Telecare and Assistive Technology Service

Cumberland Council has published a UK2 preliminary market engagement notice for its planned Telecare and Assistive Technology Service. This is not yet the formal tender competition. The exercise is intended to help the Council test and refine a future county-wide Technology Enabled Care and Assisted Living model before procurement.

The planned contract has an estimated maximum value of £3.5 million excluding VAT, or £4.2 million including VAT. It is expected to start on 1 June 2027 for an initial five years to 31 May 2032, with two optional one-year extensions that could take the arrangement to 31 May 2034. The current notice contains one planned lot.

The proposed service is for adults across Cumberland and, where appropriate, their carers, families and support networks. The draft specification describes three pathways: early prevention, information and self-service; prevention, recovery and reablement; and long-term assisted living. The proposed strategic partner would support monitoring, installation, maintenance, equipment lifecycle management, virtual care, carers' contingency support, practitioner advice, workforce development, innovation, benefits realisation and the Council's wider digital transformation.

Potential providers and market specialists can take part in this Cumberland telecare market engagement. Formal selection criteria have not yet been published because the Technology Enabled Care tender is still at the planning stage. The draft specification proposes that the future strategic partner maintain TSA Quality Standards Framework accreditation, or an equivalent accreditation approved by the Council, for relevant services throughout the contract.

Providers should treat this as a draft requirement that may be refined before the formal Cumberland Council telecare procurement opens. There are three distinct deadlines or milestones. Written comments on the draft specification are requested by 5:00pm on Wednesday 18 November 2026.

The ProContract expression-of-interest window closes at 9:00am on Friday 27 November 2026. The Find a Tender notice records the overall engagement milestone as ending at 11:59pm on Saturday 28 November 2026. Two Microsoft Teams sessions are planned: 2:00pm to 3:30pm on 25 November and 10:00am to 11:30am on 27 November 2026.

Both sessions cover the same content. How to take part: use The Chest, hosted on ProContract, to review the advert and download the draft specification and supplier invitation. Registration on ProContract is free and is required to register interest through the portal.

To reserve a place at one of the online sessions, email strategic.commissioning@cumbria.gov.uk with the chosen session and the names and email addresses of attendees. The supplier invitation contains the Microsoft Forms questionnaire for written feedback. This is participation in market engagement, not submission of a formal bid.

What is a telecare service? In this draft model, telecare includes personal alarms, falls detectors, monitoring and response arrangements that help people manage risks and live safely and independently. What is assistive telecare?

It is the use of technology-enabled support, monitoring and personalised equipment to promote independence, prevention and wellbeing. What does assistive technology services include? The draft scope includes community alarms, environmental sensors, GPS devices, activity and wellbeing monitoring, virtual care, installation, maintenance, advice and equipment management.

What are examples of assistive technology? The specification gives examples including falls detectors, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, flood detectors, property-exit devices, medication prompts, voice-activated systems, smart-home controls and remote health monitoring. What are the different types of telecare?

For this procurement, the proposed model spans reactive alarms, proactive and predictive monitoring, assisted-living technology, digital-health technology and virtual-care interventions. Care Sync advice: read both official attachments before responding, separate draft-specification feedback from portal registration, and prepare evidence showing county-wide delivery capability, strategic partnership experience, service resilience, outcomes measurement, interoperability, safeguarding and support for digital transformation.

Monitor Find a Tender and The Chest for the later formal notice because taking part in this exercise is not the same as bidding for the contract.