25076 Homecare Framework:
Complete Bid Guide 2026

The 25076 Homecare Framework is a major Cambridgeshire County Council opportunity for regulated homecare providers. The framework has an estimated value of £773.4 million excluding VAT, covers 17 lots and is expected to run from November 2027, with possible extensions to October 2037. The deadline for requests to participate is 12 noon on 19 August 2026.

This is a two-stage competitive flexible procedure. Providers first submit a Procurement Specific Questionnaire, or PSQ. Applicants that meet the minimum criteria may then be invited to the tender stage. The enquiry deadline is 12 noon on 7 August 2026, but that is not the submission deadline.

The official 25076 Homecare Framework notice is the primary source for the facts in this guide. Providers must also review the full Cambridgeshire In-Tend pack, all buyer clarifications and every later amendment before deciding whether to bid.

In this guide: we explain the 17 lots, key dates, contract value, participation route, provider fit, bid restrictions, evaluation method and the evidence a serious homecare provider should prepare.

25076 Homecare Framework at a Glance

• Buyer: Cambridgeshire County Council
• Reference: 25076
• Notice: 2026/S 000-066926
• Procurement identifier: ocds-h6vhtk-05186c
• Service: regulated homecare services for adults aged 18 and over
• Procedure: two-stage competitive flexible procedure
• Regime: light touch contract under the Procurement Act 2023
• Framework value: £773,400,000 excluding VAT
• Initial contract dates: 1 November 2027 to 31 October 2030
• Possible extensions: to 31 October 2037
• Enquiry deadline: 12 noon on 7 August 2026
• PSQ participation deadline: 12 noon on 19 August 2026
• Submission portal: Cambridgeshire In-Tend

Review the 25076 Homecare Framework record on Care Sync Experts for a convenient opportunity summary. The official notice and buyer portal remain the final authority. You can also browse our wider feed of healthcare tender opportunities.

What Services Is Cambridgeshire County Council Commissioning?

The council intends to establish a multi-provider framework through which it can commission regulated homecare packages for adults across Cambridgeshire. The public notice includes older people, people with physical disabilities, people with learning disabilities, people with mental health needs, autistic people and other eligible adults with assessed care and support needs.

The council describes a locality-based model intended to support responsive delivery, continuity of care and coordination with health and community services. Its stated objectives include place-based services, stronger local care markets, improved consistency and quality, a sustainable provider base, preventative practice and value for money.

The notice says the council is seeking providers that can demonstrate strong quality and safeguarding standards, flexible delivery, workforce stability, collaboration and innovation. These are broad expectations, not a substitute for the detailed conditions, questions and evidence requirements in the procurement pack.

Providers should not infer a particular CQC rating, registered office rule, turnover threshold or insurance level from this public summary alone. Confirm every mandatory requirement in the current PSQ and tender documents. If the pack requires a local registered base or a minimum CQC rating, test the exact wording, eligible postcodes, evidence date and any exception before approving the bid.

How Are the 17 Lots Structured?

The 25076 Homecare Framework contains 15 geographic homecare zones and two countywide specialist lots.

Cambridge and East Cambridgeshire

• Lot 1: Cambridge East
• Lot 2: Cambridge North
• Lot 3: Cambridge West
• Lot 4: East Cambridgeshire North
• Lot 5: East Cambridgeshire South

Fenland

• Lot 6: West Fenland, Wisbech area
• Lot 7: Central Fenland, March area
• Lot 8: East Fenland, Chatteris area

Huntingdonshire

• Lot 9: Huntingdonshire East
• Lot 10: Huntingdonshire North
• Lot 11: Huntingdonshire South
• Lot 12: Huntingdonshire West

South Cambridgeshire and countywide services

• Lot 13: South Cambridgeshire East
• Lot 14: South Cambridgeshire North
• Lot 15: South Cambridgeshire West
• Lot 16a: countywide live-in care
• Lot 16b: countywide night-time care, including sleeping and waking nights

The official notice sets a maximum number of appointed providers for each of the 15 zoned lots. It also says a supplier may bid for a maximum of eight lots and may be awarded a maximum of four. This restriction should shape the bid decision. A provider needs to select the zones where it can prove workforce coverage, operational resilience, travel viability and genuine local capacity.

The framework has additional flexibility because it is for light touch services. The authority states that it may add new providers during the framework term where demand cannot be met or provider capacity is insufficient. Any later appointment would still be subject to a procurement process.

