UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

As part of its ongoing support to the sector, the Local Government Association (LGA) wishes to receive bids from individuals, organisations, or sole traders to design, facilitate, and deliver a programme of support for the local authorities and combined authority of Cumbria. This programme will include a number (approximately 8-12) sessions of workshops and discussions across the political and managerial leadership of the local authorities of Cumberland Council, Westmorland and Furness Council, and the emerging Mayoral Strategic Authority. We are seeking bids from suppliers who have the expertise to design and run sessions both in person.

PCH provided Ealing with support to look at working age adults at home (July 25 – Feb 26). This programme aims to help the council understand local drivers for activity and spend relating to long term care for working age adults and equipped it with the necessary insight to embark on review and change. The outputs and outcomes of this work would be available to the contractor. Ealing are now ready to begin the process of reviewing their in-house provision to create a business case for further investment in reablement and enablement provision for adults under 65 years. We are seeking a contractor(s) that will: Work with Ealing’s in house reablement offer to develop a practical plan for strengthening skills and broadening the scope of provision. Objective To propose an evidence-based set of recommendations that will assist Ealing to ensure its reablement offer better meets the needs of working age adults and helps prevent people drifting into long term adult social care. Key elements include: • Exploring how a stronger reablement and recovery focus could reduce reliance on long term care particularly for people following a period of poor mental health or a hospital admission. • Identifying current skills and knowledge gaps of staff, what skills will be needed in any future model and a workforce plan as to how these could be addressed. • Recommending adaptations to existing services and support mechanisms so they are more responsive to working age adults • Further work on functional occupational therapy assessments for people with learning disabilities, autistic people, and people with mental health needs, including support to sustain employment. To note, the council will also be supported to undertake a review of current supported Living/extra care provision. Findings from this work will be shared at touch points with the contractor (as a related aspect of support) and used to strengthen the findings and recommendations from this work.

PCH are seeking a contractor to work with Ealing Council to improve flow through the present in house supported living provision and make the case for future investment. This would involve: • Identifying opportunities to improve flow, particularly for people receiving short term support for mental health needs. • Review the use and effectiveness of unplanned respite care • Developing a business case for investment in infrastructure and housing stock, including options for updating or redeveloping existing sites. To Note; a related piece of support is also being sought to work with their existing in house reablement offer to develop a practical plan for strengthening skills and broadening the scope of provision. The contractors for both pieces are expected to establish and maintain touch points and collaborate to enable a ‘joined up’ outcome for Ealing. Alternatively, we welcome suitably qualified and experienced contractors to bid for both pieces of work.

The National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire & Rescue Services (NJC) has been discussing reform of the Grey Book pay structure for operational firefighters in the UK for several years. We are now at a point where the aims and objectives of the main stakeholders – the government, the employees (represented by the Fire Brigades Union) and the employers (represented by the National Employers) – are aligned in such a way that we now have an opportunity to make significant progress towards a new pay and grading structure that enables the expansion of the role of a Firefighter to support national resilience and allow the sector to respond to new and emerging risks. The current pay structure within the Grey Book over 20 years old, it is a flat structure, with no spinal points or incremental progression and there is no job evaluation process or structure in place to enable the evaluation of knowledge, skills or competency in role. Initial work has begun on what a new pay structure might look like and we are now seeking assistance from an external party to provide assurance to our work programme and project plan, to help create a robust job evaluation system specifically fit for purpose in the operational fire and rescue space, and to draw on good practice from other sectors. Before undertaking the technical design of the job evaluation system, the supplier will work collaboratively with the NJC Joint Secretaries and the LGA’s Workforce Team to shape the project through a structured scoping and advisory phase. This will ensure alignment with national priorities and the principles already agreed by both parties (the employers’ side and the employees’ side of the NJC).

