NHS procurement hubs explained
NHS procurement hubs are NHS-owned bodies that set up framework agreements on behalf of trusts and other public buyers, so a place on a hub framework lets buyers call off your service without running a fresh tender. Four of them, NHS Commercial Solutions, the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub, NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) and NHS North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC), work together as NHS Procurement in Partnership (NHS PiP). Each hub runs its own supplier registration and portal, so you register with the hub covering your geography and category. For care providers, hub frameworks lean towards clinical services, staffing and corporate categories rather than personal care packages, so weigh them against council and ICB routes. We check you qualify for free before you bid.
What an NHS procurement hub actually is
An NHS procurement hub is an NHS-owned organisation that aggregates demand across trusts and runs compliant framework agreements, so individual buyers do not each have to tender from scratch. According to NHS London Procurement Partnership and NOE CPC, NHS Procurement in Partnership (NHS PiP) is the collaboration of four such hubs: NHS Commercial Solutions, the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub, NHS LPP and NOE CPC. Peninsula Purchasing and Supply Alliance is another regional hub but is not always counted in the PiP four. Think of a hub as a buying organisation, not a portal. It scopes a need, runs an open competition under the Procurement Act 2023 rules, and awards places to suppliers who pass the selection and quality thresholds. Buyers then call off from that list, sometimes directly, sometimes through a further competition. NOE CPC, for example, was established in 2007 and is wholly owned by the NHS, providing both collaborative frameworks and bespoke procurement support. Hubs are approachable NHS bodies, and NOE CPC publishes a direct supplier contact (enquiries@noecpc.nhs.uk, 0114 212 2122), so a question about scope or timing is a phone call away.
How a hub framework actually works
A hub framework is a pre-tendered list of approved suppliers that buyers draw from, and a place on it is permission to be considered, not a guaranteed order. Once a hub awards you a place, NHS trusts and other eligible bodies can buy your service in one of two ways. They can make a direct award if the framework allows it and your rates or specification clearly fit, or they can run a further competition (sometimes called a mini-competition) where every supplier on the relevant lot is invited to quote against a specific requirement. That second route is where most care and staffing work is actually won, so winning a place is the start, not the finish. Read each framework's call-off procedure before you bid, because the award method shapes how you should price and present yourself. Frameworks usually run for two to four years, and some are accessible UK-wide. NOE CPC framework agreements, for instance, are accessible to all UK-registered contracting authorities and public bodies, with some free to access, so a single place can generate enquiries well beyond the hub's home region.
Which hub covers your region
Register with the hub whose geography matches yours, then check its category catalogue for relevant agreements. NOE CPC covers the North of England, NHS LPP covers London and increasingly works nationally, NHS Commercial Solutions is rooted in the South East and South, and the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub serves the East of England. Peninsula PSA covers the South West. Region is a starting point, not a hard boundary. NOE CPC framework agreements are accessible to all UK-registered contracting authorities and public bodies, and some are free to access, so a place on a North of England hub framework can be called off by a buyer in Kent or Cornwall. This is why you should not assume a hub is irrelevant just because it sits in another region. The practical rule: register with the hub nearest you, then scan every hub catalogue for staffing, clinical or community-health categories where your service fits. Hub names, regions and ownership occasionally restructure, so verify current coverage on each hub's own website before you commit time to a bid.
How to register as a supplier
Each hub maintains its own supplier registration and tendering portal, so there is no single NHS hub login; you register separately with each hub you want to bid into. According to NHS Procurement in Partnership and NHS LPP supplier guidance, suppliers must check the hub or hubs relevant to their geography and capability rather than expecting one account to cover them all. NHS Commercial Solutions runs its registration and tendering on a Jaggaer eSourcing site and has a dedicated route for becoming a supplier, so new providers start there. NOE CPC and the others publish their own portals and category catalogues; search by category, for example FM and property, consultancy, staffing or associated services, to find agreements that match what you deliver. Registering does not win you anything on its own. It puts you on the distribution list for opportunity notices and lets you respond when a relevant framework or further competition opens. Keep your CQC or Ofsted registration, insurances and accounts current, so you can move quickly when a notice lands rather than scrambling to assemble evidence inside a short bid window.
What to prepare before you register
Have your core compliance evidence ready before you register, because hub registration and the selection questionnaire that follows ask for the same documents every public buyer wants. At a minimum, prepare your CQC registration certificate (or Ofsted registration for children's services, which are Ofsted-regulated, not CQC), employer's and public liability insurance, professional indemnity cover where relevant, two or three years of accounts, and your safeguarding, equality and information-governance policies. Getting these in order first saves you from missing a deadline because a certificate had lapsed or a policy was out of date. Hub selection questionnaires often map to the standard Selection Questionnaire used across UK public procurement, so a tidy bid library you can reuse pays for itself across multiple hubs. Note your turnover figures too, since some frameworks set a minimum turnover threshold tied to the contract value. If you bid as a smaller provider, a consortium or subcontracting arrangement can help you meet capacity or turnover requirements you could not reach alone, provided you evidence the relationship clearly.