Who Should Consider Bidding?

The opportunity is likely to suit established domiciliary care providers that can evidence safe regulated delivery, reliable workforce capacity and a commercially sustainable model for one or more Cambridgeshire zones. It is also relevant to providers with credible live-in care or night-time care capability.

The notice identifies the opportunity as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises. Suitability does not remove the need to meet the conditions of participation or to prove that the proposed delivery model can operate at the required scale.

Before bidding, leadership should be able to evidence:

• current regulatory and safeguarding governance appropriate to the services offered;
• safe recruitment, induction, supervision and competency assurance;
• a realistic workforce plan for the selected zones or countywide lot;
• capacity to accept, start and sustain care packages safely;
• continuity arrangements for sickness, vacancies, travel disruption and demand peaks;
• person-centred care planning and outcome review;
• effective medication, incident, complaints and safeguarding controls;
• digital systems that support scheduling, monitoring, audit and information governance;
• credible collaboration with the council, NHS partners and community services;
• financial resilience and pricing that supports every delivery commitment.

If your organisation is new to public procurement, read our guide to tenders in health and social care before building the compliance matrix. Our earlier Harrow Council homecare tender guide also shows how local authority homecare opportunities can differ in lot structure, eligibility and delivery expectations.

How Does the Two-Stage Competitive Flexible Procedure Work?

The first stage is shortlisting. Applicants express interest and submit the completed PSQ, mandatory documents and any other material required by the buyer. The authority then assesses whether applicants meet the minimum criteria.

Applicants that pass the first stage may be invited to the second stage, which is the Invitation to Tender. The detailed tender stage will test the provider’s solution, evidence, commercial offer and compliance with the buyer’s instructions.

This distinction matters. The 19 August 2026 deadline is for requests to participate, not the final ITT return. A bid team should not wait for the ITT stage to resolve basic eligibility, corporate documents, insurance, financial evidence, regulatory evidence or delivery capacity.

Meeting the minimum PSQ criteria does not guarantee a place on the framework. The notice explains that compliant bidders will be ranked and allocated to available zone places, subject to the authority’s published methodology and the maximum of four awards per bidder.

Eight Evidence Priorities for the 25076 Homecare Framework

1. A zone-specific operating model

Show how the service will work in each selected lot. Map referral acceptance, assessment, care planning, rostering, visits, reviews, escalation and package closure. Explain travel assumptions, local management, on-call cover and how the provider will avoid overstretch across multiple zones.

2. Workforce capacity and continuity

Connect recruitment, retention, pay, travel time, contracted hours, supervision and cover arrangements to forecast demand. A strong answer distinguishes existing staff, committed recruits and future recruitment. Do not present an aspirational headcount as current capacity.

3. Safe mobilisation

Work backwards from the expected 1 November 2027 start. Cover governance, recruitment, TUPE where applicable, systems, care record transfer, service-user communication, workforce checks, training, rota testing and readiness assurance. Give each dependency an owner, milestone and fallback action.

4. Person-centred outcomes

Explain how care plans translate assessed needs, strengths, preferences and risks into deliverable outcomes. Show how people and representatives influence reviews, how changes are recorded and how staff recognise deterioration or unmet need.

5. Safeguarding and quality governance

Describe the operating route from concern to immediate protection, reporting, investigation, learning and oversight. Connect front-line reporting to registered manager review, senior governance, audit and improvement. Use current evidence that proves the system works, not only a policy title.

6. Partnership and escalation

Set out how the provider will work with social workers, commissioners, community health teams, hospitals, families and advocates. Define referral routes, information exchange, consent, handovers and escalation. Separate confirmed local relationships from arrangements that still need to be established.

7. Data, performance and digital assurance

Identify the measures that will show timeliness, continuity, quality, safety, outcomes and capacity. Explain data ownership, validation, reporting frequency and corrective action. Digital monitoring should support care, not replace professional judgement or human oversight.

8. Financial sustainability

Reconcile the price with pay, travel, training, supervision, management, technology, insurance, absence cover and overheads. Test demand variation and package complexity. Every promise in the method statements should be supported by the resource and cost model.

Care Sync Experts can help turn the current procurement pack into a traceable response plan through our healthcare tender writing service.

What Does Price Per Quality Point Mean for Bidders?

The notice says the framework will use a Price Per Quality Point, or PPQP, methodology. The bidder’s price is divided by its quality score, then multiplied by 100. Compliant bidders are ranked from the lowest PPQP to the highest before zone places are allocated under the published method.

