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 for working age adults across Sheffield.

It’s worth understanding how this one works before you apply. The Council made some changes recently to how the framework operates, and these affect which lots are open and how often new providers can be brought on board.

What services are required?

The framework covers outcome-based support for adults with disabilities living in Sheffield. The Council buys this in two ways. Some support is delivered within the person’s home, helping them live independently with the right care and assistance. Other support is delivered outside the home through activities, day services and overnight breaks that help people stay socially connected and active.

Right now, the framework operates with three lots, but only two are open for new applications:

• Lot 1: Currently closed. The Council has paused new applications because supply already meets demand. They’ll give the market at least a month’s notice through the portal if this changes.
• Lot 2: Opportunities Outside the Home, Day Opportunities. This covers traditional day services, weekend activities, and developing areas such as supported employment, services for people with autism, and support for those transitioning from children’s services.
• Lot 3: Overnight Short Breaks. This covers community-based overnight breaks, overnight breaks for people with physical needs, and developing areas such as unplanned breaks and support for people whose behaviours challenge services.

Evaluations for Lots 2 and 3 are now run annually, not continuously. That means there’s a specific window each year when applications are reviewed, and missing it means waiting for the next round.

What is it solving?

Sheffield is shifting away from process-driven commissioning towards an outcomes-based approach. That’s a meaningful change. The focus moves from how a service operates to what it actually achieves for the person being supported. People and their advocates get a more central role in measuring whether the service is working.

The framework also gives the Council a stable marketplace to work with. By contracting directly with providers, on longer terms and with built-in flexibility, the Council can adjust support as needs change without having to re-procure. And by closing Lot 1 while supply meets demand, it’s being deliberate about not over-saturating the market in areas where current providers are already meeting the need.

For the people being supported, the underlying goal is choice, independence, and continuity of support, all delivered by providers held to a consistent quality standard.

Who is it ideal for?

This framework suits established adult social care providers with experience delivering day opportunities or overnight short breaks for people with disabilities. You need to be in a position to apply for Lot 2 or Lot 3 specifically (Lot 1 isn’t accepting new submissions), and to be ready to deliver services in Sheffield itself.

If you can deliver in both lots, you can apply to both. There’s no cap on the number of lots a provider can be appointed to.

Service type and user group

The service is outcome-based support for working age adults aged 16 and over who live within the Sheffield boundary. The Council notes that occasional packages may be procured for individuals under 18 who need a longer transition or who experience a care breakdown approaching adulthood. OFSTED registration isn’t currently required, though it’s flagged as a development area for providers wanting to support that cohort.

The conditions covered include:

• Learning disability
• Physical disability or long-term condition
• Autism
• Sensory impairment, including dual sensory impairment

People may have one or more of these conditions, and may also need support with mental health or family commitments. Eligibility is based on a Care Act 2014 assessment.

Lot and sub-lot structure

Three lots in total. Lot 1 is closed. Lots 2 and 3 each have sub-categories you should be deliberate about applying for, because each one requires evidence of relevant experience and capacity.

• Lot 2 sub-categories: Traditional Day Services; Weekend Activities; and developmental areas including Individual Service Funds, transition from children’s services, services for people with autism, shared resources, and supported employment.
• Lot 3 sub-categories: Community-Based Overnight Short Breaks; Overnight Short Breaks for individuals with physical needs; and developmental areas including unplanned overnight breaks, Individual Service Funds, children’s service transitions, autism services, services for people whose behaviours challenge services, and shared resources.

Location restriction

Services must be delivered to people living within the Sheffield boundary. Out-of-area provision isn’t the focus of this framework. Providers don’t have to be Sheffield-based to bid, but they do need a credible plan for delivering locally.

Mandatory eligibility requirements

• CQC registration where personal care is delivered. If your service includes regulated personal care, you must be CQC registered. Under the Health and Care Act 2022, providers registered with CQC for a regulated activity must also provide mandatory training on learning disabilities and autism appropriate to the role.
• Provider must deliver the support directly. Sheffield won’t contract with entities that aren’t actually delivering the care themselves. Novating contracts to a separate company purely for VAT recovery is explicitly off the table.
• Person-centred and outcomes-driven service model. You’ll need to evidence involvement of the people you support in their support planning, reviews, and quality monitoring.
• Real Living Wage commitment. Sheffield expects providers to pay staff the Real Living Wage as part of their workforce approach.
• Submissions via Mercell / YORtender. All correspondence and tender submissions go through the YORtender portal. Hard copy, email, and fax submissions aren’t accepted.
• Compliant Contractor Questionnaire, Method Statements, Pricing Schedule and Form of Tender. These are the four documents that make up the submission. All prices are in Sterling, exclusive of VAT.

What should providers have in place?

• CQC registration for the regulated activities relevant to your service offer, where personal care is being delivered.
• A trained workforce, with mandatory learning disability and autism training where required, plus relevant specialist training for the cohort and lot you’re applying for.
• Real Living Wage policy covering all staff delivering the service.
• ASC-WDS data submission. Sheffield expects providers to maintain accurate workforce data through the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set.
• Up-to-date policies and procedures covering safeguarding, recruitment, mental capacity, health and safety, equality and diversity, complaints, and incident reporting.
• Person-centred planning evidence. Clear examples of how you involve the people you support in their support planning, review, and quality monitoring.
• Service records for every person supported, including the Individual Purchase Agreement, Support Plan, Risk Assessments, health and social care input, and incident reports.
• Local delivery capability. Even if you’re not Sheffield-based, you need staffing and logistics that can deliver consistently to people in Sheffield.

Watch: tender summary video

Next steps

If you want to speak to a sales manager about your application, book a consultation with the AssuredBID team. We’ll talk through your eligibility against Lot 2 or Lot 3, your service model, and your bid strategy. Our specialist bid writers can then support your submission ahead of the next annual evaluation window.

To review the full eligibility criteria, lot specifications and the submission process, visit Sheffield Adults with a Disability Pseudo-DPS.