0-19 (up to 25 for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Public Health Nursing Services

Reading Borough Council are tendering for a service to deliver high quality 0-19 (up to 25 for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Public Health Nursing in Reading and West Berkshire from 1st April 2027. Since services fall within CPV Code 85323000-9 (community health services delivered to individuals) the procurement will be carried out under the Provider Selection Regime under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The provider will build upon the current provision and link with our communities and family hubs to deliver a mixed model of: Universal services offered to all.

Targeted services that provide people with timely, personalised expert advice and support when they need it for a specific issue. Specialist services that provides people specialist practitioner treatment where providers will often work with other agencies to coordinate holistic wrap around support for people with acute or ongoing needs, including complex needs management. Reading Borough Council as Contracting Authority is issuing this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice as a Request for Information (RFI) to engage with the market and to gather information in order to gain a better understanding of both the capacity and appetite of the market in delivering the serviced.

It is important to note that this notice is not a call for competition and that the proposed services fall under the scope of the NHS Provider Selection Regime. It should also be noted that this notice invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this RFI exercise only, and it is NOT a pre-qualification questionnaire, and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process. This Preliminary Market Engagement Notice/RFI is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise.

An expression of interest is no indication of a commitment to participate in the RFI process nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who express an interest in the RFI exercise. Description of the geographical coverage: Reading and West Berkshire Estimated annual value: up to PS5.2m. Estimated total value: up to PS36.4m over 7 years.

The initial contract period is to be determined, the authorities are considering an initial term of 3 years, with the option 2 + 2 years extensions. Services are currently funded from the ringfenced Public Health Grant and will continue to be fully funded from this grant after re-procurement. Any potential reductions or increases in funding will be in line with the Public Health Grant percentage reductions / uplift or within the conditions of the contract.

We would like to invite interested providers to complete a market engagement survey. If you are interested in participating, please complete the attached survey and return to the named contact by 30th June 2025