The practical lesson is that price and quality cannot be developed separately. A lower price does not repair a weak or non-compliant quality response. A high quality score does not make an undeliverable price safe. The bid team should reconcile the service solution, staffing model, operating assumptions, evidence and commercial submission before final sign-off.

Build a requirement-to-evidence map for every scored question. Identify the delivery method, accountable role, supporting evidence, measure and review route. Vague phrases such as robust governance, seamless partnership or person-centred care should be followed immediately by a specific method that an evaluator can assess.

A Practical Preparation Plan

1. Confirm the live pack: register on Cambridgeshire In-Tend, express interest and record every document version and clarification.
2. Separate the dates: submit clarification questions before 12 noon on 7 August and the complete PSQ return before 12 noon on 19 August.
3. Run the bid decision: test eligibility, selected lots, workforce, local capacity, evidence, mobilisation and financial viability.
4. Build the PSQ evidence file: gather corporate, financial, insurance, regulatory, policy and technical evidence against the exact instructions.
5. Create a lot strategy: rank the zones or countywide lots using current operational evidence, not ambition alone.
6. Lock the delivery model: agree staffing, management, systems, partnerships, outcomes, risks and commercial assumptions.
7. Review independently: complete factual, compliance, evaluator and financial reviews before upload.
8. Submit early: verify every answer and attachment, then retain the portal receipt.

Common Reasons a Homecare Framework Bid Could Lose Marks

• confusing the enquiry deadline with the PSQ participation deadline;
• bidding for zones without credible workforce and travel capacity;
• assuming CQC registration alone proves full tender eligibility;
• using policies as evidence without showing implementation and results;
• describing person-centred values without a working care pathway;
• making partnership claims that have no named roles or referral process;
• failing to reconcile method statements with staffing and price;
• overlooking the maximum of eight bids and four awards;
• submitting an old PSQ version or missing a mandatory attachment;
• leaving portal submission until the final hour.

Should Your Organisation Bid?

Bid for the 25076 Homecare Framework if your organisation meets the current PSQ conditions, has a credible service model for the selected lots, can prove safe workforce capacity and can deliver every commitment at a sustainable price.

Consider a no-bid decision if the organisation would need to invent local capacity, rely on unconfirmed staff, stretch unrelated experience, assume eligibility or price below the true cost of safe delivery. A disciplined no-bid decision protects resources and reputation.

Before approving the application, leadership should be able to answer:

1. Which lots are we bidding for, and why are they our strongest fit?
2. What current evidence proves our regulatory, operational and financial capability?
3. Which gaps remain, and can they be closed before the relevant stage?
4. Can we mobilise and sustain the service safely at our proposed price?

Need Support With the 25076 Homecare Framework?

Care Sync Experts can help you review the 25076 Homecare Framework, build the PSQ and tender compliance matrix, strengthen evidence and prepare a clear, evaluator-friendly response. We will also tell you when the evidence supports a no-bid decision.

Book a tender consultation to discuss your lot strategy, evidence gaps and submission timetable.

This article is an independent summary based on the public notice and official information checked on 19 July 2026. It is not the procurement pack and does not replace the official notice, Cambridgeshire In-Tend documents, buyer clarifications, portal instructions or professional legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for the 25076 Homecare Framework?

The enquiry deadline is 12 noon on 7 August 2026. The deadline for requests to participate, including the PSQ return required at stage one, is 12 noon on 19 August 2026. Providers should check Cambridgeshire In-Tend for any formal amendment.

How much is the 25076 Homecare Framework worth?

The official notice gives an estimated total value of £773,400,000 excluding VAT and £928,080,000 including VAT. The initial term is expected to run for three years, with optional extensions that could take the framework to 31 October 2037.

How many lots can a provider bid for?

A supplier may bid for a maximum of eight lots and may be awarded a maximum of four. Providers should confirm the detailed allocation method and preferences in the current tender documents.

Is this a one-stage open tender?

No. The notice describes a two-stage competitive flexible procedure. Stage one is the PSQ shortlist. Applicants that meet the minimum criteria may be invited to submit an Invitation to Tender response at stage two.

Can new providers join the framework later?

The official notice says the authority may add providers during the framework term where demand or capacity requires it. Any additional appointment would be subject to a procurement process and does not remove the need to compete for the current opportunity.