Care Tender Writing in Birmingham
Birmingham care providers bid through Birmingham City Council's In-tend e-tendering portal, with adult social care contracting for supported living and care homes flowing through the council's CareMatch Portal. Health-funded packages such as CHC are co-commissioned with NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB. We write In-tend and CareMatch bids that are scoring-aware, CQC-evidenced and built only where we believe you can win.
Care commissioning in Birmingham
Birmingham care providers bid through Birmingham City Council's In-tend e-tendering portal, with adult social care contracting handled via the council's CareMatch Portal and health-funded packages co-commissioned by NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB. We write tenders for CQC-registered home care, supported living and care home providers across Birmingham, and we only take bids we believe you can win.
The mechanics are specific. Birmingham advertises contract opportunities above 25,000 GBP locally and manages them through In-tend (in-tendhost.co.uk), where suppliers register, express interest and submit, separate from Contracts Finder. CareMatch is the care-specific route for supported living, care homes and flexible home support and quick-discharge contracting. We make sure you are registered on both before a tender opens, because documents are released only to registered, interested suppliers.
Demand and competition are high. Birmingham is England's largest local authority by population, giving it one of the highest single-council adult social care commissioning spends in the country. According to Skills for Care, in March 2025 the CQC regulated 15,232 domiciliary care organisations in England, up from 13,733 the year before, so home care frameworks here draw a crowded field. Birmingham buys home support under Care Act 2014 light-touch frameworks, including agreements for adults with sensory loss.
Scoring rewards quality. Birmingham's own adult social care provision is subject to a CQC local authority assessment, so commissioners increasingly weight quality and safeguarding evidence. We answer method statements against the published rubric, cite your CQC registration and rating, and name policies with review dates, so your response reads as a specialist who has done the work, not a template.
What is different about bidding in Birmingham
In-tend is the gateway, CareMatch is the care route
Register on In-tend (in-tendhost.co.uk) before a tender opens, because Birmingham City Council advertises contract opportunities above 25,000 GBP locally and releases the documents only to registered, interested suppliers. In-tend is where you express interest, download the ITT and submit, separate from Contracts Finder. The care-specific contracting then runs through the council's CareMatch Portal, which handles supported living, care homes and flexible arrangements for home support and quick-discharge services. Do not confuse the two: In-tend is the generic e-tendering system, CareMatch is the adult social care contracting layer. Getting registered on both early avoids the common Birmingham failure of finding a live tender on the day it closes with no portal access. We map which route applies to your service before drafting a word, so your evidence lands in the right system.
How Birmingham scores: quality and safeguarding carry weight
Birmingham increasingly weights quality and safeguarding evidence because the council's own adult social care provision is subject to a CQC local authority assessment under the Care Quality Commission's duty to assess local authorities. That filters into commissioning: scorers want concrete safeguarding processes, evidenced outcomes and CQC-aligned quality assurance, not generic statements. As England's largest local authority by population, Birmingham runs one of the highest single-council adult social care commissioning spends in the country, so competition on its home care quality frameworks and sensory-loss framework agreements is real. According to CQC State of Care 2024/25, the proportion of home care services providing care to four people or fewer has grown to more than 28 percent in two years, which sharpens commissioner focus on financial resilience and continuity. We answer method-statement questions against the published scoring rubric, citing your CQC registration and rating, named policies with review dates, and measurable outcomes. Where Birmingham buys home support under Care Act 2014 light-touch frameworks, we frame your offer to the lot definitions rather than a one-size answer.
Health and social care co-commissioning
Birmingham sits within the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System, where NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB plans and buys NHS services for the Birmingham and Solihull population alongside the council. For Continuing Healthcare and jointly funded packages, the ICB co-commissions with the local authority, so a complex care or homecare bid often has to satisfy both an NHS quality lens and a council social care lens. This matters for how you evidence clinical oversight, governance and value. We write to both audiences in a single coherent response, so a CHC-relevant bid does not read as a pure social care submission. Note there is no single West Midlands ICB body; the correct commissioner for Birmingham health funding is NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB, and naming it correctly signals you understand the local system.
Councils we write bids for in Birmingham
- Birmingham City Council
- Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
- Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
- Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
- Walsall Council
- Wolverhampton City Council
- Coventry City Council
NHS integrated care boards (ICBs)
- NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board
- Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System
NHS and continuing healthcare work in Birmingham is commissioned through these ICBs.
Birmingham and West Midlands council procurement portals
Birmingham City Council runs care tenders through In-tend, with CareMatch as the adult social care contracting route. Neighbouring West Midlands councils use a mix of portals, so register on each one relevant to where you deliver before opportunities open.
| Council | Type | Procurement portal |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham City Council | Metropolitan district | In-tend (in-tendhost.co.uk), with CareMatch Portal for adult social care |
| Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council | Metropolitan district | In-tend |
| Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council | Metropolitan district | In-tend |
| Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council | Metropolitan district | In-tend |
| Walsall Council | Metropolitan district | In-tend |
| Wolverhampton City Council | Metropolitan district | Proactis / In-tend |
| Coventry City Council | Metropolitan district | In-tend |
Portals change. We confirm the live portal and registration steps for your specific tender before you commit.
What we write for Birmingham providers
Domiciliary care tender writing
Supported living tender writing
Residential care tender writing
Nursing home tender writing
Continuing healthcare tender writing
Mental health tender writing
New to this? Read how to find care tenders and how to win a care tender.
Birmingham: common questions
What portal does Birmingham City Council use for care tenders?
Birmingham City Council uses its In-tend e-tendering portal at in-tendhost.co.uk. Suppliers register, express interest, download the ITT documents and submit bids there. It is separate from Contracts Finder and the national Find a Tender service. Adult social care contracting for supported living and care homes is then handled through the council's CareMatch Portal, so most Birmingham care providers need both.
What is the Birmingham CareMatch Portal?
CareMatch is Birmingham City Council's adult social care contracting route. It manages supported living and care home placements plus flexible contracting arrangements for home support and quick-discharge services. It is the care-specific layer that sits alongside the general In-tend e-tendering portal, so do not treat them as the same system. We make sure your registration and evidence sit in the right place for the contract you are chasing.
How do I get on Birmingham City Council's home care framework?
Birmingham commissions home support under Care Act 2014 light-touch framework agreements, including frameworks for adults with sensory loss and broader home care quality frameworks. To get on, you must be registered on In-tend before the opportunity opens, then submit a compliant, scoring-aware response when it goes live. Framework status changes, so we verify the live position on In-tend at the point of bidding rather than quoting a stale framework.
Which ICB covers Birmingham for continuing healthcare?
NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB covers Birmingham for health-funded packages, including Continuing Healthcare. It plans and buys NHS services for the Birmingham and Solihull population as part of the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System and co-commissions CHC with the council. There is no single West Midlands ICB; Birmingham and Solihull ICB is the correct body to name in CHC-relevant bids.
Do I need to register on In-tend before bidding for Birmingham care contracts?
Yes. Birmingham advertises and manages opportunities above 25,000 GBP through In-tend, and documents are released only to registered, interested suppliers. If you wait until a tender is live to register, you can lose days you do not have. We get you registered on In-tend and CareMatch early so you can access the ITT the moment it publishes. Your first tender is 795 GBP. We only take bids we believe you can win, and if a loss is clearly down to our writing error we rewrite the next one free. Our win rate is 96 percent.
Bidding for a Birmingham contract?
Send it over and we'll tell you free whether you'd qualify, before you spend a penny. £795 for your first tender.