Care Tenders in Scotland
In Scotland, care contracts are advertised on Public Contracts Scotland (publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk) and submitted through the separate PCS-Tender system, not Contracts Finder or Find a Tender. National frameworks run through Scotland Excel, councils commission via 31 Integration Joint Boards, and your service must be registered with the Care Inspectorate, not CQC. Get those three facts right and your bid already reads like a provider who understands the Scottish system.
Care commissioning in Care Tenders in Scotland
Scotland runs its public procurement on a different system from the rest of the UK, and getting the basics right is the first test commissioners apply. Care contracts are advertised on Public Contracts Scotland (PCS, publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk) and bids are submitted through the separate PCS-Tender eTendering system. Contracts Finder and Find a Tender are England and UK-wide routes, so a Scottish provider working only from those will miss most of what is actually open.
The regulator is the Care Inspectorate (careinspectorate.com), not CQC. Your service must be registered with the Care Inspectorate, and your quality grades on the 1 to 6 scale are read directly by commissioners as evidence of quality. A grade of 4 (Good) or above carries weight in evaluation, and weaker grades will be probed in the method statements, so have an improvement narrative ready for any theme sitting below 4.
Most care is commissioned by councils working through 31 Integration Joint Boards (IJBs), also called Health and Social Care Partnerships, created under the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. According to the Scottish Government, these IJBs pool NHS board and local-authority budgets, so when you bid you are usually answering to an integrated partnership rather than a standalone council social work department.
National frameworks are run by Scotland Excel, the local-government collaborative buying body. It operates the Care and Support Services Flexible Framework for care at home and supported living, plus separate frameworks for adult care homes and social care agency workers. Knowing which of these covers your service, and when it next re-opens, is usually the fastest route to council work.
What is different about bidding in Care Tenders in Scotland
Where Scotland advertises and how it takes bids
Scotland splits advertising and submission across two systems, and you need both. Public Contracts Scotland (publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk) is where councils, IJBs and Scotland Excel publish notices, including the Quick Quote route for lower-value awards. The actual bid is then run through PCS-Tender, the separate eTendering and submission platform, where you build your supplier profile, download the ITT documents and upload responses. Set up a PCS account with email alerts filtered by CPV code and region so you see care-at-home, supported living and care-home notices early. Glasgow City HSCP, for example, publishes an annual Social Care Planned Procurement plan, so you can read commissioning intentions before notices even go live. Do not rely on Contracts Finder or Find a Tender as your main route. Those carry some UK-wide and cross-border notices, but the bulk of Scottish council and IJB care work is advertised only on PCS, and a provider watching the wrong portal simply never sees it.
Scotland Excel frameworks: the national route onto council books
Scotland Excel is the national collaborative buying organisation for Scottish local government, and its frameworks are often the cleanest way onto multiple councils at once. The Care and Support Services Flexible Framework covers care at home and supported living for people aged 16 and over, and runs from 30 September 2024 to 29 September 2030. According to Scotland Excel and the related Find a Tender notice (041140-2024), it had 152 care providers on the arrangement at award and is used by around 20 participating councils including Angus, Argyll & Bute, Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee City, Fife, Falkirk, Renfrewshire, Perth & Kinross, East Ayrshire and Stirling. Because it is a flexible framework, it re-opens at intervals so new providers can join mid-life, which means missing the first round is not fatal. Scotland Excel also runs a separate Care Homes for Adults Flexible Framework, covering adults aged 18 to 64 with learning disability, physical disability, mental health and neurodivergent needs, and a Social Care Agency Workers Flexible Framework.
Fair Work First and Care Inspectorate grades in evaluation
Two Scotland-specific factors decide care bids here. Fair Work First is a Scottish Government condition embedded in tender evaluation: paying the real Living Wage and avoiding inappropriate use of zero-hours contracts are commonly pass/fail or scored criteria, so your staffing and pay model needs to be evidenced, not asserted. Second, Care Inspectorate grades on the 1 to 6 scale are quality evidence in their own right. Commissioners will look at your published grades and expect your improvement narrative where any theme sits below 4. According to the Care Inspectorate, it and Healthcare Improvement Scotland have joint statutory responsibility to inspect the strategic commissioning of IJBs and HSCPs under the 2014 Act, so the partnership buying your service is itself held to account on outcomes. Strong bids tie staffing, pay and quality together: real Living Wage, stable contracts, registered manager capacity and a clear line from your grades to the outcomes the IJB is commissioning for.
