Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Suffolk County Council
Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road
Ipswich
IP12BX
UK
E-mail: Procurementbusinesssupport@suffolk.gov.uk
NUTS: UKH14
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.suffolk.gov.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Therapeutic support and mental health services for children in care
Reference number: PSR004
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85100000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Therapeutic support and mental health services for children in care within Suffolk County Council surrounding areas.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
2 804 546.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
85121270
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKH14
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Suffolk County Council are intending to award a contract to an existing provider following direct award process C under the Provider Selection Regime. These services are provided by the NHS and consist of providing healthcare to individuals.
This contract includes the following services undertaken by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT):
• Connect - this is a team of various clinical roles, that sits within the NSFT CAMHS (Child adolescent mental health services) in Suffolk (Excluding Waveney) they provided specialist mental health and therapeutic intervention to children in care with moderate to severe presentation up to the age of 18.
• CFYP (Children Family and young people) LAAC (looked after and adopted children) Waveney - as above with Connect this team offers specialist mental health and therapeutic intervention to children in care up to the age of 18 with mild to moderate presentation and covers the Waveney part of Suffolk.
• Suffolk Therapeutic Fostering (STF) - SCC commission 2 clinical psychologists that work within SCC CYPS STF team. The STF team offer support and training for Suffolks in house foster carers and children in their care.
• Psychology support in Residential homes- SCC commission a clinical psychologist who works within our in-house residential children's homes, their role is to support staff by providing advice, support, and training, to promote trauma informed care.
The contract is expected to run from 1st April 2026 to 31 March 2028, with an optional 12-month extension to 31 March 2029.
The total estimated lifetime value of the contract (including the optional extension) is £2,804,546 ex VAT.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: The existing provider is satisfying the original contract and will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard
/ Weighting: 100
Cost criterion: As above
/ Weighting: 0
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
The contract can be extended by up to 12 months.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive
Explanation
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by 1st September 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract
Contract No: PA004
Title: Therapeutic support and mental health services for children in care
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
23/06/2026
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
RMY
Norwich
UK
NUTS: UKH15
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 2 804 546.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by 1st September 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.
Any written representations to the Council must be submitted to procurementbusinesssupport@suffolk.gov.uk by the end of the Standstill Period.
The award has been approved by the Executive Director of Children and Young People's Services, Suffolk County Council following a robust evaluation process undertaken by the CYP commissioning team and a Senior Procurement Business Partner.
In line with Suffolk County Council's Code of Conduct, employees must declare in writing any personal or financial interests, which could reasonably be considered to conflict with the Council's interests. In addition, we also have a Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Declaration Form, which is specific to individual procurements. The CYP commissioning lead and the Senior Procurement Business Partner were asked to complete and return these. No conflicts or potential conflicts of interest were identified.
The key award criteria were weighted as follows:
- Quality and Innovation 25%
- Value 20%
- Integration, collaboration and service sustainability 20%
- Improving access, reducing health inequalities and facilitating choice 20%
- Social Value 15%.
We are of the view that the existing provider is satisfying the existing contract to a sufficient standard. We have confirmed this by assessing the performance of the provider against key performance indicators and by taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria. We are also of the view that the existing provider will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Suffolk County Council
Ipswich
UK
E-mail: procurementbusinesssupport@suffolk.gov.uk
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
19/08/2026