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Residential care and care home tenders

Residential care tenders and care home contracts

Residential care tenders are how councils, the NHS and children's services buy care home places from independent providers: block beds paid for whether filled or not, framework and dynamic purchasing places, and spot placements at the council's usual rate. Since February 2025 most run under the Procurement Act 2023 light touch regime and are published on Find a Tender. You need registration with the right regulator, and councils mostly score quality.

coming up
17
open now
4
pipeline value
£1.9bn
awarded in 12 months
17
See care home tendersTender writing from £1,500 + VAT

For care homes, nursing homes and children's homes in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.0333 577 0877

A care worker with an older resident in a wheelchair in a bright care home lounge

Open now · closes 1 Dec 2026

Residential Children's Homes for Torbay

Torbay Council · £14.1m

NHS funded nursing care, 2026/27

£267.68

a week per nursing resident, from April 2026

Residential care tenders and care home contract notices

Updated 10 Nov 2026, refreshed every 30 minutes

Older people's residential and nursing frameworks, dementia and discharge beds, younger adults and children's homes. Start with what is coming up: a market engagement event is your chance to shape the lots and the price.

open for bids today, including frameworks and DPSs that admit new providers
4
pipeline and market engagement notices for care homes
17
recent awards were single placements, made directly to one home
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Showing 1 to 9 of 17

Every care tender in one place, filtered by service and region.

Browse all care tenders

How councils buy care home places

Four routes, from no promise at all to beds paid for in advance. Most homes need more than one: spot placements fill rooms, and frameworks and block contracts give you a base you can plan staffing around.

  1. 01 · Individual placement, user choice

    Spot placement

    How you get in
    Be registered, have a vacancy and accept the council's usual rate. The person or their family chooses the home, and the council awards the placement directly.
    What you are guaranteed
    Nothing in advance. You are paid for each resident placed.
    How the price is set
    The council's published rate for the type of care, sometimes with a third party top up.

    Example: Bedford, Durham and Oldham award notices for single residential placements

  2. 02 · Open to join

    Approved list, DPS or dynamic market

    How you get in
    Apply whenever the list is open and pass the conditions of participation. Existing DPSs run until February 2029; new ones are dynamic markets.
    What you are guaranteed
    A place in the pool. Each placement or block is a call off or mini competition.
    How the price is set
    Published bands, or a price you bid for each call off.

    Example: Haringey's DPS for children's residential homes, open to 2029

  3. 03 · Bid when it opens

    Framework or open framework

    How you get in
    Win a place in a competitive tender, usually by lot: older people, nursing, dementia, younger adults. Open frameworks reopen at least once in their first three years.
    What you are guaranteed
    A ranked or unranked place on the framework, with work called off as needs arise.
    How the price is set
    Fixed bands set by the council, or a tendered weekly rate weighed against quality.

    Example: Scotland Excel care homes flexible framework, open to new entrants

  4. 04 · Beds bought in advance

    Block contract

    How you get in
    A competitive tender for a set number of beds, often nursing, dementia or discharge to assess beds.
    What you are guaranteed
    Income for the contracted beds whether they are filled or not.
    How the price is set
    A tendered weekly rate per bed, usually below the spot rate in return for certainty.

    Example: Camden's block of nursing beds and Suffolk's discharge to assess beds

Why so many placements are never tendered. Under the Procurement Act 2023 a council can award a care home place directly when the resident or their family has chosen the home, as a user choice contract. That is why many residential notices are award notices for one person, and why a strong rating and good relationships with brokerage teams matter as much as tender writing.

What councils and the NHS pay for a care home bed

Councils in England paid an average of £956 a week for an older person's residential place in 2025/26, and £1,835 for a younger adult. Care England says fees fall £2.36bn a year short of the cost of care, so know your cost per occupied bed before you price.

Weekly fee per residentCouncil or contract feeNHS nursing contribution

England, average council fee, 2025/26

  • Older people, residential£956
  • Older people, nursing£1,343.06

    £1,089 council fee + £254.06 NHS funded nursing care

  • Younger adults, residential£1,835
  • Younger adults, nursing£1,740.06

    £1,486 council fee + £254.06 NHS funded nursing care

Scotland, National Care Home Contract, 2026/27

  • Residential£930.45
  • Nursing£1,074.13

Every council sets its own rates. For 2026/27 Bury pays a standard £741.33 a week for residential care and Bradford a base £793.45, so read the fee schedule in the tender pack.

