Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Worcestershire County Council
County Hall, Spetchley Road
Worcester
WR52NP
UK
Contact person: Kerstin Byfield
E-mail: procurement@worcestershire.gov.uk
NUTS: UKG12
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.worcestershire.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
Speech & Language Direct Award
Reference number: HEA26025
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85100000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
The programme of work focuses on strengthening speech, language and communication support across Worcestershire through a refreshed whole-system approach. It will update and relaunch the county's SLCN balanced system pathway, ensuring parents, carers and wider children's workforce have clear, accessible information, written resources and free online webinars to support children's speech, language and communication development and to know when and where to seek support. This will be underpinned by enhanced Public Health communications to maximise reach and consistency across the sector. This is funded through the Best Start Family Hubs funding.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
270 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKG12
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The aims of the provision are
* To update and refresh Worcestershire's SLCN Balanced System Pathway in order to ensure parents, carers and the wider children's workforce have access to information, written materials and online webinars to develop children's speech, language and communication skills and know where to go if they are concerned about a child's speech, language and communication development.
* To support and expand the work of the 'lite' ELSEC Project (Early Language Support for Every Child) which is providing enhanced support to identified schools and settings to enable them to support children's speech, language and communication skills. This expansion will include:
1. Supporting the delivery of parent workshops in ELSEC schools for strategies or approaches embedded into practice in the school, for example listening skills or concept teaching
2. A package of support to identified feeder nurseries to support or enhance their universal and targeted offer, including the use of identification and intervention tools such as Little Link; including provision of any necessary equipment and resources
The award has been made following direct award process A in accordance with the Provider Selection Regime 2023 regulations.
The contract is for 12 months from 01 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. There is an option to extend for up to 2 years on a one plus one basis, subject to performance and funding priorities.
The contract value for 2026-27 is £90,000. The whole life value over the three years is £270,000.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: No realistic alternative provider
/ Weighting: 100
Price
/ Weighting:
n/a
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) confirmation of contract award notice. This contract has been awarded under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
01/04/2026
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
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health & Care NHS Trust
R1A
Worcester
UK
NUTS: UKG12
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 270 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) confirmation of contract award notice. This contract has been awarded under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.
The direct award of the contract was approved by the Council's Commercial Governance Board. No conflicts of interest were declared for this procurement.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
The High Court of England, Wales and Northern Ireland
London
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
15/07/2026