following the evaluation of Stage 2:
• The top three scoring suppliers (based on the combined quality and price scores) will be provisionally shortlisted.
• If either the second or third highest-scoring suppliers are within five percentage points of the highest-scoring supplier, an interview stage (Stage 3) will be conducted for those suppliers.
• If no supplier falls within five percentage points of the highest-scoring bidder, Stage 3 will not be conducted, and final scores from Stage 2 (out of 95%) will determine the successful bidder.
Stage 3: Interview Stage
• The interview stage consists of a MS Teams interview with Social Work England.
o Further details may be found in Section 14.4.
• Submissions will be evaluated in line with Section 14.3.
• The interview will be evaluated separately and will account for 5% of the total available marks.
o Scores from Stage 2 (both quality and price) will be carried forward, and the interview score will be added to produce a final total score out of 100%.
Justification for not publishing a preliminary market engagement notice
Prior notice and market engagement has occurred. Please see supporting documents for further information.
Documents
Documents to be provided after the tender notice
Documents may be found via Social Work England's In-Tend e-portal. https://in-tendhost.co.uk/socialworkengland
Contracting authority
Social Work England
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PZYZ-1666-HXBQ
1 North Bank, Blonk Street
Sheffield
S3 8JY
United Kingdom
Region: UKE32 - Sheffield
Organisation type: Public authority - central government