Councils we write bids for in Care Tenders in Scotland
- Glasgow City Council
- City of Edinburgh Council
- Fife Council
- Dundee City Council
- Renfrewshire Council
- Perth & Kinross Council
- Dumfries & Galloway Council
- Argyll & Bute Council
- East Ayrshire Council
- Stirling Council
NHS integrated care boards (ICBs)
- Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (IJB)
- Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership (IJB)
- Fife Health and Social Care Partnership (IJB)
- Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership (IJB)
- Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (IJB)
NHS and continuing healthcare work in Care Tenders in Scotland is commissioned through these ICBs.
Where Scottish councils and IJBs publish care tenders
Scottish care work is advertised on Public Contracts Scotland and run through PCS-Tender, with national frameworks operated by Scotland Excel. The table below shows the main commissioners and the portal each uses.
| Council | Type | Procurement portal |
|---|---|---|
| Glasgow City Council / HSCP | Unitary council and IJB | Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender |
| City of Edinburgh Council / HSCP | Unitary council and IJB | Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender |
| Fife Council / HSCP | Unitary council and IJB | Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender |
| Dundee City Council / HSCP | Unitary council and IJB | Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender |
| Renfrewshire Council / HSCP | Unitary council and IJB | Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender |
| Perth & Kinross Council / HSCP | Unitary council and IJB | Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender |
| Argyll & Bute Council / HSCP | Unitary council and IJB | Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender |
| Scotland Excel (national frameworks) | Collaborative buying body | Scotland Excel and PCS-Tender |
Portals change. We confirm the live portal and registration steps for your specific tender before you commit.
What we write for Care Tenders in Scotland 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.
Care Tenders in Scotland: common questions
What portal do I use to find care tenders in Scotland?
Use Public Contracts Scotland (publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk) to find advertised notices, and PCS-Tender to download documents and submit your bid. They are two separate systems and you need accounts on both. PCS also carries a Quick Quote route for lower-value awards. National framework opportunities through Scotland Excel are advertised the same way. Contracts Finder and Find a Tender are England and UK-wide routes and are not the primary place to look for Scottish council and IJB care contracts.
Is CQC the regulator in Scotland?
No. The regulator in Scotland is the Care Inspectorate (careinspectorate.com), not CQC. Your service must be registered with the Care Inspectorate, and your quality grades on the 1 to 6 scale (where 6 is Excellent and 1 is Unsatisfactory) are used by commissioners as quality evidence in tender evaluation. CQC only covers England, so any tender response that refers to CQC ratings instead of Care Inspectorate grades signals that the bid does not understand Scotland.
What is the Scotland Excel care and support framework?
It is the national Care and Support Services Flexible Framework for care at home and supported living services for people aged 16 and over, run by Scotland Excel. According to Scotland Excel, it runs from 30 September 2024 to 29 September 2030, had 152 providers on the arrangement at award and is used by around 20 participating councils including Fife, Renfrewshire, Perth & Kinross and East Ayrshire. Being a flexible framework, it re-opens at intervals so new providers can join during its life rather than only at the start.
How do I join a care framework in Scotland?
Register on Public Contracts Scotland and PCS-Tender, then watch for the relevant Scotland Excel framework to re-open, since the Care and Support Services Flexible Framework admits new providers at intervals. Make sure your Care Inspectorate registration and grades are current, your Fair Work First evidence (real Living Wage and contract terms) is ready, and your insurance, policies and case studies are prepared before the window opens. Then respond to the framework ITT through PCS-Tender within the published deadline. Council and IJB call-off contracts are then awarded from the framework, often through a further mini-competition.
How much does it cost to have my Scottish care tender written, and what if it loses?
Your first tender is £795. 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. For Scotland that means we write to the actual evaluation: Care Inspectorate grades on the 1 to 6 scale, Fair Work First and real Living Wage evidence, and the Scotland Excel or IJB scoring model, submitted through PCS-Tender rather than guessing at an England-style response.
Bidding for a Care Tenders in Scotland contract?
Send it over and we'll tell you free whether you'd qualify, before you spend a penny. £795 for your first tender.