The National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire & Rescue Services (NJC) has been discussing reform of the Grey Book pay structure for operational firefighters in the UK for several years. We are now at a point where the aims and objectives of the main stakeholders – the government, the employees (represented by the Fire Brigades Union) and the employers (represented by the National Employers) – are aligned in such a way that we now have an opportunity to make significant progress towards a new pay and grading structure that enables the expansion of the role of a Firefighter to support national resilience and allow the sector to respond to new and emerging risks. The current pay structure within the Grey Book over 20 years old, it is a flat structure, with no spinal points or incremental progression and there is no job evaluation process or structure in place to enable the evaluation of knowledge, skills or competency in role. Initial work has begun on what a new pay structure might look like and we are now seeking assistance from an external party to provide assurance to our work programme and project plan, to help create a robust job evaluation system specifically fit for purpose in the operational fire and rescue space, and to draw on good practice from other sectors. Before undertaking the technical design of the job evaluation system, the supplier will work collaboratively with the NJC Joint Secretaries and the LGA’s Workforce Team to shape the project through a structured scoping and advisory phase. This will ensure alignment with national priorities and the principles already agreed by both parties (the employers’ side and the employees’ side of the NJC).

This project is funded in whole or in part by grant funding provided by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government (IDeA). The award of this contract and any payments under it are conditional upon IDeA finalising and maintaining in force a Grant Funding Agreement with DHSC covering the relevant Funding Period. In the event that: • the Grant Funding Agreement is not executed, • funding is reduced, withheld, suspended, or terminated, or • IDeA is required by DHSC to vary or terminate delivery of the relevant Funded Activities. IDeA reserves the right to vary, suspend or terminate this contract on written notice without liability beyond payment for services properly delivered up to the date of termination. By submitting the bid, the Supplier acknowledges that this project forms part of the Funded Activities delivered under a Grant Funding Agreement between IDeA and DHSC. The Supplier must familiarise themselves with the special conditions attached to the Purchase Order Terms and Conditions for the delivery of the work. In order to deal with the significant delays in accessing assessments and reviews, identified by CQC, the council have requested support from PCH to ensure their present practices and processes are robust. The IDeA as Partners in Care and Health (PCH) are working with the Social Care institute for Excellence and other well-respected organisations to support the delivery of sector led improvement for adult social care. PCH helps councils to improve the way they deliver adult social care and public health services and helps Government understand the challenges faced by the sector. The programme is a trusted network for developing and sharing best practice, developing tools and techniques, providing support, and building connections. It is offered to councils without charge. In order to deal with the significant delays in accessing assessments and reviews, identified by CQC, the council have requested support from PCH to ensure their present practices and processes are robust. Brighton and Hove have recently introduced new assessment tools and are trying to build a culture of proportionality in practice. The contractor is asked to consider whether the implementation is robust and enables consistency and flags unnecessary full re assessment. In order to do this, as an evidence base for this work, the contractor will undertake a case and practice audit • Identify inconsistencies in proportionate approaches • Highlight training needs and workflow blockages • Consider any ‘cultural’ challenges of practice approaches In addition, the contractor will review and select appropriate risk ranking tools (e.g. traffic-light systems) and identify best practice caseload management approaches used by high performing councils. From all of the above, the contractor will draw together a report with recommendations for improving flow, consistency and waiting times.

The IDeA as Partners in Care and Health (PCH) are working with the Social Care institute for Excellence and other well-respected organisations to support the delivery of sector led improvement for adult social care. PCH helps councils to improve the way they deliver adult social care and public health services and helps Government understand the challenges faced by the sector. The programme is a trusted network for developing and sharing best practice, developing tools and techniques, providing support, and building connections. It is offered to councils without charge. Reading’s CQC assessment was published 10th October 2025. CQC feedback highlighted • delays in assessments and reviews, • inconsistent carers’ assessments • long delays in direct payments This project aims to address root causes, supporting sustainable service delivery and improvement outcomes for local people and carers. In order to address the areas highlighted by the CQC the Council wishes to manage demand, reduce waiting times and implement sustainable system change in Adult Social Care. The aim is to establish a robust, evidence led prevention framework for Adult Social Care, with a focus on improved outcomes for residents, demand reduction, delayed escalation into statutory services and reduced pressure on ASC front door including the Advice and Wellbeing Hub and Hospital pathways.

