NEPO and the OPEN portal: a guide for care providers
NEPO, the North East Procurement Organisation, is the shared procurement body for the twelve North East local authorities, and since 2024 every one of its opportunities runs through OPEN, the cloud e-procurement system at open-uk.org. Registration on OPEN is free and it is the only route to bid with NEPO and the twelve councils, including their adult supported living and home care frameworks. It is a separate account from ProContract or Due North, so a North East provider needs an OPEN registration even if it already holds a ProContract login. We check you qualify for the relevant framework for free before you write a word.
What NEPO is and which councils it covers
NEPO is the central procurement organisation for twelve North East England local authorities, acting as the shared buying body and tendering platform for the region. The twelve members are Northumberland, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, County Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland. Between them, NEPO and its member councils publish around 6,000 competitive opportunities every year through the portal, according to NEPO, so a meaningful share of North East care work passes through this one body. It is worth being precise about the boundary: NEPO covers exactly these twelve councils and no authority outside the North East, so do not expect to reach, say, Cumbria or North Yorkshire commissioning here. For a care provider based in the region, understanding NEPO is close to essential, because the framework places it manages are what let these councils refer adult social care and supported living packages to you.
What OPEN is and why it replaced the old NEPO Portal
OPEN is the cloud e-procurement system NEPO now uses for all of its tendering, hosted at open-uk.org. It replaced the legacy NEPO Portal, which NEPO and the twelve councils had used for over twenty years, according to NEPO and the Open Hub. If you are working from older guidance that tells you to log into the NEPO Portal, that route is retired and you need an OPEN account instead. OPEN is where opportunities are advertised, where you express interest, and where you complete and submit the bid itself. It is genuinely a different system, not a rename of an existing one, so the supplier experience, the messaging area and the submission steps are all worth learning fresh. Treat the open-uk.org login as the single front door to NEPO and every one of the twelve member authorities.
How to register as a supplier on OPEN
Create a free supplier account at open-uk.org and complete your organisation profile before you go looking for tenders. Registration on OPEN for businesses and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations is free of charge, according to NEPO, so there is no cost barrier to getting set up. Enter your CQC registration details, insurances, accounts and named contacts carefully, because the portal pulls this data into bids and an incomplete profile is a common reason providers stumble mid-submission. Set your business categories and keywords for adult social care, supported living and home care so relevant NEPO and member-council opportunities trigger email alerts. One important point: OPEN is a distinct account from ProContract or Due North. Holding a ProContract login from another council does nothing for you here, so a North East provider needs its own OPEN registration even if it already bids elsewhere on Proactis systems.
What care frameworks NEPO runs
NEPO's Social Care category covers both adult and children's services, and a good deal of it is published as Flexible Framework Agreements that periodically re-open to admit new providers. The category spans Supported Living for adults, Independent Foster Care, Safeguarding Adults Reviews, and barrister and advocacy services, among others. A practical nuance: many of the frameworks you will see on OPEN are run by an individual member council rather than by NEPO centrally. Redcar and Cleveland operates its own Supported Living Framework, and South Tyneside runs a Flexible Framework for Independent Supported Living for adults with high-level needs, split into a Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental lot and a Mental Health lot. So it is best to think of NEPO as the umbrella and OPEN as the portal, while the contracting authority on any given framework may be one of the twelve councils. Read each notice to see who the buyer actually is.
What a Flexible Framework Agreement means for you
A Flexible Framework Agreement, or FFA, stays open under the Procurement Act 2023, so providers can be admitted at later intake windows rather than only at a single one-off opening. This matters because the old worry, that you have missed your one chance for years, largely disappears on these frameworks. If you are not ready or not registered when an FFA first opens, you can usually join at a subsequent intake once you meet the conditions. The practical move is to register on OPEN now, set your alerts, and have your CQC evidence, policies and a supported housing case study ready, so that when an intake window opens you can respond inside the deadline rather than scrambling. The trade-off is that places on an FFA do not guarantee referrals; you still compete at call-off or further competition stage, so the framework place is the start of the work, not the end of it.
