UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

Birmingham City Council (the Council) is seeking to appoint an organisation for the provision of Compassionate Birmingham workstream, which is a core delivery of the Birmingham Ageing Well Strategy and the continued delivery of our Compassionate Birmingham commitment. Compassionate Birmingham is the umbrella term given to a series of organisations that work to deliver better services and support for people who are dying, bereaved, grieving, or caring. It follows the ideas laid down by Professor Allan Kellehear in the Compassionate Cities Charter: Compassionate Cities Charter. Examples of work carried out previously has revolved around arts and health approaches to health, supporting people dying alone in hospital, offering training to community organisations, and funding death cafés. Pre-pandemic, NICE guidance suggested that around 30% of people that experience a close bereavement needed organised support opportunities. Additionally, a further 10% struggled with complex or prolonged grief, needing specialist mental health interventions. However, figures suggested at this time, 20-30% of bereaved adults were unable to access the support they needed. Left unsupported, bereavement is associated with increased risk to health and wellbeing, including mortality, physical health problems, physical disability, medication usage, hospitalisation, and in some cases more visits to a GP. The pre-pandemic costs of this were estimated to be £8bn annually plus an additional £23bn in lost revenue The contract for the services will commence on 1st November 2026 and will be in place for a period of 3 years.

Birmingham City Council (the "Council") wishes to establish a Flexible Contracting Agreement (FCA) for Birmingham Virtual School (BVS) Enrichment Services in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023, applying the provisions for Light Touch Contracts as defined in Section 9 of the Act and Schedule 1 of the Procurement Regulations 2024. These provisions apply to certain social, health, and education services that are subject to more flexible procurement rules due to their direct impact on individuals and communities. The requirement will be conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023, using a Competitive Flexible Procedure designed by the Council. The Enrichment FCA will provide a comprehensive range of services designed to enrich the educational experiences and outcomes of looked-after children in Birmingham, as well as children and young people placed by Birmingham City Council in other local authority areas. The programme aims to promote educational achievement, inclusion, participation, and progression, ensuring that individual needs and aspirations are effectively supported. The Enrichment FCA is structured into three lots designed to support young people in care through targeted provision. Lot 1: Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) - Supports young people aged 12–19 with disrupted education, transition challenges, or at risk of NEET. Includes personalised careers advice, programmes, and events. To be awarded to one provider. Lot 2: Short Courses and Qualifications - Supports Year 11–13 learners, especially newly arrived or NEET. Offers pre-entry to Level 2 courses. Further divided into two; Lot 2a: English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) – Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 Lot 2b: Accredited courses & Qualifications – Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 To be awarded to up to four providers. 2 providers for each of the Key Stage ins 2a and 2b. Lot 3: Community Enrichment Activities - Covers Creative Arts, Music, Sport, Outdoor Learning, and STEM activities. Tenderers can bid for one or more Lots and all tenderers who meet the minimum quality criteria will be appointed to the FCA. Potential Suppliers must complete all relevant tender documents including the main response document and the response document(s) for the Lot they are bidding for. The Authority will operate a structured call-off procedure under the FCA. The default method will be direct award, with provision to conduct a further competition (mini-competition) where the requirement cannot be satisfied through direct award. The FCA is expected to be established in February 2027, with call-offs and any mini competitions anticipated to commence from March 2027. The agreement will run for an initial period of three (3) years, with the option to extend for a further one (1) year, subject to satisfactory performance and the availability of funding.

The Statutory Assessments Service is a statutory requirement that supports Birmingham City Council in discharging its legal responsibilities for the assessment and moderation of pupil attainment across Birmingham schools. The service provides quality assurance, compliance monitoring and moderation of national assessment processes, ensuring adherence to Department for Education requirements and maintaining the integrity, consistency and accuracy of assessment outcomes across the city. A core element of the service involves the monitoring of Key Stage 2 SATs. This includes undertaking visits to selected schools during SATs week to ensure that assessments are administered in accordance with the statutory Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (ARA). The service is responsible for identifying and reporting any concerns, irregularities or instances of non-compliance to the Standards and Testing Agency (STA). The service also delivers Key Stage 1 Phonics monitoring, carrying out compliance checks to ensure that schools are administering phonics assessments in line with national guidance and statutory requirements. Additionally, the service coordinates and delivers Key Stage 2 Writing Moderation across Birmingham schools. This includes organising moderation visits, validating teacher assessment judgements against national standards, reviewing evidence where there are concerns regarding the accuracy of assessments, and confirming final outcomes. The service is responsible for recording and submitting moderation decisions through the appropriate national systems, ensuring that teacher assessments are robust, consistent and reliable. The service plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity and consistency of statutory assessments across Birmingham and ensures that the Council meets its legal obligations as a Local Authority in relation to assessment, moderation and quality assurance.

Birmingham City Council is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement to understand the range of software solutions available in the market to support its Trade Waste service operations. The Trade Waste service manages commercial waste collections for businesses across the city. The existing platform supports operational processes including customer account management, round and route management, contract management, operational worksheets, driver tablet integration, reporting, and integration with Oracle (Brindley) for invoicing. This Preliminary Market Engagement is being conducted to gather information from suppliers regarding available solutions, capabilities, indicative delivery approaches, and commercial models that could support the future delivery of Trade Waste services. If you are interested in participating in this PME, please register online against the project via the Council’s In-tend e-tendering portal https://in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc. Registration and access to the In-tend electronic tendering tool is free and all correspondence for this PME must be made via this on-line process. Once registered on the portal interested parties must complete Section 7 Supplier Preliminary Market Test Questionnaire and submit via the e-portal by 12 midday on the 5th August 2026.

Birmingham City Council is seeking to explore the market for an Adults’ Social Care Case Management System to understand the technology available including the functionality, indicative costs, commercial offerings, implementation timelines, scope, etc. Findings from this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) will help the Council decide on the best way to progress any future procurement exercise. The Council will be using its e-tendering system (in-tend) for the administration of this Preliminary Market Engagement and providers must register with the system to be able to access the Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire and the Appendix document. The web address is: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc Registration and use of In-Tend is free. All correspondence for this procurement process must be via the In-tend correspondence function. If you are unable to register with In-tend please email [email protected] Suppliers who can provide an Adults’ Social Care Case Management System are invited to participate by completing the questionnaire document available at the link above. There is also an appendix document detailing the types of scenarios the Council would like suppliers to cover. The closing date is 12 noon on the 16th July 2026.