If you feel like the rules of the game have shifted beneath your feet, you aren’t imagining it. While 2025 was a year of transition and “getting ready” for the new Procurement Act 2023, 2026 is the year where the rubber truly meets the road. For UK health and social care providers, the difference between a winning bid last year and a winning bid this year is no longer just about the quality of care—it is about how you prove your value within a vastly more transparent and data-driven ecosystem.

From Transition to Total Transparency

In 2025, many local authorities were still operating under the “old” Public Contracts Regulations 2015 while they slowly migrated their systems. We saw a mix of portals, varying notice types, and a general sense of “business as usual” for many. However, in 2026, the Central Digital Platform (CDP) has become the mandatory heartbeat of UK procurement. This isn’t just a place to find tenders; it is a permanent record of your organisation’s identity and performance.

The most jarring shift for many providers this year has been the public nature of the “Debarment List” and performance tracking. If your 2025 bids relied on a bit of “glossy” marketing to cover up operational gaps, 2026 will be a wake-up call. To navigate this new era of transparency, providers must ensure their digital footprint is spotless by focusing on the following:

• KPI Publication: Any contract worth over £5 million now requires the publication of at least three Key Performance Indicators. Your performance against these is public, meaning future commissioners will check your 2025/26 track record before even reading your new proposal.
• The “Tell Us Once” Model: Your core credentials—finances, insurance, and exclusion grounds—are now stored centrally. Any discrepancy between what you told a council in 2025 and what is on the platform in 2026 can lead to immediate disqualification.
• Past Performance Scrutiny: Unlike 2025, where “past performance” was often difficult for commissioners to verify across different regions, the 2026 system makes it easy for a buyer in Devon to see if you underperformed on a contract in Durham.

The Death of the “Cheapest Wins” Mentality

We spent most of 2025 talking about the shift from MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) to MAT (Most Advantageous Tender). In 2026, we are seeing what that actually looks like in practice. Last year, price still held a dominant weight in many social care tenders, often acting as the deciding factor. This year, commissioners are using their new “Competitive Flexible Procedure” powers to weigh “Public Benefit” much more heavily. 

This means the “Real Difference” is in how you justify your costs. It is no longer enough to be the cheapest; you have to be the most “beneficial” to the local community and the taxpayer. This change has fundamentally altered the way we structure pricing schedules and quality responses. When building a bid in 2026, your strategy must account for:

• Outcome-Linked Value: You must demonstrate how every pound spent leads to a specific health outcome, such as reducing the number of falls or speeding up hospital discharges.
• Social Value as a Core Scorer: While social value was a “nice to have” 10% section in many 2025 tenders, in 2026, we are seeing it hit 20% to 30% weighting, often with a focus on local climate targets and local employment.
• Innovation over Habit: Commissioners are moving away from traditional “time-and-task” models. They are looking for providers who propose tech-enabled care and innovative staffing solutions that were considered “too risky” in previous years. 

User Choice and Direct Awards

Another major differentiator in 2026 is the refined approach to “User Choice” contracts. In 2025, the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) for the NHS was still finding its feet. Now, it is fully embedded. For social care providers, this means that for certain services—particularly those involving vulnerable individuals with specific needs—the “race to tender” has been replaced by a system that prioritises the individual’s choice and the provider’s proven expertise.

This doesn’t mean less competition; it means a different type of competition. You aren’t just competing on a portal; you are competing for the trust of the service users and their families. This year, your tender evidence must be much more “human-centric.” To succeed in this shift, your organisation’s development plan should include:

• Evidence of Co-Production: Showing that your service users didn’t just “receive” care in 2025, but actually helped design how the service will look in 2026 and beyond.
• Specialist Credentials: With more “Direct Awards” happening for niche services, having unique, verifiable specialisms (such as complex dementia or neuro-rehabilitation) is more valuable than being a “generalist” provider.
• Lived Experience Feedback: 2026 tenders are asking for “lived experience” to be woven into the quality questions. They want to hear the voices of the people you support, not just your Managing Director.

Conclusion: A New Era of Professionalism

The real difference between 2025 and 2026 is the end of the “amateur” era in tendering. The 2026 landscape requires a level of data accuracy, social commitment, and regulatory alignment that many providers simply weren’t prepared for last year. To win now, you must be a partner to the commissioner, sharing their goals for a healthier, more sustainable community. If you can prove that you are a “MAT” provider—the most advantageous choice for the long term—then 2026 will be your most successful year yet.

Need support with tenders or compliance? AssuredBID helps UK social care providers prepare stronger bids and win the right opportunities. You can book a consultation with our tender experts, explore our services, and follow AssuredBID on social media for practical updates, insights, and guidance you can actually use.