The CQC gate on supported living frameworks
An active CQC registration is a hard condition of participation on NEPO supported living frameworks, alongside demonstrable experience of delivering multi-tenant supported housing or outreach support. This is a genuine pass or fail gate: without the right CQC registration in place, the rest of your answers are not read, so confirm your registration covers the regulated activity the framework requires before you invest time in the bid. The experience requirement is just as real. Buyers on these high-needs frameworks, such as South Tyneside's learning disability and mental health lots, want evidence that you have run supported living for people with complex needs, not a general claim that you provide care. Note the regulator boundary too: adult supported living sits with CQC, while children's and 16 plus provision is regulated by Ofsted under separate rules, so make sure you are bidding under the right regime for the service you deliver.
How NEPO bids are scored and where providers slip
NEPO and member-council care frameworks are scored on a quality and price split with a written quality section that decides most outcomes, so your method statements carry the bid. Expect a selection stage that screens CQC registration, insurances, turnover and grounds for exclusion on a pass or fail basis, then a scored quality stage covering staffing and retention, safeguarding, person-centred outcomes, void and occupancy handling on supported living, and local delivery. The slips we see most often are avoidable: a CQC registration that does not match the regulated activity, a supported housing example that is too thin to prove the experience condition, and method statements that describe good intentions instead of how the provider actually delivers and measures outcomes. On supported living, evidence of how you fill voids and sustain occupancy is frequently weak and frequently scored. We only take on bids we believe a provider can win, which on these frameworks usually means the CQC gate and the experience condition are clearly met before a single answer is drafted.
NEPO and OPEN: the facts a care provider needs
The essentials of bidding with NEPO through the OPEN portal at open-uk.org.
| Question | What applies | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Which councils does NEPO cover | The twelve North East authorities, from Northumberland and Newcastle to Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland | Defines exactly which councils you can reach through one body |
| Which portal do I use | OPEN at open-uk.org, the cloud system that replaced the old NEPO Portal in 2024 | The retired NEPO Portal no longer accepts bids |
| Does registration cost anything | No, OPEN registration for businesses and VCSEs is free | No cost barrier to getting set up and seeing opportunities |
| Is OPEN the same as ProContract | No, OPEN is a separate account from ProContract or Due North | You need an OPEN login even if you already hold a ProContract one |
| Do I need CQC registration | Yes, an active CQC registration is a hard condition on adult supported living frameworks | Without it the rest of your bid is not assessed |
| Can I join after a framework opens | Often yes, Flexible Framework Agreements re-open at later intake windows | Missing the first opening need not lock you out for years |
Not sure if you qualify for a tender? We check it for free, before you pay anything, and we only take bids we believe you can win. Text TENDER to get started.
Common questions
What is NEPO and which councils does it cover?
NEPO, the North East Procurement Organisation, is the central procurement body for twelve North East England local authorities: Northumberland, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Gateshead, County Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland. It runs their tendering, including adult social care and supported living frameworks, through the OPEN portal.
How do I register as a supplier on the NEPO OPEN portal?
Go to open-uk.org and create a free supplier account, then complete your organisation profile with CQC details, insurances, accounts and contacts. Set your categories and keywords for care so relevant opportunities trigger alerts. OPEN is a separate account from ProContract, so you need to register here even if you already bid on other portals.
Is registration on OPEN free?
Yes. Registration on OPEN at open-uk.org is free of charge for businesses and for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, according to NEPO. There is no cost to register, set alerts or express interest, and it is the only route to bid with NEPO and the twelve North East councils.
What replaced the old NEPO Portal?
OPEN replaced the legacy NEPO Portal in 2024. NEPO and the twelve councils had used the old NEPO Portal for over twenty years, but all opportunities now run through OPEN at open-uk.org. If older guidance tells you to use the NEPO Portal, that route is retired and you need an OPEN account instead.
Do I need CQC registration to bid for a NEPO supported living framework?
Yes. An active CQC registration is a core condition of participation on NEPO adult supported living frameworks, alongside demonstrable experience of delivering multi-tenant supported housing or outreach support. It is a pass or fail gate, so your registration must cover the regulated activity before the rest of your bid is assessed. Children's and 16 plus provision is regulated by Ofsted instead.
How much does it cost to have my NEPO bid written?
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. Start with a free eligibility check so we can confirm you meet the CQC and experience conditions before you commit.
Keep reading
Supported living framework application
Care frameworks explained
Framework vs DPS vs contract
How to find care tenders
Browse all care tender guides, or see care tender writing by service.
Got a tender to check?
Text TENDER to +44 7822 030677and we'll tell you free whether you'd qualify, before you spend a penny.