Scope
Reference
NENC026
Description
NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (the Contracting Authority), are undertaking a procurement to commission a Trauma Intervention and Bereavement Counselling Service for children, young people and young adults aged 4 - 25 years and care leavers 25-30 years under NHS Standard Contract 25/26 within the North East and North Cumbria area.
Description of the procurement
NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (the Contracting Authority), are undertaking a procurement to commission Trauma Intervention and Bereavement Counselling Service for children, young people and young adults aged 4 - 25 years and care leavers 25-30 years under NHS Standard Contract 25/26 within the North East and North Cumbria area.
The contract term is for an initial period of 3 years commencing on 01 July 2026, with an option to extend for a further 24 months at the discretion of the Contracting Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.
The closing date for submission of tenders is by 12 noon 09 January 2026.
Additional information
Firstly, the "Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006" as amended by the "Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulation 2014" (TUPE) may apply to this contract. However, Bidders are advised to obtain their own legal advice and carry out due diligence including the New Fair Deal non-statutory policy setting out how pensions issues are to be dealt with when staff are compulsorily transferred from the public sector to independent providers delivering public services.]
The ICB is utilising an electronic tendering tool to manage this procurement and communicate with potential bidders. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to potential bidders and all communications with the ICB, including bid submissions, will be conducted via the Atamis portal at: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome. It is free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should bidders have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the Atamis helpdesk via:
Support-health@Atamis.co.uk or phone number 02922 809277
The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 08.00 am - 06.00 pm
Tender documentation will be available on the e-tendering site from 11 December 2025
Legal, economic, financial, and technical information
Conditions for participation
Objective rules and criteria for participation
Under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, Contracting Authorities must consider:
(a) How what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the area where they exercise their functions; and
(b) How, in conducting the process of procurement, they might act with a view to securing that improvement. Accordingly, the subject matter of the contract has been scoped to take into account the priorities of the Contracting Authority relating to "economic, social, and environmental well-being".
The Central Digital Platform (CDP) is an online resource incorporating Find a Tender Service (FTS) which will make it easier for suppliers to find and bid for contract opportunities. It is the place where all the regulated public procurement notices are published and supplier information is stored and updated for inclusion within bid opportunities. To take part in this bid opportunity you will need to register on FTS. It is the supplier's responsibility to ensure that the data they are sharing is accurate. This will include the need to complete basic information on the supplier information, declare it is correct and generate a share code or download a file of their information. The supplier will need to submit this share code or file in the way that was determined by the buyer in the tender notice or tender documents. If you have previously registered on Find a Tender Service you will need to re-register and enter your organisation information at https://www.gov.uk/find-tender.
Suppliers will always need to complete their bids in the form and manner required by the contracting authority.
A single stage competitive tendering procedure in accordance with both Section 20 and Section 9 (Light Touch Services) of the Procurement Act 2023 will be followed for this above threshold Light Touch Service procurement.
Total value (estimated)
- £1,000,000 excluding VAT
- £1,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2029
- Possible extension to 30 June 2031
- 5 years
Description of possible extension:
Option to extend for a further 24 months at the discretion of the Contracting Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services
Contract locations
- UKC - North East (England)
Participation
Particular suitability
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
- Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
19 December 2025, 12:00pm
Tender submission deadline
9 January 2026, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
The ICB is utilising an electronic tendering tool to manage this procurement and communicate with potential bidders. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to potential bidders and all communications with the ICB, including bid submissions, will be conducted via the Atamis portal at: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome. It is free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should bidders have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the Atamis helpdesk via:
Support-health@Atamis.co.uk or phone number 02922 809277
The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 08.00 am - 06.00 pm
Tender documentation will be available on the e-tendering site from 11 December 2025
The Central Digital Platform (CDP) is an online resource incorporating Find a Tender Service (FTS) which will make it easier for suppliers to find and bid for contract opportunities. It is the place where all the regulated public procurement notices are published and supplier information is stored and updated for inclusion within bid opportunities. To take part in this bid opportunity you will need to register on FTS. It is the supplier's responsibility to ensure that the data they are sharing is accurate. This will include the need to complete basic information on the supplier information, declare it is correct and generate a share code or download a file of their information. The supplier will need to submit this share code or file in the way that was determined by the buyer in the tender notice or tender documents. If you have previously registered on Find a Tender Service you will need to re-register and enter your organisation information at https://www.gov.uk/find-tender.
Suppliers will always need to complete their bids in the form and manner required by the contracting authority.
A single stage competitive tendering procedure in accordance with both Section 20 and Section 9 (Light Touch Services) of the Procurement Act 2023 will be followed for this above threshold Light Touch Service procurement.
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
11 March 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Tender Questions (including 10% Social Value ) | Quality | 90% |
| Finance - VFM | Price | 10% |
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Special regime
Light touch
Justification for not publishing a preliminary market engagement notice
Pre-Market Engagement for this service was conducted under the following notices
F01: Prior information notice (prior information only)
Notice identifier: 2024/S 000-034730
Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04b187
Published 25 October 2024,
UK2: Preliminary market engagement notice - Procurement Act
Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-007325
Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04e832
Published 26 February 2025, 3:55pm
From 01 April 2025 the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board created an in-house procurement team and this project has now taken the new project identifier of NENC026.
Contracting authority
NHS NORTH EAST AND NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE BOARD
- NHS Organisation Data Service: QHM
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PMYZ-6944-BYLH
PEMBERTON HOUSE COLIMA AVENUE SUNDERLAND ENTERPRISE PARK
Sunderland
SR5 3XB
United Kingdom
Email: nencicb.procurement@nhs.net
Region: UKC23 - Sunderland
Organisation type: Public authority - central government