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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Connect to Work (Supported Employment) - SEQF and West Kent IPS Provision

Kent County Council · Contract details notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 3 Oct 2026, 12:22.

Opportunity overview

The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has launched a new national supported employment programme called 'Connect to Work' (C2W). Connect to Work is a key part of the Government's new 'Get Britain Working Strategy' and its commitment to supporting the 1.8m people in the UK who would like to work but are not currently participating in the labour market. The programme aims to support 81,000 individuals per year overall nationally. Connect to work will be delivered by 43 accountable bodies across the UK. Kent County Council (KCC) are one of 43 Accountable bodies and will be delivering the programme on behalf of Kent and Medway. The "Connect to Work" programme is an initiative aimed at providing employment support to individuals with disabilities or long-term health conditions, or other disadvantaged groups. The programme offers targeted interventions, job coaching, workplace support, and other support to ensure that individuals facing challenges can participate in and retain employment. This Contract award relates to provision of SEQF Supported Employment Services for Kent and Medway, and IPS Services in West Kent. This also relates to piloting of IPS services across Kent and Medway during year one of the Connect to Work programme. This Contract award concerns the following areas: SEQF (Kent and Medway) IPS (West Kent, comprising Dartford, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Malling, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells). This will also include piloting of IPS provision across the Kent and Medway area for year one of the connect to work programme (until April 2026). The Council has opted to award this element of the Connect to Work Programme to its Local Authority Trading Company (LATCO) edseco limited t/a the education people in accordance with the Vertical arrangement exemption under Schedule 2 of the Procurement Act 2023. The remainder of commissioned services to deliver the Connect to Work Programme were subject to a competitive procurement process in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

EDSECO LTD

Matched by number
Published award value
Value not stated
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
22 Jul 2025
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH 10970974
Location
West Malling, UKJ46, ME19 4YT, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
CN250240
Status
complete
Procurement Method
direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Why this procedure was chosen
The Council has opted to award this element of the Connect to Work Programme to its Local Authority Trading Company (LATCO) edseco limited t/a the education people in accordance with the Vertical arrangement exemption under Schedule 2 of the Procurement Act 2023. The remainder of commissioned services to deliver the Connect to Work Programme were subject to a competitive procurement process in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Special regime

lightTouch

Procedure reasons

Entry 1
Id
switchingDirectAward

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Kent County Council
Id
GB-PPON-PLDL-8938-YGYW

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PLDL-8938-YGYW

Address

Street Address
County Hall
Locality
Maidstone
Postal Code
ME14 1XQ
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKJ45

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - sub-central government
Organisation 2
Name
EDSECO LTD
Id
GB-COH-10970974

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
10970974

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PBLN-3559-VBWM

Address

Street Address
1 Abbey Wood Road
Locality
West Malling
Postal Code
ME19 4YT
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKJ46

Contact

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Status
active
Main Procurement Category
services

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
75131000
Description
Government services
Entry 2
Scheme
CPV
Id
80000000
Description
Education and training services
Entry 3
Scheme
CPV
Id
85000000
Description
Health and social work services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKJ4
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-10970974
Name
EDSECO LTD

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
1
Award ID
1
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes
Has Options
Yes
Above Threshold
Yes
Date Signed
23 Jul 2025, 00:00

Period

Starts
23 Jul 2025, 00:00
Ends
31 Mar 2027, 23:59
Max Extent Date
31 Mar 2030, 23:59

Renewal

Description
There will be potential for extension period(s) of up to a total of 3 years (36 months). Any extension period taken will be subject to satisfactory performance of the contract, and continued delivery of the DWP Connect to Work Programme.

Options

Description
The anticipated contract value (based on indicative participant numbers, and all potential extensions) is £15,292,224. The Council reserves the right to modify these contracts to include additional participant volumes, and/or additional service areas in the following circumstances: There has been a supplier failure within another lot area(s) within Kent and Medway An awarded supplier has declined to deliver further services under this programme, or is unable to meet the specified participant targets within their lot area(s) Additional Connect to Work Funding is made available by DWP for Kent and Medway Local government reorganisation changes to current Council/district boundaries necessitate amendment of specified contract areas and volumes Should additional service areas or additional participant volumes be awarded via a contract modification process, the total estimated value of this lot could range from £15,292,224 up to c£32,000,000.

Value

Including VAT
15,292,224
Currency
GBP

Documents

Entry 1
Id
A-13974
Document Type
contractSigned
Description
Redacted Contract Document
Format
application/pdf
Entry 2
Id
027414-2026
Document Type
contractNotice
Notice Type
UK7
Description
Contract details notice on Find a Tender
Published
25 Mar 2026, 15:00
Format
text/html

Agreed Metrics

Entry 1
Id
1
Title
Job Starts
Entry 2
Id
2
Title
Outcomes (in work participants)
Entry 3
Id
3
Title
Outcomes (out of work participants)

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Maidstone · UKJ45 · ME14 1XQ · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. 027414-2026Contract details notice on Find a Tender ·