Framework for the Provision of Agency Nursing, Care, Support and Ancillary Staff

Apex Housing has released a significant agency staffing framework covering nursing, care, support and ancillary staff across its services and schemes.

The procurement, reference APX026, is for a multi-supplier Framework Agreement for the provision of suitably qualified, experienced and compliant agency workers to meet temporary staffing requirements. The requirement covers ad hoc, emergency and short-term assignments on an as-required basis.

This is a commercially important opportunity for staffing suppliers operating in nursing, care, supported living and housing-related environments.

Apex intends to appoint up to three suppliers to each lot. Suppliers will be ranked first, second and third based on their final evaluation score. This ranking will determine the order in which assignments are offered under the call-off procedure.

Scope of the framework

The framework is split into two lots:

• Lot 1: Provision of Agency Nursing Staff
• Lot 2: Provision of Agency Care, Support and Ancillary Staff

Estimated annual value

The indicated annual values are:

• Lot 1: £500,000 per annum
• Lot 2: £2.5m to £3m per annum

These values are excluding VAT and are estimates only. The tender documents make clear that no guarantee is given as to the volume or value of services procured under the Framework Agreement.

Contract term and timetable

The Framework Agreement is expected to run for an initial two-year term, with the option to extend by up to two further periods of 12 months, giving a potential 2+1+1 structure.

The documents indicate a September 2026 contract commencement date and the submission deadline is 28 July 2026.

Procurement process

This is being procured under the Competitive Flexible Procedure in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.

Suppliers must submit both:

• Conditions of Participation responses
• Award Stage responses

These must be submitted by the closing date and time via eTendersNI.

The Conditions of Participation stage is assessed on a pass/fail basis. Only suppliers who pass will proceed to award evaluation.

Evaluation approach

The award evaluation is weighted as follows:

• Quality: 40%
• Price: 60%

Quality is assessed across two questions for each lot:

• Proposed Methodology for the Provision of Agency Staff: 250 marks
• Staff Training, Compliance and Safeguarding: 150 marks

Responses scoring below 2 on any quality question will be rejected. Suppliers will therefore need to provide clear, specific and well-evidenced responses rather than generic agency staffing material.

Key bidder requirements

The Suppliers must demonstrate satisfactory experience delivering contracts of a similar nature, scale and complexity for the relevant lot.

Financial thresholds apply where three years of trading accounts are available:

• Lot 1: average turnover requirement of £0.5m
• Lot 2: average turnover requirement of £1m

Required insurance levels include:

• Public liability insurance of not less than £10m per incident
• Employer’s liability insurance of not less than £10m per incident

Bidders will need to evidence robust arrangements for:

• Recruitment, vetting and onboarding
• Qualification checks
• Professional registration checks
• Right to work verification
• AccessNI checks
• Safeguarding compliance
• Mandatory and role-specific training
• Compliance monitoring and expiry management
• Supervision and worker support
• Managing conduct, capability, attendance and performance concerns
• Suitability to work within housing, care and supported living environments

Commercial overview

With limited supplier places, ranked call-off positioning and a high weighting on price, this is likely to be a highly competitive process.

Strong bidders will need to balance:

• Commercial competitiveness
• A credible delivery model
• Robust compliance controls
• Evidence of capacity and resilience
• A clear mobilisation approach
• Practical arrangements for urgent, short notice and out-of-hours staffing requirements