Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
NHS Devon ICB
Aperture House, Pynes Hill, Rydon Lane,
Exeter
EX2 5AZ
UK
Contact person: Hannah Morley
E-mail: Scwcsu.procurement@nhs.net
NUTS: UKK4
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://onedevon.org.uk/
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Health
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Community Dental Services in Plymouth
Reference number: WA17622
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85130000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (Devon ICB) are looking to award a new contract for the provision of Community Dental Services in Plymouth to the existing provider.
The existing contract for the provision of Community Dental Services in Plymouth is due to expire on the 31st March 2026 and Devon ICB have proposed that a new contract should replace the existing contract at the end of its term. All requirements outlined in Regulation 6(5) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 have been met, including not breaching the considerable change threshold, and therefore direct award process C has been deemed the appropriate provider selection process.
After conducting an assessment, taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria, Devon ICB is content that the existing provider is satisfying the original contract and will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard.
The service is anticipated to commence on the 1st April 2026 for a contract duration of 2 years until the 31st March 2028. The estimated lifetime value of the contract is £7,594,212.12 based on 24/25 prices.
This notice serves as an intention to award the contract to the existing provider under Direct Award Process C of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR).
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
7 594 212.12
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
85130000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKK41
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (Devon ICB) are looking to award a new contract for the provision of Community Dental Services in Plymouth to the existing provider, Plymouth Community Dental Services Ltd.
The Plymouth Community Dental Service (CDS) is concerned with improving oral health care and reducing health care inequalities through the provision of primary care dental services within community settings.
The service includes the provision of Special Care and Paediatric Dentistry (SCPD) which is the treatment of:
• Adult patients who cannot be treated in a high street dental practice due to the nature of their physical or mental disabilities, or because they have a need for enhanced support to receive treatment and
• Paediatric patients who may have needs as described above, or who have more complex or significant treatment needs.
Patients who meet the eligibility criteria for SCPD are eligible to receive Mandatory Dental Services (MDS) from the Community Dental Service provider. This includes urgent treatment, and referral to other dental services where this is appropriate.
The service also includes the provision of:
• Urgent Care - both 'In-hours' and 'Out of Hours'
• Application of Fluoride Varnish
• Routine Paediatric Services
• Special Care Dental Phobics / Treatment under Sedation
• Minor Oral Surgery
• Special Care Prostodontics
• Treatment under General Anaesthesia (GA)
• Epidemiology
The service is for patients who:
• require urgent dental care and do not have access to a NHS dentist
• are judged to meet referral criteria and are therefore referred to the service as they require advanced mandatory services, general anaesthetic, sedation services, oral surgery or other relevant services
• have special care dental needs or are medically complex and require dental care
The service is available to all residents and temporary residents in the Plymouth City area and the immediate parts of Devon and Cornwall which are Plymouth facing and for which, taking account of service need, referral appropriateness and eligibility, travel and/or recovery time it is considered in the best interest of the patient for them to receive treatment from the Plymouth Service.
The existing contract for the provision of Community Dental Services in Plymouth is due to expire on the 31st March 2026 and Devon ICB have proposed that a new contract should replace the existing contract at the end of its term. All requirements outlined in Regulation 6(5) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 have been met, including not breaching the considerable change threshold, and therefore direct award process C has been deemed the appropriate provider selection process.
After conducting an assessment, taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria, Devon ICB is content that the existing provider is satisfying the original contract and will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard.
The service is anticipated to commence on the 1st April 2026 for a contract duration of 2 years until the 31st March 2028. The estimated lifetime value of the contract is £7,594,212.12 based on 24/25 prices.
The contract value will be subject to the Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body (DDRB) annual percentage uplift from 2025/26 onwards, when applied.
The Commissioner will be contracting for the services using the Standard clauses for a Personal Dental Services agreement, with an NHS Standard Contract included as an appendix for the provision of treatment under General Anaesthesia.
This notice serves as an intention to award the contract to the existing provider under Direct Award Process C of the PSR.
During the life of the proposed new contract, Devon ICB intend to conduct a review of the CDS and where appropriate, redesign and commission services for the future, under new longer term contractual arrangements.
This procurement has been carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.
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: 80
Cost criterion: The existing provider is satisfying the original contract and will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard
/ Weighting: 20
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
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 publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by 23:59 on Wednesday 31st December 2025. 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:
No
Section V: Award of contract
Title: Community Dental Services in Plymouth
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
26/11/2025
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
Plymouth Community Dental Services Ltd
08433393
Local Care Centre, 200 Mount Gould Road
Plymouth
PL4 7PY
UK
NUTS: UKK41
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 7 594 212.12
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
The decision to award this contract in line with Direct Award Process C was based on assessment against the basic selection criteria, which were assessed on a "Pass" / "Fail" basis, and the 5 key criteria, which were assessed on an "Assured" / "Not Assured" basis. Multiple assessment areas were included under each of the key criteria and the provider's performance against the current contract, as well as their likely performance against the new contract was assessed.
Due to the nature of the assessment and the assessment methodology applied, each key criteria was deemed of equal importance and individual weightings were not applied.
Evidence was gathered against the basic selection criteria and each of the key criteria using information available through the existing contract/contract management, published sources and information requests sent to the provider.
An assessment panel was then convened to review the evidence gathered for each element of the assessment and agree an assessment score for each criteria, using the relevant assessment matrix.
The provider scored a "pass" on all elements of the BSC and 'assured' on all elements of the key criteria assessment, therefore meeting requirements of the assessment.
Award decisions have been recommended by the Direct Award Process C Assessment Panel, of which NHS Devon ICB's Deputy Director of Primary Care and Pharmacy, Optometry and Dentistry (POD) Commissioning Manager were members.
Award decisions have been made by the ICB Senior Leadership Team and Procurement Oversight Group.
Two declarations of conflict of interest, one potential/perceived and the other perceived only, were made via the conflict of interest process for this procurement and recorded accordingly. The non-conflicted members of the procurement have assessed the nature and risk of each declared conflict and decided which steps to take to avoid or mitigate them. Both declarations were deemed as not being actual conflicts of interest but were still managed with appropriate mitigations into place to facilitate the individuals' involvement in the process while removing the potential for any undue influence. The declarant with the potential/perceived interest provided subject matter expertise during the pre-procurement phase of the procurement and was not involved in the Direct Award Process C assessment process. They were not a standing member of the project Steering Group but were instead co-opted to attend meetings and given access to project documentation strictly relevant to their area of expertise.
Appropriate mitigations were put into place to enable the declarant with the perceived interest to be involved in the process while removing the potential for any undue influence. This included appropriate governance mechanisms to ensure decision making was not made by a singular individual and also subject to formal review and sign-off mechanisms.
A third interest was declared however this was not deemed to give rise to an actual, potential or perceived interest for this procurement and was only recorded on the conflict of interest register for completeness purposes.
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 publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by 23:59 on Wednesday 31st December 2025. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.
Written representations for this award should be sent to scwcsu.procurement@nhs.net
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
VI.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
16/12/2025