Contract notice
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Social Security Scotland
3rd Floor, Agnes Husband House, 17 South Union Street
Dundee
DD1 4BF
UK
E-mail: James.mcguigan@socialsecurity.gov.scot
NUTS: UKM
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA30345
I.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at:
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/esop/pts-host/public/pts/web/login.html
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/esop/pts-host/public/pts/web/login.html
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions
I.5) Main activity
Social protection
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Social Program Management (SPM) Framework Agreement - Contract Notice
Reference number: S/25/053
II.1.2) Main CPV code
72000000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Social Security Scotland is looking to establish a new Framework Agreement for development services for our Curam Social Program Management (SPM) business and technology platform.
It is proposed that there will be two lots
- Lot 1: SPM Projects will focus on small/medium/large scale projects where the supplier is responsible for projects relating to the end-to-end delivery of the service.
- Lot 2: SPM Resources will focus on the individual or team resources deployed to either backfill staff or fulfil a role. Overall, Social Security Scotland has responsibility for the delivery of the service but may require support to meet its objectives.
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
80 000 000.00
GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
Yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
II.2) Description
Lot No: 1
II.2.1) Title
SPM Projects
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
72000000
48810000
48000000
72222300
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
This will be an open procedure to procure Social Program Management (SPM) Framework suppliers to cover the requirement for SPM Projects.
Stages in the procurement are:
1. Prior Information Notice issued.
2. Contract Notice/ Call for Competition
3. Invitation to Tender
4. Framework Award
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: Quality
/ Weighting: 60
Price
/ Weighting:
40
II.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT:
80 000 000.00
GBP
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months: 48
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Framework will be considered for re-procurement after the proposed 4 year term.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
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
II.2.14) Additional information
The estimated value in this notice for the framework, across both lots is 80000000 GBP (ex VAT) which is based on 4 years. As there are pricing elements that are based on volume, the framework does enable the Purchaser potentially to spend beyond this value during the framework (note: the estimated value is not guaranteed)
Lot No: 2
II.2.1) Title
SPM Resources
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79620000
48810000
72000000
48000000
72222300
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
This will be an open procedure to procure Social Program Management (SPM) Framework suppliers to cover the requirement for SPM Resources.
Stages in the procurement are:
1. Prior Information Notice issued.
2. Contract Notice/ Call for Competition
3. Invitation to Tender
4. Framework Award
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: Quality
/ Weighting: 60
Price
/ Weighting:
40
II.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT:
80 000 000.00
GBP
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months: 48
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Framework will be considered for re-procurement after the proposed 4 year term.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
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
II.2.14) Additional information
The estimated value in this notice for the framework, across both lots is 80000000 GBP (ex VAT) which is based on 4 years. As there are pricing elements that are based on volume, the framework does enable the Purchaser potentially to spend beyond this value during the framework (note: the estimated value is not guaranteed)
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions for participation
III.1.2) Economic and financial standing
List and brief description of selection criteria:
SPD Part 4B Economic and Financial Standing
Insurances
Other Economic or Financial
Minimum level(s) of standards required:
The bidder must have a Dun and Bradstreet failure score of no less than 40.
The bidder confirms they already have or can commit to obtain, prior to the commencement of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below:
Employer’s Liability Insurance - The Contractor shall maintain employer’s liability insurance with a minimum indemnity limit of 5000000 GBP or the minimum required by law in force at the time (for a single event or a series of related events and in the aggregate in a single calendar year) for the duration of the Framework Agreement and any Call Off Contract.
Public Liability Insurance - The Contractor shall maintain public liability insurance with a minimum indemnity limit of 10000000 GBP (for a single event or a series of related events and in the aggregate in a single calendar year) for the duration of the Framework Agreement.
Professional Indemnity Insurance - The Contractor shall maintain professional indemnity insurance with a minimum indemnity limit of 2000000 GBP (for a single event or a series of related events and in the aggregate in a single calendar year) for the duration of the Framework Agreement.
The insurance shall cover liability arising from software development, systems integration, advisory services, and delivery of services using agile, iterative, DevOps or continuous deployment methodologies.
Cyber Security and Data Protection Insurance - The Contractor shall maintain cyber security and data protection insurance with a minimum indemnity limit of 2000000 GBP (for a single event or a series of related events and in the aggregate in a single calendar year) for the duration of the Framework Agreement.
This requirement may be satisfied by:
(a) a standalone cyber liability insurance policy; or
(b) professional indemnity insurance which expressly includes equivalent cyber security and data protection cover, provided that the insurance covers, as a minimum:
- unauthorised access to systems;
- loss, compromise or corruption of data (including Personal Data );
- cyber security incidents impacting availability of the Services;
- incident response, remediation, and regulatory investigation costs; and
- third party claims arising from such incidents.