£2.36bna year: the gap between council fees and the cost of care
Over £10,000 a bed each year for residential care and over £23,000 for nursing, in 2025/26 (Care England, October 2026).
85.8%of care home beds in England were occupied
From 82.4% in the East Midlands to 89.6% in London, with 10.8% empty and ready to admit (February 2026).
£267.68a week from the NHS for each nursing resident
The 2026/27 funded nursing care rate, up 5.4%. Residents with continuing healthcare are funded in full by the ICB.

Sources: GOV.UK council fee data (MSIF 2025/26), National Care Home Contract 2026/27, DHSC funded nursing care rates, Care England (Priced to fail, 2026) and DHSC provider statistics.

Who buys residential care, and where to find the tenders

The buyer decides the regulator you need and the portal you watch. Registration with the wrong regulator, or for the wrong service, fails a bid before anyone reads it.

  • Councils, adult social care

    England

    Older people's residential and nursing care, dementia care, and homes for younger adults with a learning disability, autism or mental health needs.

    Regulator: CQC

    Advertised on: Find a Tender, council portals such as ProContract, In-Tend, Delta eSourcing and The Chest, and brokerage systems such as Birmingham's CareMatch

  • NHS integrated care boards

    England

    Continuing healthcare and fast track end of life placements, discharge to assess and step down beds, often through any qualified provider lists.

    Regulator: CQC, registered for nursing

    Advertised on: Find a Tender and each ICB's own portal

  • Children's services

    England

    Children's homes, high support homes for 16 and 17 year olds and short breaks, often through regional marketplaces such as White Rose and Commission East.

    Regulator: Ofsted

    Advertised on: Find a Tender and regional children's commissioning portals

  • Councils and Scotland Excel

    Scotland

    Care homes for adults, mostly at the National Care Home Contract rate: £930.45 a week residential and £1,074.13 nursing in 2026/27.

    Regulator: Care Inspectorate

    Advertised on: Public Contracts Scotland

  • Councils and health boards

    Wales

    Residential and nursing care for older people and adults, and children's residential care, often through regional partnerships.

    Regulator: Care Inspectorate Wales

    Advertised on: Sell2Wales and Find a Tender

  • Health and Social Care Trusts

    Northern Ireland

    Residential and nursing home places for older people and adults with disabilities.

    Regulator: RQIA

    Advertised on: eTendersNI and Find a Tender

What commissioners check and score in a care home tender

First a pass or fail gate, then the quality questions that decide who wins. Quality usually carries most of the marks, and on fixed rate frameworks it carries nearly all of them.

Step 1 · The gate

Conditions of participation

  • The right registrationWith the regulator for your nation, for accommodation with personal care, with nursing if the lot needs it.
  • A rating the lot acceptsGood is the usual floor. Some councils take Requires Improvement with a credible action plan.
  • Financial standingCouncils can no longer insist on audited accounts if you are not legally required to have them.
  • Insurance at awardProof of cover can be asked for when the contract is awarded, not as a condition of bidding.

Step 2 · The weighting

  • Fixed rate frameworkHarrow, 2026
    90%
    10%

    90% quality, 10% social value. Price is pass or fail at the council's rate.

  • Price bid tenderMerthyr Tydfil, 2026
    70%
    30%

    70% quality, 30% price. Your weekly rate is scored against the others.

Step 3 · The quality questions

Admissions
How fast you assess and admit, including weekends and hospital discharges.
Staffing and dependency
How a dependency tool sets your staffing for each unit and shift, and how you review it as needs change.
Dementia and distress
Your approach to dementia, distressed behaviour and avoiding unnecessary medication.
End of life care
Advance care planning, working with GPs and hospices, and supporting families.
Falls, skin and infection
How you prevent falls, pressure ulcers and infections, and what your data shows.
Medicines
Ordering, administration, audits and reviews with the GP and pharmacist.
Workforce
Recruitment, retention and agency use, and recruiting locally now the care worker visa has closed.
Safeguarding and liberty
Safeguarding referrals, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and the Mental Capacity Act in daily care.
Social value
Local jobs, apprenticeships and links with the community, measured and reported.
Mobilisation
How the first placements start safely, and how you keep care going if a home or service fails.

The seven stages of a care home tender

Under the Procurement Act 2023 each stage has its own notice on Find a Tender, so you can see where a council is before the tender lands. The work that wins is done in the first two.

  1. 01

    Pipeline

    Pipeline notice

    Large councils publish the contracts over £2m they plan to tender in the next 18 months.

    You: Note the re-tender dates for your area and start your evidence.

