Published date: 14 June 2019

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Closing: 15 July 2019

Contract summary

Industry

  • Sanitary towels or tampons - 33771100

Location of contract

North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West

Value of contract

£10,000,000 to £20,000,000

Procurement reference

tender_207181/775809

Published date

14 June 2019

Closing date

15 July 2019

Contract start date

9 September 2019

Contract end date

31 December 2020

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (above threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements above the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes


Description

In March 2019, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the DfE will lead a scheme to provide access to free sanitary products in all schools and colleges in England. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/spring-statement-2019-what-you-need-to-know

On 16th April, Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi confirmed access to free period products will also be fully-funded in Primary Schools. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/free-sanitary-products-in-all-primary-schools

The DfE's 2018 omnibus survey found that 83% of secondary school leaders reported making free products available to pupils, with 41% doing so because of a reason related to pupils' inability to afford period products. Of the secondary school leaders who reported making free products available, 78% said provision was funded from school budgets, 26% used charitable donations and 17% said teachers funded products themselves. No-one should be held back from reaching their potential, which is why we have announced a scheme to provide access to free period products in schools and colleges in England, and that this will be fully funded by the government.

The DfE is looking to procure goods and services from a single national supplier who can:
- Source an appropriate range of period products
- Design and implement user interfaces and support services
- Plan and execute a national delivery service

We require a 'demand-led' service which must be available to approximately 22,000 institutions across England, with an accessible and easy to use means of interaction and product ordering.

The DfE reserves the right to extend this agreement by further periods of 12 and 8 months.


PLEASE NOTE: We have estimated the value of this opportunity to be in the region of £10-20m based on an anticipated level of take-up across the 1.7m eligible learners. The funding for this opportunity is contingent on user need, alongside the delivery and distribution methods used by any successful bidder


More information

Additional text

This tender opportunity is published via the DfE's e-procurement system, Bravo. To register, please see the following link:
https://education.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml


About the buyer

Address

Agora Building, Cumberland Place
Nottingham
NG1 6HJ
England

Email

PP.Procurement@education.gov.uk