Residential and Nursing Care Homes for Adults – Framework Agreement

Nottinghamshire County Council is seeking residential and nursing care home providers for a major new Framework Agreement with an estimated value of £995 million.

The Framework will support adults with a range of primary support needs, including learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs, physical disabilities, brain injuries and sensory impairments.

Services commissioned through the Framework may include standard residential and nursing placements, short breaks, emergency placements, forensic provision and exceptional or highly specialist care arrangements.

Most placements are expected to be within Nottinghamshire’s seven districts, although the Council may commission placements outside the county where required.

The Framework is expected to commence on 1 April 2027 for an initial six-year period. Nottinghamshire County Council will then have the option to extend the arrangement by up to two further periods of 24 months, providing a maximum potential duration of ten years.

Service User Groups

The Framework is primarily intended to support adults requiring residential or nursing care whose needs may include:

• Learning disabilities
• Autism
• Mental health needs
• Physical disabilities
• Brain injuries
• Sensory impairments

The Council may also commission services for young people aged 16 or 17 where the relevant care home meets all applicable registration, policy and regulatory requirements.

For older adults, typically those aged 65 and over, Nottinghamshire County Council ordinarily commissions residential care through separate arrangements specifically established for this group.

The new Framework is therefore expected to be used for people aged 65 and over only in exceptional circumstances where appropriate provision cannot be secured through those alternative contracts.

Contract Information

• Buyer: Nottinghamshire County Council
• Deadline: 28th Oct 2026 12:00
• Contract Value: £995,000,000 including VAT
• Delivery Length: 6 years with the option to extend by up to a further 2 years + 2 years
• Tender Link: ProContract / Due North
• Reference: DN825573

The deadline for procurement enquiries is 21 October 2026 at 11:59pm.

Appointment to the Framework does not guarantee providers a minimum number of placements or level of expenditure.

There is no maximum number of suppliers that may be appointed to the Framework and no framework fee will be charged.

Evaluation Criteria

At Framework admission stage, tenders will be evaluated on:

• Quality – 100%

Bidders must achieve a minimum quality threshold of 60% and meet the specified Conditions of Participation to be selected for award.

Individual Call-Off Contracts may subsequently be awarded through either Direct Award or Further Competition.

For Further Competitions, the precise evaluation criteria will be established within the individual Invitation to Tender. Quality may account for between 25% and 100% of the evaluation, while price may account for between 0% and 75%.

Call-Off Arrangements

Direct Awards may be used in specified circumstances, including emergency placements where the Council has fewer than 72 hours to secure provision, transfers of existing placements and situations where an individual has expressed a clear and informed preference for a particular provider.

Further Competitions may be undertaken for planned placements where more than 72 hours is available, where ongoing provision is required following an emergency placement, or where the Council requires a block arrangement covering more than one individual.

CQC and Regulatory Requirements

Bidders must provide details of each care home proposed under the Framework together with the relevant Care Quality Commission registration information.

Where services are commissioned for young people aged 16 or 17, providers must satisfy all applicable registration, policy and regulatory requirements, including requirements relating to the CQC and/or Ofsted.

Providers must also demonstrate compliance with the Framework’s Conditions of Participation covering areas including financial standing, insurance, data protection and health and safety.

Technical requirements include evidence of the ability to deliver the contract, relevant policies and procedures, staff training arrangements, subcontractor management where applicable and compliance with Modern Slavery legislation where applicable.

Framework Information

Nottinghamshire County Council may advertise future opportunities to admit additional providers during the lifetime of the Framework, although no dates have currently been specified.

Unsuccessful bidders may apply through any future advertised opportunity, while providers already appointed will not be required to reapply.

The Council has confirmed that the arrangement is not an Open Framework within the meaning of the Procurement Act 2023.

Providers should also be aware that Local Government Reorganisation may affect the Council’s governance, boundaries or legal status during the Framework period. As a result, the Framework or individual Call-Off Contracts may need to be transferred, assigned or novated to successor authorities or other relevant public bodies.

The £995 million Framework represents a substantial long-term opportunity for residential and nursing care providers supporting adults with complex and specialist care requirements across Nottinghamshire and, where required, beyond the county.

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