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Open tenders / Health & social care

Open tender · Notice 094482-2026

The Essex Carers Hub

Essex County Council

Value
£12.5m
Closes
10 Nov 2026 (26 days)
Where
East of England
Lots
1
Suitable for SMEs
Yes, says the buyer
Contract
4 May 2027 – 31 Mar 2030

In plain English

Essex County Council wants a provider (or lead provider with delivery partners) to run the Essex Carers Hub, a countywide support service for unpaid carers aged 18+ across Essex, covering advice, counselling, peer support, wellbeing grants, training and employment support, from 4 May 2027 to 31 March 2030. The contract is worth £12,500,000 and is let as a single contract rather than split into lots, with scope to later expand into Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.

Good fit for: Charities or organisations experienced in carer support, counselling and community wellbeing services, ideally able to lead a partnership of delivery partners across a large county area.

The catch (with the notice's own words):
  • Single contract, no lots - must deliver full range of services the contract is being tendered as a single contract rather than being divided into lots
  • Includes managing circa £500k/year in wellbeing grants on the Council's behalf the contract value includes circa £500k per year available for the provision of the Wellbeing Grants that will be administered by the Provider
  • Must deliver a counselling service for under-18s referred via Youth Service counselling offer for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers under the age of 18 who are referred by Essex Youth Service

Written with AI from the official notice. Check the notice before relying on it.

What the buyer says

The Essex Carers Hub (formerly the Essex Carers Core Offer of Support (ECCOS)). Essex County Council ("the Council") is committed to delivering high-quality, sustainable and preventative services that improve outcomes for residents and reduce inequalities. The Essex Carers Hub ("the Service") will support these ambitions by ensuring unpaid carers are identified early, recognised, valued and able to access timely support that promotes their wellbeing, resilience and independence. Through partnership working and a strengths-based approach, the Service will help carers improve or maintain their quality of life and prevent the escalation of need wherever possible. The Council is seeking a Provider, or lead provider working with delivery partners, to deliver the Essex Carers Hub, a countywide carers specialist support service that improves the wellbeing, resilience and quality of life of unpaid carers aged 18 and over. The Service also includes a counselling offer for Young Carers and Young Adult Carers under the age of 18 who are referred by Essex Youth Service. For the purposes of this tender a Carer is defined as follows; "A person who provides unpaid care and support to a family member, partner, friend or neighbour who could not manage without that support due to illness, frailty, disability, mental health need, substance misuse or other support needs. All the care they give is unpaid. A carer can be a young carer (under the age of 18) or an adult carer (over the age of 18). That is ordinarily resident in the Council's administrative area" The following services are in scope of this procurement; - Specialist Information Advice and Guidance - Coaching and Counselling - Peer Support Groups - Wellbeing grants (ordinarily up to £300) - Training and Learning Offer -…

Procedure: Competitive flexible procedure (Flexible: the buyer sets the stages, often a shortlist first, then bids). Published 6 Oct 2026.

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