Coming up· published 27 Nov 2025
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service
Essex County Council · Chelmsford, East of England
Essex County Council is planning Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service. It is a contract for nursing care and nursing home in Chelmsford.
Source: Find a Tender, published 28 Nov 2025. Details are refreshed every 30 minutes.
Key dates
2025
Pipeline notice published
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice · 13:55
View notice2025
Tender notice expected
Date given in the buyer's earlier notice
2026
Contract starts
Next
2028
Contract ends
2 years after it starts
About this tender
In brief
Essex County Council is planning Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service. It is a contract for nursing care and nursing home in Chelmsford. The buyer has published an early notice. It gives providers time to prepare before the tender opens. The contract runs from 30 April 2026 to 30 April 2028. It lasts 2 years.
Find a Tender published it on 28 November 2025. The notice number is 078105-2025. The OCDS ID is ocds-h6vhtk-05eb19.
Summary of the contracting process
Essex County Council is seeking to engage with potential suppliers regarding the provision of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service, focusing on individuals in hospitals, care homes, or nursing homes. This planning stage involves an early market engagement survey aimed at gathering insights into supplier preferences and considerations for various payment models and operational challenges. The engagement is scheduled to conclude by 30th December 2025.
The services fall under the Health and Social Work Services industry category, and the project is expected to commence in the East of England region (UKH3), specifically in Chelmsford at County Hall, Market Road. The contract, set to begin on 1st May 2026, spans a two-year period with potential for renewal, creating a stable opportunity for business growth in the health services sector.
Engaging with this market survey may provide valuable insights to better prepare proposals tailored to Essex County Council's future procurement strategies.
The notice in full
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) provide a legal framework for the deprivation of liberty for people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions about their accommodation and care arrangements themselves. They apply to people who are in hospital or residential/nursing care (the managing authority) and who are subject to restrictions and restraints in their lives, for example, not being free to leave or requiring continual supervision.
Local Authorities are required to arrange an assessment of an individual's circumstances to determine whether the accommodation the care provided is in their best interests to protect them from harm, whether it is necessary and proportionate and to determine if there is a less restrictive alternative.
The requirement of this service is for the provision of assessments to establish whether a person in hospital, care home or nursing home requires Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation. Assessors will be required to visit the relevant person requiring assessment in their care setting, which may be a hospital ward, care home or nursing home, in order to conduct a face-to-face assessment.
Lots: no lot details came through with this notice. The official notice and the tender pack have the full breakdown.
Key facts
Contract
- Service
- Nursing Care
- Procurement type
- Standard
- Category
- Services
- Contract period
- 30 Apr 2026 to 30 Apr 2028 (2 years)
Procedure
- Notice type
- UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
- Current stage
- Planning
- Stages so far
- Planning
- Published on
- Find a Tender Service
Not stated in the notice: procurement method, awardee scale.
Values
Not stated in the notice: tender value, lots value, awards value, contracts value.
Status
- Tender
- Planning
- Lots
- Planning
Not stated in the notice: awards, contracts.
References
- Find a Tender notice
- 078105-2025
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-05eb19
- CPV code
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- CPV division
- 85 - Health and social work services
Location
- Local authority
- Chelmsford
- Town
- Chelmsford
- Postcode
- CM1 1QH
- Electoral ward
- Moulsham and Central
- Constituency
- Chelmsford
- Delivery area
- Essex
- Region
- East of England
- Sub-region
- Heart of Essex
- Area
- Essex
- Country
- England
Buyer
Contracting authority
- Organisation
- Essex County Council
- Category
- Services
- Contact
- Jon Rockstad
- Address
- Chelmsford, CM1 1QH · East of England · England
Not stated in the notice: phone.
Documents and links
- Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tenderfind-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078105-2025
- Consultations.essex.gov.ukconsultations.essex.gov.uk/procurement/deprivation-of-liberty…
- Legislation.gov.uklegislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- OCDS record ocds-h6vhtk-05eb19 (JSON)find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h…
Questions about Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service
When will the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service tender open?
Essex County Council has not yet given a date for the tender notice. An early notice is the time to answer any market engagement questions and gather the evidence a bid will need.
How long is the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service contract?
The contract runs from 30 April 2026 to 30 April 2028 (2 years).
Who is the buyer for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service?
Essex County Council, based in Chelmsford, East of England. The named contact is Jon Rockstad.
How do I bid for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessment Service?
Register on the buyer's portal named in the notice, download the tender pack and check every condition of participation before you start writing. Care Sync Experts writes and reviews care tender bids from £1,500 + VAT.
Want help winning this tender?
We write and review care tender bids: quality answers, case studies and social value, checked against how the buyer scores before you submit.
What to do next
- Read the early notice in full.
- Answer any market engagement questions.
- Gather your evidence and case studies now.
- Check your policies are up to date.
- Watch for the tender notice.
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