Two Providers Win £17.2m Hertfordshire Children’s Residential Placements Contracts

Hertfordshire County Council has awarded two contracts worth a combined £17.2 million for the provision of residential placements for children and young people aged seven and above with complex needs.

The contracts have been awarded to 1st Class Support and Housing Ltd and Frontline Social Care Ltd, covering residential provision at Clothall and Cassiobury respectively.

The council originally went out to procurement for separate block contract arrangements across four sites – Brickendon, Cassiobury, Clothall and Melbourn – providing Ofsted-registered residential homes for children and young people aged seven to 18 with complex needs.

1st Class Support and Housing Ltd has been awarded the Clothall contract, which will provide residential placements for up to two children and young people.

The contract is valued at £9,228,780 excluding VAT, or £11,074,536 including VAT.

Frontline Social Care Ltd has secured the Cassiobury contract, providing residential placements for up to three children and young people.

The Cassiobury contract is valued at £7,977,420 excluding VAT, or £9,572,904 including VAT.

Both contracts are expected to begin on 14 September 2026 and run until 13 August 2029, with options to extend for up to a further two years. The notice states that the maximum duration of each contract could be five years.

There may also be opportunities to create additional beds as part of the overall Clothall and Cassiobury registrations. Any decision to add beds will be at the council’s discretion and is dependent on successful delivery of the existing service and the identification of suitable properties locally, within 20 to 30 minutes’ travel by vehicle.

Four tenders were received for the Clothall lot, with one tender assessed at the final stage. Four tenders were also received for Cassiobury, with one assessed at the final stage.

Both successful providers are classified as small and medium-sized enterprises.

The council made its award decision for the two contracts on 10 August 2026, with 1 September 2026 stated as the earliest date the contracts will be signed.

The remaining two lots, covering Melbourn and Brickendon, have not been awarded.

The council said the decision not to proceed with both awards followed a change in requirements to the original contracts that was not known at the time of tender.

For Melbourn, the council anticipates re-tendering the requirement alongside an additional property within the next few months. It also intends to re-issue a tender opportunity for the Brickendon lot within the next few months.

The procurement was conducted using the open procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 and is designated under the light touch regime.

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