Care contract tenders in London

London is the densest care commissioning market in the UK: thirty-two boroughs plus the City of London, each procuring independently, alongside five integrated care boards and a large number of NHS trusts. More opportunity comes to market here than anywhere else in the country — and more competition with it.

This page sets out who commissions across the capital. To have the relevant opportunities sent to you, the London edition of our bid bulletin arrives twice a week.

Who commissions care in London

Inner London: Camden, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster, and the City of London Corporation.

Outer London: Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Waltham Forest.

Five integrated care boards cover the capital: North West London, North Central London, North East London, South East London and South West London.

What comes to market here

Boroughs procure independently, so there is a near-constant stream of home care, supported living and complex care opportunities across the capital. Several boroughs also collaborate on shared frameworks and joint procurements, particularly in west and south-east London.

Light touch regime procurements are common for care services, which gives commissioners flexibility in process and means timescales and requirements vary more between boroughs than they do between county councils elsewhere.

Supported living and accommodation-based support are commissioned heavily, reflecting London’s housing pressures, and there is sustained demand for provision supporting hospital discharge across the capital’s acute trusts.

What London commissioners tend to score

London Living Wage commitments feature in most borough procurements, and several boroughs treat payment of it as effectively a condition of award rather than a scored element. Price your bid accordingly.

Cultural and linguistic competence is scored seriously and specifically. Boroughs will ask which languages your workforce covers and how you match staff to service users — general diversity statements score poorly.

Travel and coverage look different here than elsewhere: the challenge is congestion and parking rather than distance, and commissioners notice when a provider’s scheduling assumptions have clearly been lifted from a rural contract.

Hear about London opportunities first

Thirty-three commissioning authorities and five ICBs generate more opportunity than any provider can track alone. Ours do it for you and send the three worth your time, twice a week.