The commission aims to produce an applied, practice‑led exploration of leadership that: Identifies what good place‑based leadership can look like in practice, not just in principle, when addressing physical activity inequalities. Surfaces insights, behaviours and patterns from across different Place contexts, including: Original/Existing (Deepening) Place Partnerships New (Expansion) Place Partnerships Place Universal Offer (PUO) areas Illustrates how distributed and collective leadership enables people in all roles - policy makers, practitioners, volunteers and communities - to meaningfully influence decisions that shape active lives. Supports leaders to reflect on and strengthen relational, collaborative and place‑specific leadership practices. Uses national evidence, local learning and lived experience to inform outputs. Generates practical insights, prompts and tools that leaders can adapt and apply in their own system contexts. Identifies how existing Sport England place‑based leadership support can be extended or enhanced to help Places embed this way of working more deeply over time. Applicants must demonstrate: Strong experience in the sport and physical activity system Understanding of place‑based working, systems change and Sport England’s Place Partnership approach Awareness of Sport England wider leadership support offer (i.e. Leading the Movement programme) and the relevant E&L resources that position leadership as a key condition for change when tackling addressing inequalities in physical activity Expertise in leadership development, systems leadership or organisational development. Experience working at strategic leadership and/or community leadership levels. Ability to synthesise complex insights into high-quality written outputs. An appropriate level of independence and objectivity. Application Process Applicants must submit: CV Cover letter (max 4-5 pages) outlining: Relevant experience Understanding of the commission Proposed approach and methodology, including how your approach and policy support diversity, equity and inclusion Suggested optional outputs Proposed timeline Examples of previous relevant work Bid submission deadline: 9am, Friday 26th June 2026

PCH is looking for an individual (or partnership) with operational experience of Approved Mental Health Professional assessment to provide subject expertise on the technical and legislative elements of developing this national dataset. They will need to demonstrate credibility and knowledge in this area and use their expertise to support PCH and the steering group to shape the work. Core requirements for this contract include: • A comprehensive understanding of Mental Health Act assessment, the full range of AMHP work, its functions and legal responsibilities. • An understanding of how councils currently monitor and manage access to AMHP work based on operational experience and the key challenges for councils in this area. • An understanding of key metrics that may be useful at a national level and the data items that would support these metrics. • An understanding of how the Adult Social Care Client Level Dataset is structured and how a similar approach could be built into the draft national AMHP dataset • A collaborative approach, being able to work with both the PCH team and wider stakeholders with integrity, openness and attention to detail. • Ability to work effectively through virtual channels and information systems to collate, communicate and share information as required. • Skills in synthesising information, opinions, and facts to be able to present clear recommendations on which metrics would be most useful at a national level, compared with a local level. • A comprehensive understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion principles when considering this area of work within adult social care. Familiarity with the NHS England patient and carer race equality framework (PCREF) and how AMHP dataset development can complement the PCREF dataset development. The Working with People (WwP) team in Partners in Care and Health (PCH) will provide support and staff time to the project. The expert adviser will support PCH to build on previous AMHP dataset work, to further develop the draft national metrics, data items, definitions and lookup tables. A steering group will also be in place to provide oversight and steer the development and delivery of the project. The steering group will be the Data subgroup of the AMHP Partnership Group, which has been set up by the Office of the Chief Social Worker. Key objectives 1. To build on work done in previous years to further develop the draft national AMHP dataset, with look-up tables, definitions and guidance. 2. To support the DHSC-led AMHP Partnership group to ensure that the draft national AMHP dataset meets the national requirements of the department and informs local council data recording and submission. 3. To test out with councils how much of the proposed data can be collected already, and how much would require more development at a local level.