Supported Living Tenders Explained: How Supported Living Is Commissioned

• At the centre

  The Person

  Holds a tenancy or licence for their home and has a support plan agreed with the council. They should be able to change their care provider without losing their home.

• Buys the care

  The Commissioner

  Usually the council's adult social care team. An NHS integrated care board pays for health care, for example for people eligible for NHS continuing healthcare.

• Delivers the support

  The Care Provider

  Wins the tender and provides personal care and support. In England it must be registered with CQC for personal care, the regulated activity, not for the building.

• Provides the home

  The Landlord

  A housing association, specialist housing provider or private landlord. Rent is usually paid by the person, often through Housing Benefit, under a separate agreement.

CQC, Housing with care

Care and Housing Must Be Separate

“[T]he agreements covering the accommodation and the care must be separate. They must not be provided as a single package under one agreement.”

If one organisation controls both the home and the care, the service can look like an unregistered care home. Tenders test this, and so does CQC at registration.

Care Act 2014, section 5

Why Councils Shape the Market

Every council in England “must promote the efficient and effective operation of a market in services for meeting care and support needs”. The statutory guidance says a market position statement should be central to that, and asks councils to commission for outcomes rather than units of provision such as hours.

That is why supported living tenders score how you will help people reach their goals, and why the market position statement is the best place to see what your council plans to buy.

Source: CQC, Housing with care (2015); CQC, personal care; Care Act 2014, section 5; Care and support statutory guidance, paragraphs 4.16 and 4.34.

1. 1

   Plan and Engage the Market

   Councils expecting to spend over £100 million a year publish a pipeline notice listing contracts over £2 million for the next 18 months. Many then run market engagement events or questionnaires.

   UK1 · UK2Go to the events, answer the questionnaire and read the market position statement.

2. 2

   Advance Warning

   An optional planned procurement notice tells the market a tender is coming and when.

   UK3Line up your housing partners, references and evidence now.

3. 3

   Tender Notice

   The competition opens. The notice sets the procedure, lots, deadlines and where to get the documents, usually a council e-tendering portal.

   UK4Register on the portal, download everything and note the clarification deadline.

4. 4

   Conditions of Participation

   Proportionate checks on legal and financial capacity and technical ability. Basic company details come from your Central Digital Platform registration.

   PSQRegister on the Central Digital Platform and share your core supplier information.

5. 5

   Tender Submission

   Written answers on quality, a price and often social value. Some councils add interviews, presentations or a meeting with people who use the service.

   BidAnswer every part of each question with evidence, within the word limits.

6. 6

   Assessment

   Bids are scored against the published criteria. The winner is the most advantageous tender, which is not always the cheapest.

   MATBefore the award is published, each bidder receives an assessment summary of its scores.

7. 7

   Contract Award Notice

   The council publishes who it intends to appoint. For most contracts this starts an eight working day standstill. Light touch contracts do not need one, though many councils still allow a pause.

   UK6Read your assessment summary and raise any concerns quickly.

8. 8

   Contract Details Notice

   Published once the contract or framework is signed: within 120 days for light touch contracts.

   UK7Complete contract checks, insurance and mobilisation, including any TUPE transfer.

9. 9

   Packages and Contract Management

   Work is offered by ranking or mini competition. Public contracts must pay valid invoices within 30 days.

   Call-offRespond fast to referrals with a support plan written for the person.

Procurements that began before 24 February 2025 stay under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 until they end, so you will still see older terms such as PQQ and dynamic purchasing system on some live opportunities.

Source: Procurement Act 2023, section 93; section 22; section 19; section 50; section 51; section 68; Cabinet Office, light touch contracts; central digital platform guidance; Find a Tender notice types.

Source: PPN 019; below threshold guidance; Welsh Government, Welsh Digital Platform; Cabinet Office, devolved authorities; SPPN 5/2026.

Find a Tender is free to use, and council e-tendering portals are normally free for suppliers to register on, so you do not need a paid service to see or bid for a council tender. Read our Procurement Act 2023 guide for more on the new rules.

• Procurement Act 2023, section 9

  Light Touch Rules

  Social care is a light touch service. Above £663,540 including VAT the Act applies, but councils can set their own timescales and process, need no standstill and can modify contracts more freely. A tender notice is still needed unless a direct award ground applies.

• Provider Selection Regime 2023

  NHS Health Care

  NHS bodies, and councils buying health care, use the Provider Selection Regime instead. A mixed contract can only use it if health care is the main subject, judged by the higher value.

• Housing law, 2023

  Housing Licensing Is Coming

  Under the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023, councils will license supported housing claimed under Housing Benefit, against National Supported Housing Standards. CQC registered supported living is not on the list of exemptions. Draft regulations were out for consultation from 15 October 2026, with no start date yet.

• National Procurement Policy Statement

  Social Value

  Every council in England must have regard to the statement, which asks for social and economic value and more spending with small businesses. The fixed 10% social value weighting in PPN 002 applies to central government, not councils.

• CQC guidance, 2020

  Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture

  CQC's guidance for services for autistic people and people with a learning disability. Commissioners use the same language, so tenders test choice, control, inclusion and less restrictive practice.

• Procurement Act 2023, section 68

  Paid Within 30 Days

  Public contracts must pay valid invoices within 30 days of receipt. It matters for cash flow when you mobilise a new service.

Source: Procurement Act 2023, section 9; PPN 023; light touch guidance; PSR guidance; supported housing government response; draft licensing regulations; National Procurement Policy Statement; CQC, 2020; section 68.

Supported Living Tenders Across the UK

Source: Welsh Government, Procurement Act 2023; Cabinet Office, devolved authorities; SPPN 5/2026; section 93.

• Myth

  A Framework Place Guarantees Work

  Fact

  Frameworks rarely promise volumes. Reading appointed 15 providers to its accommodation lot, and work goes by ranking or mini competition.

• Myth

  An Open Framework Lets You Join at Any Time

  Fact

  An open framework reopens at set points: at least once in its first three years, then at least every five. Joining at any time is a dynamic market or DPS.

• Myth

  PQQ and MEAT Still Apply

  Fact

  For procurements started since 24 February 2025, the terms are conditions of participation and the most advantageous tender.

• Myth

  Contracts Finder Is Where Tenders Are

  Fact

  New notices go on Find a Tender. Contracts Finder only carries procurements that started under the 2015 rules.

• Myth

  Light Touch Means Anything Goes

  Fact

  Councils have freedom over process, but still publish a tender notice unless a direct award ground applies, and must treat bidders fairly.

• Myth

  The Cheapest Bid Wins

  Fact

  The most advantageous tender wins. In recent supported living tenders quality carried between 50% and 80% of the marks.

• Myth

  You Must Own the Houses to Bid

  Fact

  Commissioners want housing partners and an accommodation plan. Being landlord and care provider can fail CQC's separation test.

• Myth

  Supported Accommodation and Supported Living Are the Same

  Fact

  Supported accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds is registered with Ofsted. Adult supported living care is registered with CQC.

Source: Procurement Act 2023, section 49; section 19; PPN 019; CQC, Housing with care; Reading 060175-2025.