What hubs buy, and what they usually do not
Hub frameworks skew towards clinical services, temporary and permanent staffing, and corporate categories such as estates, consultancy and IT, rather than packages of personal care for named individuals. That distinction matters for care providers deciding where to spend effort. If you supply nursing or healthcare staff, a hub staffing framework can be a genuine route to NHS work. If you deliver domiciliary or supported living packages, those are usually commissioned by councils and integrated care boards, not bought through a hub. Do not confuse hubs with NHS Shared Business Services or NHS Supply Chain, which are separate national bodies covering corporate services and goods rather than regional framework collaboration. Hubs are also distinct from Atamis, the NHS eCommercial platform many trusts use to publish tenders, which is a system rather than a buying organisation. A hub framework is one award route among several. For most community and home care, council frameworks and ICB tenders carry far more spend, so weigh a hub opportunity against where your contracts realistically come from before you invest writing time.
Keep your information current before acting
Verify hub names, ownership and framework coverage on each hub's own website before you act, because this part of NHS procurement restructures more often than most. Hubs occasionally merge, rebrand or move which categories they cover, and frameworks open and close on their own cycles, so a guide is a map, not a live timetable. Treat anything in this article as accurate as a snapshot and confirm the current position before you build a bid plan around a specific hub or framework. The quickest checks are direct: NHS Commercial Solutions on its Jaggaer eSourcing site, NOE CPC via enquiries@noecpc.nhs.uk or 0114 212 2122, and NHS LPP through its own supplier pages. If you are unsure whether a hub framework or a council route is the better fit for your service, a free eligibility check will tell you where your registration, ratings and evidence actually qualify you to bid, so you spend writing time only where you have a real chance. Staleness check: verify hub structures and frameworks before acting, and treat this guide as needing review by July 2026.
The four NHS Procurement in Partnership hubs
NHS PiP is the collaboration of four NHS-owned hubs. Each runs its own portal and supplier registration, so register with the hub or hubs covering your geography and category. Verify current coverage on each hub's website before bidding.
| Hub | Region focus | Portal or registration route | Typical categories |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHS Commercial Solutions | South East and South | Jaggaer eSourcing, dedicated becoming-a-supplier route | Clinical, staffing, corporate services |
| NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) | London, works nationally | Own supplier portal and registration | Clinical products, workforce, corporate |
| NOE CPC | North of England, frameworks accessible UK-wide | Own portal and category catalogue (enquiries@noecpc.nhs.uk, 0114 212 2122) | FM and property, consultancy, staffing, associated services |
| East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub | East of England | Own supplier registration and portal | Clinical, staffing, corporate categories |
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Common questions
What are NHS procurement hubs?
NHS procurement hubs are NHS-owned organisations that aggregate demand across trusts and run compliant framework agreements, so individual buyers do not each have to tender from scratch. A place on a hub framework lets buyers call off your service, sometimes directly and sometimes through a further competition. They are buying bodies, not just portals, and most skew towards clinical services, staffing and corporate categories rather than packages of personal care.
What is NHS Procurement in Partnership (NHS PiP)?
NHS Procurement in Partnership is the collaboration of four NHS-owned hubs: NHS Commercial Solutions, the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub, NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) and NHS North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC). They work together to coordinate collaborative procurement for the NHS. Peninsula Purchasing and Supply Alliance is another regional hub but is not usually counted in the PiP four.
What is NOE CPC and who can use its frameworks?
NOE CPC, the North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative, was established in 2007 and is wholly owned by the NHS, providing collaborative framework agreements and bespoke procurement support. Its framework agreements are accessible to all UK-registered contracting authorities and public bodies, with some free to access. That means a place on a NOE CPC framework can be called off by buyers nationally, not only in the North of England. You can contact it directly at enquiries@noecpc.nhs.uk or 0114 212 2122.
Which NHS procurement hub covers my region?
NOE CPC covers the North of England, NHS LPP covers London and works nationally, NHS Commercial Solutions is rooted in the South East and South, and the East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub serves the East of England. Peninsula PSA covers the South West. Region is a starting point, not a hard limit, because many hub frameworks can be called off UK-wide. Register with the hub nearest you, then scan every hub catalogue for categories that fit your service.
How do I register as a supplier with an NHS procurement hub?
Each hub maintains its own supplier registration and tendering portal, so there is no single NHS hub login and you register separately with each hub you want to bid into. NHS Commercial Solutions runs registration on a Jaggaer eSourcing site with a dedicated becoming-a-supplier route. Search each hub's category catalogue for staffing, clinical or community-health agreements, then keep your CQC or Ofsted registration, insurances and accounts current so you can respond quickly when a notice opens.
What does a tender with Selective Care Match cost?
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. We start with a free eligibility check so you only spend on a hub or council bid that is genuinely worth writing.
Keep reading
Care frameworks explained
Atamis NHS portal
Framework vs DPS vs contract
CHC homecare framework application
How to find care tenders
Browse all care tender guides, or see care tender writing by service.
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