  2. 02

    Market engagement

    Preliminary market engagement notice

    Meet the buyer events, surveys and draft specifications.

    You: Go. Tell commissioners what the lots and the rate need to look like.

  3. 03

    Tender published

    Tender notice

    The documents, lots, questions, weightings and deadline are released.

    You: Decide to bid or not within days, and register on the portal.

  4. 04

    Conditions of participation

    Procurement specific questionnaire

    Registration, rating, financial standing, insurance and exclusion grounds.

    You: Pass or fail. Have the documents ready before the notice.

  5. 05

    Submission

    Tender response

    Quality answers, social value and price, with clarification questions along the way.

    You: Answer each question to the scoring guide, with local evidence.

  6. 06

    Award

    Assessment summaries and contract award notice

    Every bidder gets its scores, then a standstill period before the contract is signed.

    You: Read the feedback, even when you win.

  7. 07

    Mobilisation

    Contract details notice

    The contract is published and placements or call offs begin.

    You: Mobilise staff and beds, and track the KPIs you promised.

Tender success stories

Tenders we have helped care providers win

Council frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems and approved lists won with bids we wrote, from children's home and community support in Peterborough to services for older people and people living with dementia in Norfolk. Each letter is the council's own.

council awards
10
councils
9
tenders won by Living Plus Care
6 of 7

Results from bids we wrote with each provider, as told in their success stories. Each letter opens the council's own notice. Living Plus Care Services shared a registered office with us and, until September 2026, a director, so its results are not an independent endorsement.

All success stories

Care home tender writing

We write residential, nursing and children's home tenders with providers, from the first read to the first placement. One fixed fee per tender, agreed before we start.

  1. 01

    Bid or no bid

    We read the pack with you: lots, rates, conditions of participation and whether the beds and staffing add up.

  2. 02

    Evidence pack

    Registration, rating, policies, staffing model, outcomes data and a cost per occupied bed, ready before the notice.

  3. 03

    Quality answers

    Admissions, dementia, end of life, falls, medicines and workforce, written to the scoring guide with your own examples.

  4. 04

    Social value and price

    Commitments you can deliver and report, and a weekly rate that covers the true cost of care.

  5. 05

    Compliance check and upload

    Every form, declaration and attachment checked against the instructions before it goes on the portal.

  6. 06

    Mobilisation and feedback

    A plan for your first placements and a review of the scores for the next tender.

Two people reviewing tender documents together at a table

Fixed fee

From £1,500

+ VAT per tender, agreed before we start

  • Care home frameworks, block contracts, DPS and approved list applications
  • Children's residential frameworks and flexible procurement systems
  • Rating holding you back? Mock inspections from £1,000 + VAT
Book a consultationMore about our tender writing

Watch before you bid

Our team on the eligibility checks that fail bids before they are read, and on getting paid once the placements start.

The wrong regulator costs you the contract: tender eligibility checks

Why a children's home needs Ofsted and a care home CQC, CIW or RQIA, and the other checks councils run first.

Council won't pay your care invoice? How to get paid

The 30 day payment rule for public contracts and the steps to take when a council pays late.

Related tender sectors

Some of the providers we have worked with

Client reviews

What care providers say about working with us

Care providers describe working with us, in their own words, on Trustpilot and Google.

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    Audrey Eastwood

    3 October 2026

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  • Excellent Support Throughout Our CQC Registration Journey

    Care Sync Experts provided excellent support throughout our CQC registration journey for Tailored Healthcare 4 You Limited. The team was professional, knowledgeable and very supportive throughout the process. They provided valuable guidance with our application, policies, supporting documents and preparation for the CQC registration process. What I particularly appreciated was their willingness to answer questions, explain requirements clearly and provide support whenever we needed clarification. Their guidance helped us navigate what can be a detailed and demanding registration process with greater confidence. We are very grateful for their contribution towards the successful CQC registration of our company and would happily recommend Care Sync Experts to other care providers looking for professional CQC registration support. Thank you to the entire team for your continued support.

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  • Thanks to Care Sync Experts

    Care Sync Experts supported with well tailored documentations for the CQC application, good prep/training for the CQC interview and prompt communication throughout the CQC registration stages which led to the success of Novaedge application I had an excellent experience working with Care Sync Experts on my CQC registration application. From the very beginning, their team demonstrated exceptional professionalism, knowledge, and commitment to ensuring my application met the required CQC standards. They provided clear guidance throughout the entire process, helped me prepare all the necessary documentation, and ensured I was fully ready for every stage of the application. Their attention to detail, prompt communication, and willingness to answer every question gave me confidence and made what could have been a stressful process much smoother. I truly appreciated their personalised support and expertise. Thanks to their dedication, I felt well-prepared throughout my CQC registration journey. I would confidently recommend Care Sync Experts to anyone seeking reliable and professional support with CQC registration and healthcare compliance.