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
List and brief description of selection criteria:
SPD Part 4C
Bidders will be required to confirm whether they intend to subcontract and, if so, for what proportion of the contract.
Bidders will be required to provide examples that demonstrate that they have the relevant experience to deliver the services/supplies as described in the minimum levels of standards required below.
SPD Part 4D
Quality Assurance Schemes
Environmental Management Standards
Minimum level(s) of standards required:
SPD Part 4C
Suppliers must demonstrate, proven organisational experience in the design, configuration, integration, and implementation of the Merative Cúram platform.
This must include:
Suppliers must provide two different examples of two (2) Cúram/ SPM services for each Lot. Each example must be relevant to the Lot. Each example should be no more than 500 words. Examples should be recent, within the last 3 years.
Experience gained as either a prime contractor or a formally appointed subcontractor, with clear accountability for delivery outcomes.
Evidence of involvement across the delivery lifecycle, including solution design, configuration, customisation, integration, testing, and deployment.
Demonstration of successful project outcomes, including meeting time, cost, and quality objectives, supported by measurable results
Submissions must clearly show that capability is not solely dependent on individual personnel, but is sustained through organisational knowledge, tooling, and established delivery approaches
SPD Part 4D
Quality Assurance Schemes - The bidder must hold a UKAS (or equivalent) accredited independent third party certificate of compliance in accordance with BS EN ISO 9001 (or equivalent),
OR
2. The bidder must have the following:
A documented policy regarding quality management. The policy must set out responsibilities for quality management demonstrating that the bidder has, and continues to implement, a quality management policy that is authorised by their Chief Executive, or equivalent, which is periodically reviewed at a senior management level. The policy must be relevant to the nature and scale of the work to be undertaken and set out responsibilities for quality management throughout the organisation.
Environmental Management Standards - The Bidder must hold a UKAS (or equivalent) accredited independent third party certificate of compliance with BS EN ISO 14001 (or equivalent) or a valid EMAS (or equivalent) certificate,
OR
The bidder must have the following:
A regularly reviewed documented policy regarding environmental management, authorised by the Chief Executive, or equivalent. This policy must include and describe the bidder’s environmental emergency response procedures, including the preparedness and response procedures for potential accidents and emergency response situations that give rise to significant environmental impacts (for example hazardous substances spill control
III.2) Conditions related to the contract
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement with several operators.
Envisaged maximum number of participants to the framework agreement: 10
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2026/S 000-035705
IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
10/07/2026
Local time: 12:00
IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
EN
IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Duration in months: 12 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
IV.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date:
10/07/2026
Local time: 12:00
Place:
Social Security Scotland
Information about authorised persons and opening procedure:
Authorised procurement team members will open tenders.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement:
Yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published:
In four years time.
VI.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
VI.3) Additional information
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this Procurement exercise. The Invite to Tender code is itt_64204. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
NOTE: To obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=829260.
This is a Contract Notice for an open procedure to establish the Framework Agreement.
It is proposed that the framework will have two lots. Each lot will have a ranked and mini competition call-off option Suppliers will be ranked based on their score in the original tender evaluation. Where the ranked award option is chosen, the ranking will determine the order in which suppliers are awarded call-off contracts, up to a maximum of 1,500,000 GBP.
For call-offs above 1,500,000 GBP or where chosen, requirements will be competed via a mini competition.
For any mini competition call-off contract opportunities, all suppliers within the relevant lot will be invited to bid.
Any mini competition call-off contracts can end beyond the framework end date.
Participants should be aware there is not a requirement to bid for all lots.
The SPM Framework will be available for use by the Scottish Ministers acting through Social Security Scotland.
It is intended that this procurement will include Community Benefit requirements. Further details are provided in the tender documentation.
An indicative timetable is included in the tender documents.
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015."
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 31620. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
A sub-contract clause has been included in this contract. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2363
Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/
A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows:
Community Benefits will be a requirement at framework level and call-off level. For every 4 million GBP spent with each supplier under the framework, the supplier will be required to deliver a minimum of 50 Community Benefit Points (CBPs). These points must be aligned with the "Generating Employment Opportunities for Priority Groups" outcome category, as defined in the Community Benefits Outcome Menu.
At the call-off stage, additional Community Benefits may be proposed and evaluated as part of the mini-competition process. These will be included as scored questions within the Invitation to Tender (ITT).
(SC Ref:834950)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Edinburgh Sheriff Court House
27 Chambers Street
Edinburgh
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
19/06/2026