Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
NHS DERBY AND DERBYSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD
The Council House, First Floor, Corporation Street
Derby
DE12FS
UK
Contact person: Ruth Thomason
Telephone: +44 7500608804
E-mail: ruth.thomason@nhs.net
NUTS: UKF11
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://joinedupcarederbyshire.co.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
BSL Talking Therapy Service (Midlands Region)
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85100000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board ("the Authority") intends to award a contract for the
a British Sign Language (BSL) Talking Therapy Service for adults who are Deaf and use
BSL, in accordance with NHS Talking Therapies guidance and NICE?recommended
interventions. DDICB intend to award this contract under the Most Suitable Provider process and the contract will be initially for 3 years with up to 2 years of extensions available dependent on performance. This a new service with a new provider - the contract will run from 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2029 which is the initial period of the contract - extensions will be granted under due process according to contract monitoring conditions of KPIs to be met. The contract cost below is per annum.
The supplier will be required to provide evidence that their workforce is
qualified to the levels detailed in the NHS Talking Therapy guidance and the NICE-recommended interventions in order to be compliant for delivery of this service.
This a regional contract with Derby & Derbyshire acting as Lead Commissioner with
regional ICB partners as associates, therefore, we require a service provider to offer these
services at regional scales.
The service will provide assessment and evidence based psychological therapies
delivered directly in BSL, improving accessibility and outcomes for Deaf BSL users.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
491 036.73
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
85121270
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKF
UKG
Main site or place of performance:
This is a regional contract and the service offered will take place locally to the patient or remotely as required by clinical presentation.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Authority has utilised the Most Suitable Provider process under the Provider
Selection Regime to identify a provider to deliver the BSL Talking Therapy Service.
The Authority considers that the proposed approach is appropriate having regard to the
nature of the service, the very specialist skills required, and the need to ensure continuity,
quality, and accessibility of provision for a population with very specific communication
needs.
The contract will be awarded in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider
Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, subject to internal governance and approvals. The contract has been awarded to the provider according to the evidence provided to meet all key criteria of PSR Process Most Suitable Provider.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: MSP Process with regard to key criteria
/ Weighting: 100
Price
/ Weighting:
100
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 works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition for technical reasons
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 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 27th March 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
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
18/03/2026
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 0
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 0
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
SignHealth
02610559
London
UK
NUTS: UK
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 491 036.73
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 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 27.03.26. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.
Written representations can be sent to ruth.thomason@nhs.net
The decision was reached by a panel of Senior Commissioning Managers across as part of a regional task and finish group. The Senior Commissioning Managers are
Ruth Thomason, Senior Commissioning Manager, DDICB
Clare Fox, Senior Commissioning Manager NNICB
Claudia Slabon, Mental Health Programme Manager (Adults) MHLDA Collaborative Northamptonshire.
The decision to proceed with this procurement with Derby & Derbyshire ICB as Leads was ratified by the DLN ICB Executive on 9th January 2026.
No declared conflicts of interest were received and no percieved conflicts were noted through the decision making process.
The decision makers gave due consideration to the achievements of the 5 year pilot run by NHSE, the need and efficacy of a BSL Talking Therapy service was established. Using the learning and developed service specification from this pilot, DDICB and regional partners decision makers have applied the PSR Key Criteria and consider how this service meets the specific specialist requirements to meet the complex needs of BSL users experiencing mental health difficulties. We considered evidence offered by the pilot and specification measures against the key criteria for PSR. Given the specialist nature of this service and the limited size of the provider market, the advice of procurement experts, MSP was agreed to be the most compliant process for procurement of this service. SIgnHealth are the only provider able to provide the required accredited therapists at a scale needed for a regional service. This provider also offer sufficient experience and activity to demonstrate evidence against all key criteria.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
20/03/2026