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    25 July 2026

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  • The Experience that I have had with…care sync was a 5 star experience

    The Experience that I have had with Care Sync experts is so excellent and effortless. Care sync experts assisted me with the CQC registration of my company. It was a 5 star experience. Coming from a healthcare background myself, I worked with a group of dedicated experts who knows what there are doing. I will like to thank Colin who handled my registration process with the Care sync expert team in such a way that the process looked so simple.

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    Care Sync Experts are reliable, honest and operate with integrity. All the staff are knowledgeable and supportive whenever you need guidance. I recommend them for all those loking for CQC support services.

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  • I am genuinely grateful that I chose Care Sync

    I am genuinely grateful that I chose Care Sync Experts to support me in establishing my domiciliary care company, Precious Care. From my very first conversation with them, it was clear that they truly understood my needs. Their knowledge, expertise, and professionalism were evident from the start—they really do live up to their name. The support provided to me and my wider team was exceptional and truly limitless. No matter how small the question, they were always available, approachable, and ready to help. From day one, Millicent and Collins made us feel valued and important. Speaking with them felt like talking to people I had known for years—warm, reassuring, and always willing to go the extra mile. Every phone call ended with clarity and confidence. Millicent’s guidance, training, and ongoing support were outstanding and made the entire process smooth and stress‑free. Without hesitation, I would recommend Care Sync Experts as the go‑to professionals for anyone seeking EXPERT support in this field.

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  • 100% Support: How Care Sync Experts Made Our CQC Certification A Reality

    I couldn’t be more grateful for Care Sync experts exceptional support during our CQC interview presentations. From the very beginning, Millicent and Collins were not only professional but also incredibly approachable and dedicated. Every time we needed assistance, they were right there ready to help with guidance, expert advice, and all the information required to ensure our success. When our interview dates kept changing, Care Sync flexibility truly set them apart. They rescheduled sessions without hesitation and even provided extra sessions, going far beyond what we had paid for. Their unwavering commitment was a crucial factor in us achieving our CQC certification. Thanks to their 100% support, Victory Growth Care Services is now proudly registered with CQC. I wholeheartedly recommend Care Sync expats for anyone looking for top-notch, dependable support in navigating the complexities of CQC interviews. Their team truly makes a difference!

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  • Outstanding Tender Writing Services

    I recently used Care Sync Experts for the first time to complete a tender, and I am thrilled to say that they won it for me! Their team is absolutely brilliant. They took care of everything with professionalism and expertise, making the whole process smooth and successful. I would 100% recommend Care Sync Experts to any provider looking for someone to write their tender. Their work is of a high standard, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

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    I had the pleasure of working with Care Sync Experts for various projects, including website development, tender submissions, and branding materials such as brochures and leaflets. From start to finish, their professionalism and attention to detail have been nothing short of remarkable. They designed and developed my website with a keen understanding of my needs, creating a sleek, user-friendly platform that perfectly represents my brand. But they didn't stop there, their expertise in handling tenders is unparalleled. Of the six tenders they managed for me, they won five. This impressive success rate speaks volumes about their strategic approach and deep industry knowledge. I highly recommend Care Sync Experts to anyone looking for top notch services in web development, tender management, and branding. They have truly elevated my business, and I look forward to continuing our partnership!

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Bidding for a care home tender?

Send us the tender or tell us which council you want to work with. We will tell you whether it is right for your home and write a bid that answers what the commissioners asked, at a fixed fee.

  • An honest bid or no bid view on the tender and its lots
  • Quality answers written to the council's scoring guide
  • A weekly rate that covers the true cost of care
Book a consultation0333 577 0877
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Residential care tender FAQs

