The London Borough of Ealing is leading a major procurement on behalf of the West London Alliance and other local authorities. They’ve opened a Light Touch Framework for supported accommodation and semi-independent living services for young people. The framework runs for eight years (4+2+2) with a total budget of £3.5…

Bidding for contracts can be a daunting challenge. Competition is fierce, success is never guaranteed, and a single weak proposal can cost you valuable work. With the right bid support, however, companies can dramatically improve their chances. This article explores why professional bid support services matter, and how they can…

In today’s competitive business landscape, winning bids and tenders is essential for growth. Yet many companies struggle to craft proposals that genuinely stand out. This is where professional bid support services make the difference. Bid support services streamline the bidding process, ensuring your proposals are clear, concise, and tailored to…

Sheffield City Council runs a Pseudo-Dynamic Purchasing System (Pseudo-DPS) for adult social care providers supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions in the city. It’s commissioned under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 Light Touch Regime, and it’s how the Council finds providers to deliver care, support and day opportunities…

On Monday 2 June 2026, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland [2026] UKSC 16, unanimously overruling its own 2014 decision in P v Cheshire West and Chester Council. For more than a decade, the “acid test” set out in Cheshire…

The single biggest source of errors in residential care, supported living, and domiciliary services is not the medication round, not the personal care, not the nursing intervention. It is the shift handover. Medication errors trace back to a missed instruction at handover. Family complaints trace back to a phone call…

The formal training for a CQC, Care Inspectorate, or Care Inspectorate Wales inspection covers the obvious things. The quality statements. The key lines of enquiry. How to brief staff. How to prepare the documentation. How to handle the formal interview. Anyone who has registered as a manager has been through…

There is a moment in most UK care services, repeated four or five times a year, that costs the provider money for no operational benefit. A new care worker starts. The administrator pulls up the DBS portal, processes a new Enhanced DBS check with barred list, pays the £42 fee…

On Wednesday 27 May 2026, the British Medical Association announced that resident doctors in England will strike from 7am on 15 June to 7am on 19 June. It will be the sixteenth round of industrial action by resident doctors since the dispute began in March 2023. Three rounds of five-day…

The London Borough of Hackney has opened a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for emergency accommodation, and it’s open to local hotels, B&Bs and guest houses. The Council wants to stop spot purchasing rooms at standard commercial rates. Instead, it’s looking for accommodation providers to come on board through a contract,…