Scope
Reference
DN797441
Description
Service Title: Dynamic Market or Direct Payment Payroll and Managed Account Services
Contract Type: Framework Agreement procured via a Dynamic Market under Light Touch Regime.
6 months (with the option to extend for up to a further 6 months)
Southend-on-Sea City Council is seeking bidders to be awarded a place on a Framework to provide Direct Payment Services within the Adult and Social Care Requirement.
Scope:
This Service is commissioned pursuant to:
• Section 31-33 of the Care Act 2014
• The Care and Support (Direct Payments) Regulations 2014
• Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (where applicable)
• Children and Families Act 2014 (where applicable for children and young people)
Direct Payments are provided to enable the Individual to arrange their own care and support.
Where Personal Assistants are employed, the Individual or their Authorised Person is the legal employer.
Successful suppliers will be made available for selection by the Council's Service users, who will contact and contract with those successful suppliers through this Framework
Commercial tool
Establishes an open framework
Total value (estimated)
- £450,000 excluding VAT
- £520,000 including VAT
Below the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 19 May 2026 to 20 May 2026
- 2 days
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 79211110 - Payroll management services
- 79631000 - Personnel and payroll services
Contract locations
- UKH31 - Southend-on-Sea
Framework
Open framework scheme end date (estimated)
20 May 2026
Maximum number of suppliers
Unlimited
Maximum percentage fee charged to suppliers
0%
Further information about fees
No fees will be charged to suppliers.
Framework operation description
Suppliers will complete two assessment when submitting a bid to the Framework. Quality questions (Technical Evaluation) will not be used to evaluate bidders, and bidder will not be scored or ranked.
Part 1 Assessment is the Project Specific Questionnaire which shall be used to evaluate a supplier's suitability to be a provider for the services required. General business information will also be collected.
Part 3 Assessment is the Commercial Questionnaire, where bidders will submit their pricing information. Bidders will not be scored or compared in this stage, but pricing information will be provided to service users for their informed selection of a provider to provide direct payments.
Failing Part 1 and/or Part 2 Assessments will result in the bid being evaluated as non-compliant, and the bidder's submission will not be considered for award in the round under evaluation. Bidders will have the chance to submit bids to future rounds, and each round is evaluated separately.
As stated above, bidders will be selected by service on the basis of the costs provided in Part 3 Assessment.
Award method when using the framework
Without competition
Contracting authorities that may use the framework
Establishing party only
Participation
Conditions of participation
Suppliers will be required to evidence previous experience working in a similar service or project, but not necessarily within the Public Sector or with a Local Government Authority. Suppliers without the required experience will be required to evidence they have the skills and expertise to perform the required services.
Suppliers who have been awarded a position on the framework will need to provide the required insurances, but not before award and can pledge to have these in place at award.
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Tender submission deadline
17 May 2026, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
https://procurement.southend.gov.uk/
Please use the E-procurement Supplier Guide attached to this Notice to access the platform and the requirement. Suppliers will be required to express their interest (EOI) to gain access to the Project within the system.
Suppliers will be required to sign-up and register with Procontract. This is a simple process and support is offered by the site's owner if required.
Please make sure that you review the guidance documentation carefully, and ensure your response meet the criteria of the question or assessment you are responding to.
As a Dynamic Market, the Council will use Rounds to evaluate suppliers, each with their own deadline. These timelines will be communicated on the e-souring platform. Bidder's who fail in one round are able to re-submit in another round. Each submission is specific and therefore there can be no cross over in what the Council evaluates.
PLEASE NOTE: The Submission Deadline included is for Round 1. Further Rounds will be used, and the submission deadlines will reflect each round, at the Authority's discretion.
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Award criteria
The award criteria for this Framework has been stated previously in this notice.
Part 1 and Part 3 Assessments are Pass/Fail, and bidders are not compared or ranked. Instead, suppliers awarded a place on the Framework will be selected by Service Users on the basis of their Pricing Information.
Contracts between the awarded suppliers and the service users will not be bound by the timescales of this Framework Agreement. These contracts procured through the Framework Agreement will be able to exist past the Framework Agreement expiry.
Procedure
Procedure type
Below threshold - by reference to dynamic market
Dynamic market being used
Dynamic Market for Direct Payment Payroll and Managed Account Services
Special regime
Light touch
Documents
Associated tender documents
Part A3 - E-Procurement Supplier Guide.pdf
This is a step by step user guide where bidders can sign-up to the Council's E-sourcing provider and access the project and the associated tender and contractual documentation.
Bidders should search for this requirement within the e-sourcing platform by using the name of this procurement: Dynamic Market for Direct Payment Payroll and Managed Account Services.
Bidders should make use of the help functions listed on this document if they have any issues signing up to the E-Sourcing platform ProContract.
Part A1 - ITT Document (Payroll Framework Agreement).docx
This is the ITT Document, or bidder's guide, to the Dynamic Market. Please note that all documents and procedures are subject to change during the tender process, and will be updated on the Project page on the e-sourcing platform.
Contracting authority
Southend-on-Sea City Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PJDT-6566-GZNX
Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend On Sea, Essex
Southend On Sea
ss2 6fa
United Kingdom
Region: UKH31 - Southend-on-Sea
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government