AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Derbyshire County Council awarded Post Office Limited a direct-award contract for cash-counter voucher payment services supporting the Derbyshire Discretionary Fund and other authorised initiatives. The contract was signed on 6 October 2026 and runs to 31 May 2028, with extension options that could take the maximum term to 31 May 2034.
Published outcomePost Office Limited is the sole named supplier for lot 1. The published contract value is £37,755,568 excluding VAT; the notice description indicates this comprises up to £755,568 in estimated provider service charges and up to £37 million in payments to residents over eight years.
Market significanceThis is a high-value public-service payment arrangement using a direct award after two unsuccessful competitive procedures. The stated maximum term is eight years, creating a potentially long supplier relationship subject to the Council's extension decisions and possible local-government-reorganisation changes.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
Post Office Limited
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £37,755,568 excluding VAT; £37,906,681 including VAT GBP · Active contract
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Award 1 names Post Office Limited as its supplier and relates to lot 1. Contract 1, linked to award 1, states amounts of GBP 37,755,568 and GBP 37,906,681 gross.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Award status
99% confidenceActive award
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Award 1 is recorded with status "active".
Contract status
99% confidenceActive contract
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Contract 1 is recorded with status "active".
Contract signature
99% confidenceSigned on 6 October 2026
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Contract 1 gives dateSigned as 2026-10-06 and includes a document typed "contractSigned".
Procurement completion
98% confidenceTender marked complete
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The tender and lot 1 both have status "complete".
VALUES
Published values explained
Published contract value excluding VAT
99% confidence£37,755,568
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Contract 1 value.amount is GBP 37,755,568.
Published contract value including VAT
99% confidence£37,906,681
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Contract 1 value.amountGross is GBP 37,906,681.
Estimated provider service charges over maximum eight-year term
96% confidenceUp to £755,568; not guaranteed and activity-based
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The notice description states estimated provider service delivery charges are up to £755,568 over eight years and payments are based on actual activity.
Estimated payments to residents over maximum eight-year term
96% confidenceUp to £37,000,000
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The notice description states that payments to Derbyshire residents over eight years are estimated at up to £37,000,000.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Award date
90% confidence7 January 2026
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The supplied award record gives award_date as 2026-01-07.
Contract signed
99% confidence6 October 2026
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Contract 1 gives dateSigned as 2026-10-06.
Contract start
99% confidence6 October 2026
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Contract 1 period.startDate is 2026-10-06.
Initial contract end
99% confidence31 May 2028
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Contract 1 period.endDate is 2028-05-31.
Maximum possible end date
99% confidence31 May 2034
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Contract 1 period.maxExtentDate is 2034-05-31.
Latest contract-details notice publication
99% confidence7 October 2026
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The contract-details notice document 094958-2026 has datePublished 2026-10-07.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Service
99% confidenceCash-counter payment service for vouchers supporting the Derbyshire Discretionary Fund and other Council-authorised payment initiatives
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The tender title and description specify the service purpose.
Resident service
96% confidenceVoucher holders can exchange vouchers for their full cash value at physical cash-counter locations across Derbyshire and surrounding borders on first presentation
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This requirement is stated in the tender description.
Voucher administration
96% confidenceIssue vouchers or voucher codes to the Council and, when instructed, to residents by text, email or letter
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This requirement is stated in the tender description.
Classification
98% confidenceCPV 66110000 — Banking services
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Award item 1 lists CPV 66110000 with description "Banking services".
Delivery geography
94% confidenceDerbyshire region (UKF1)
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Award item 1 lists delivery address region UKF1; the description refers to Derbyshire and surrounding borders.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceDirect award
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The tender states procurementMethod "direct" and procurementMethodDetails "Direct award".
Direct-award rationale
99% confidenceSwitched to direct award under Section 43 of the Procurement Act 2023 after two unsuccessful competitive tender procedures
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The published rationale explicitly states this sequence and legal basis.
Prior competition outcome
97% confidenceAll tenders received in the two competitive procedures were assessed as unsuitable
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The rationale says tenders failed to meet Council requirements or specified award criteria, including essential requirements relating to technical capability, cash management, service delivery, pricing thresholds or selection criteria.
Prior notices referenced
96% confidenceocds-h6vhtk-05128e and ocds-h6vhtk-05cf64
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These identifiers are cited in the direct-award rationale.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Initial term
99% confidence6 October 2026 to 31 May 2028
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Contract 1 period start and end dates are 2026-10-06 and 2028-05-31.
Extension options
99% confidenceUp to six additional years, exercisable as six 12-month periods or three 24-month periods at the Council's sole discretion
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Contract 1 renewal description states these options.
Maximum term
99% confidenceUp to eight years
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The renewal description states that the total contract term will be up to a maximum of eight years.
Performance metrics recorded
94% confidenceTime limit to cancel vouchers; time limit to resolve Council queries; customer satisfaction
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Contract 1 lists these agreed metrics, each with 12-month observation frequency.
Local government reorganisation provision
95% confidenceMay be novated to a successor council or modified for new council arrangements, subject to applicable law and contract provisions
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The tender description expressly identifies possible LGR-related novation or modification.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Value composition
94% confidenceThe published excluding-VAT contract value equals the stated maximum £37 million resident payments plus £755,568 estimated provider service charges
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The contract amount is £37,755,568, while the description separately states up to £37,000,000 in resident payments and up to £755,568 in service charges.
Activity risk
97% confidenceProvider service-charge payments are activity-based and the stated estimate is not guaranteed
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The description says payments will be made based on actual activity and the estimate is not guaranteed.
Route to market
98% confidenceThe direct award followed unsuccessful competitive processes rather than a successful competitive award
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The published direct-award rationale states that two competitive tender processes produced no suitable tenders.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or standalone value.
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The supplied lot record contains null title, description and value fields.
Competition detail
99% confidenceBid counts, bidder identities, evaluation scores and pricing comparisons are not supplied in the published notice.
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No such fields are included in the supplied source data.
Value allocation
96% confidenceThe notice does not separate a supplier fee value from resident-payment funds in the formal contract value field.
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Contract 1 provides one aggregate value, while the description gives separate maximum estimates for service charges and resident payments.
Conflict-of-interest publication
99% confidenceConflict-of-interest information is marked "Not published".
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Tender documents include conflictOfInterest with description "Not published".
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- Lot 1 title, description and individual lot value were not published.
- Information on bid counts, bidder identities, evaluation scoring and comparative pricing was not supplied in the published notice.
- The published contract value is aggregate; no formal allocation between provider service charges and resident-payment funds is supplied.
- Conflict-of-interest information was not published.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Derbyshire County CouncilPost Office Limitedcash counter payment servicesDerbyshire Discretionary Funddirect awardvoucher payments
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the Derbyshire cash counter payment services contract?
Post Office Limited is the sole named supplier for award 1 and lot 1.
Was this contract signed?
Yes. The contract record states it was signed on 6 October 2026.
How long can the contract run?
It initially runs to 31 May 2028 and may be extended, at the Council's discretion, to a maximum end date of 31 May 2034.
Why was a direct award used?
The Council states that two prior competitive tender procedures produced no suitable tenders, so it switched to a direct award under Section 43 of the Procurement Act 2023.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.