Last reviewed

Residential care tenders are the way councils, NHS integrated care boards and children's services buy care home places from independent providers. The buyer publishes a notice, providers bid, and the buyer appoints homes to a framework, dynamic purchasing system, approved list or block contract, usually split into lots such as older people's residential care, nursing, dementia, younger adults or children's homes. Placements are then made with the homes on the list.
Register with the right regulator, then get on every route your council uses: accept spot placements at its published rate, join its approved list or DPS while it is open, bid for its framework when it is tendered, and look out for block contracts for nursing, dementia or discharge beds. Attend market engagement events, keep a good rating and build a relationship with the brokerage team, because they place the people who are not covered by a tender.
Register on Find a Tender and on your council's procurement portal, set alerts for care homes and residential care, and download the documents when a notice is published. Check the lots, the conditions of participation and the deadline, decide whether to bid, then complete the procurement specific questionnaire and the quality, social value and price sections before the deadline. Upload early and keep the confirmation.
Find a Tender is the official free platform and carries every notice under the Procurement Act 2023 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses Public Contracts Scotland, Wales also uses Sell2Wales and Northern Ireland uses eTendersNI. The bidding itself happens on the council's portal, such as ProContract, In-Tend, Delta eSourcing, The Chest or Atamis. Care England also publishes a list of adult social care tender opportunities, and our care tender feed brings the care home notices together on this page, refreshed every 30 minutes.
In 2025/26 councils in England paid an average of £956 a week for an older person's residential place and £1,089 for nursing care before the NHS contribution, and £1,835 a week for residential care for younger adults, according to GOV.UK fee data. Rates vary by council: for 2026/27 Bury pays a standard £741.33 for residential care and Bradford a base £793.45. In Scotland the National Care Home Contract pays £930.45 a week for residential care and £1,074.13 for nursing. Care England says council fees fall £2.36bn a year short of the cost of care, so price from your own cost per occupied bed.
If a resident needs nursing care, the NHS pays the home £267.68 a week towards it in 2026/27 through NHS funded nursing care, or £368.24 for residents on the higher rate. If a resident qualifies for NHS continuing healthcare, their integrated care board pays the whole fee at a locally agreed rate. Personal care and accommodation are otherwise paid by the council, the resident, or both.
A block contract is an agreement for a council or the NHS to buy a set number of beds for a set period and pay for them whether or not they are filled. It gives the home guaranteed income in return for a lower weekly rate and quick admissions. Block contracts are common for nursing, dementia, discharge to assess and step down beds, and are awarded through a competitive tender.
A spot placement is one resident placed with one home at the council's rate, often awarded directly because the person chose the home. A framework is a list of homes chosen through a tender, with placements called off from it; open frameworks reopen at least once in their first three years. A DPS is a list homes can join at any time. No new DPSs can be set up under the Procurement Act 2023, but existing ones run until February 2029 at the latest, and dynamic markets replace them.
Under the Procurement Act 2023 there are two competitive procedures, the open procedure and the competitive flexible procedure, plus direct award, which councils use for many individual care home placements, and call offs from frameworks or dynamic markets. Older guides describe open, restricted, negotiated and single source tenders, which were the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 terms.
Pipeline notice, preliminary market engagement, tender notice, conditions of participation, tender submission and evaluation, award with assessment summaries and a contract award notice, and finally the contract details notice and mobilisation. Each stage has its own notice on Find a Tender, so you can see a care home tender coming months before the deadline.
Our tender writing starts from £1,500 + VAT per tender, as a fixed fee agreed before we start. The price depends on the number of lots and questions and how much evidence needs to be gathered. It covers the bid or no bid review, the quality and social value answers, a price check and the compliance check before upload.
Most councils make Good the minimum for a framework or block contract, and some accept Requires Improvement with a credible action plan. You must be registered for the right service: accommodation for persons who require personal care, with nursing if the lot needs it. A newly registered home without a rating can usually join approved lists and DPSs and should evidence inspection ready systems.
Yes. Under the Procurement Act 2023 a council cannot insist on audited accounts if you are not legally required to have them, cannot ask for insurance before award and cannot require past work for that council. New homes usually start with spot placements and approved lists, then win framework places with strong evidence of leadership, staffing, policies and mobilisation.
Children's homes in England register with Ofsted, not CQC, and are mostly bought through regional frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems and flexible procurement systems run by groups of councils, such as White Rose in Yorkshire, Commission East and Trafford's system in the North West. Demand is high: the LGA reports that placements costing £10,000 or more a week rose from 120 in 2018 to 1,500 in 2023.
Only to procurements started before 24 February 2025. New tenders in England, Wales and Northern Ireland run under the Procurement Act 2023, where section 22 sets the conditions of participation. Scotland still uses the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Check which law the tender notice names before quoting any regulation in your bid.
A residential care home provides accommodation and personal care, with no registered nurse on site. A nursing home also provides 24 hour care from registered nurses and is registered for accommodation with nursing. Nursing residents attract NHS funded nursing care of £267.68 a week in 2026/27. Bid only for the lots your registration covers, and describe your model precisely.
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