RM6397 Explained: Preparing for the New CCS Clinical and Non-Clinical Staffing Framework

GCA has confirmed detail on RM6397 Clinical and Non Clinical Temporary and Permanent Staff, the upcoming NHS Workforce Alliance framework that will enable public and third sector organisations to hire clinical and non-clinical workers through multiple engagement types, including permanent and fixed-term recruitment, temporary positions and contractors.

For staffing suppliers, RM6397 matters because it is intended to become a key route to market for NHS workforce resourcing. It will also be available to wider eligible public sector bodies, including central and local government, universities, charities and blue light services.

If you currently supply through RM6281 (National Framework for the Provision of Clinical and Healthcare Staffing) or RM6277 (Non-Clinical Staffing), RM6397 is the framework that will replace both of these, combining them into a single agreement.

The framework is now confirmed to run for 4 years, with an ITT release date of 4 August 2026 and an expected submission deadline of 22 September 2026. This update covers what we now know, including the full 12-lot structure, compliance requirements and past performance thresholds, with practical bid preparation steps you can start taking now.

RM6397: Key Facts

RM6397 is an upcoming closed framework under the Procurement Act 2023, run by the Government Commercial Agency (GCA, formerly Crown Commercial Service) as part of the NHS Workforce Alliance. It will last 4 years, with an ITT expected to release on 4 August 2026 and submissions expected to close on 22 September 2026.

Clinical and Non Clinical Temporary and Permanent Staff is designed to support hiring on a regional and national basis across the UK across a broad mix of role types, spanning clinical and non-clinical functions. It will be available to NHS contracting authorities as well as other public sector bodies, such as central and local government, universities, charities and emergency services.

The framework is free to use for buyers, with framework fees collected from suppliers rather than buying organisations, and that it's designed to give buyers access to a wide range of suppliers, including SMEs, specialist niche providers and managed service options.

What RM6397 Will Cover

RM6397 aims to help the NHS and other public sector bodies hire quality candidates for a variety of roles. Examples include:

• nursing and midwifery, medical and dental, allied health professionals, health science services, emergency services personnel, social care staffing
• administration/secretarial, finance/accounts/audit, IT roles, legal roles, environmental/scientific roles, coders/health records secretaries
• caterers, drivers, security, estates and maintenance including specialist labour

For suppliers, the practical implication is that RM6397 is likely to span multiple revenue types and delivery approaches, from high-volume transactional bookings through to longer-term recruitment projects. Buyers can use it for direct sourcing, or appoint a managed service provider who fills roles directly or through their supply chain.

Timeline

GCA has now confirmed the following key dates, though please note these remain subject to change ahead of formal publication.

• Expected ITT release date: 4 August 2026
• Expected submission date: 22 September 2026
• Framework award: early 2027
  

The new framework is expected to go live shortly after award. As with any pre-market information, treat award and go-live timing as indicative until GCA formally confirms it.

Lot Structure

The most recent supplier engagement materials for RM6397 set out a detailed lot structure covering 12 lots in total, all operating on a national geography with no supplier limit for the transactional lots. Lots 11 and 12, covering managed service provision, will have a limited (currently unconfirmed) number of supplier places.

It's worth noting that GCA's general RM6397 agreement page still describes the lotting structure at a high level, as clinical roles, non-clinical roles, and managed services. The 12-lot breakdown below is the more detailed, more recent version from supplier engagement, so it's the one to plan your bid around, but treat it as pre-market detail rather than a formally published specification until the ITT itself is released.

This structure confirms the two distinct routes to market we flagged in early guidance: transactional provision (Lots 1 to 10) and managed service provision (Lots 11 and 12), plus a dedicated permanent recruitment lot separate from the temporary staffing lots.

If you are a niche or specialist provider, the transactional lots are likely to remain your strongest entry point, particularly where you can evidence hard-to-fill coverage, strong compliance and fast mobilisation. If you are targeting Lots 11 or 12, expect stronger emphasis on governance, supply chain controls, MI, mobilisation planning and financial resilience, reflected in the higher financial standing and past performance bar for those lots.

Why GCA Is Moving to a Combined Agreement

As mentioned above, RM6397 will replace both RM6281 and RM6277. The aim is to provide new opportunities for growth, more efficient processes and management, and a simpler customer experience.

The rationale for a combined agreement is straightforward from a buyer’s perspective: one commercial route can cover a wider spread of recruitment requirements, with aligned processes and tools. For suppliers, a combined agreement typically means two things at once:

• A bigger total addressable market, because the framework is built to cover more than one staffing segment
• A clearer expectation of consistency, particularly around compliance standards and core recruitment controls.

This raises the bar on how clearly you explain your scope, processes and evidence, especially when you are competing for the same buyer mindshare as larger, multi-disciplinary providers.

Technical Ability and Past Performance Requirements

Pre-market engagement has now set out minimum past performance thresholds for each lot, expressed largely as delivery hours over a reference period. These are significant and should shape your lot selection early:

A few points worth planning around now:

• Social Care (Lot 4) carries the lowest hourly threshold of the transactional lots, which may make it a realistic entry point for smaller or newer suppliers.
• Administrative & Corporate Roles and IT Professionals (Lots 5 and 6) both require substantial evidence at 60,000 hours, so suppliers without a strong track record in high-volume corporate or IT staffing should assess this early.
• Permanent Recruitment (Lot 10) is measured in workers placed rather than hours, so your evidence pack for this lot needs a different structure to the transactional lots.
• Lots 11 and 12 require customer sign-off as part of your evidence, and specifically call for proof of delivery at managed service scale, not just aggregated transactional hours.

How Will Buyers Use RM6397?

Here are some of the commercial mechanics that will influence supplier strategy:

• Maximum agreed supplier rates intended to demonstrate compliance with NHS England agency price caps.
  
• Built-in discounts, for example based on placement length, nominated worker, or volume hires.
• Transparency around PAYE and limited company temporary worker costs, including fixed-term appointments.
• Support for award without competition, positioned as a way to speed up access to workers.
• Buyer tools like a rate card, award support tool, and region/skills matrix.

If you want to add value to your eventual bid, these are the areas to start pressure-testing now. Think about questions such as:

• How will you evidence compliance with rate structures while still demonstrating value and service quality?
• How will discounts be applied consistently and transparently?
• What does “transparent cost” look like in your pricing narrative and calculation method?
  

Assurance and Compliance

RM6397 is being positioned with a strong and specific emphasis on assurance, and suppliers now have much clearer detail on what that will involve. Ongoing audit scrutiny will be measured against NHS Employers Check Standards and Skills for Health, with a clear link between findings, remediation, and potential consequences. The check areas called out include identity, professional registration and qualification, employment history and references, worker health assessment, criminal records, and right to work.

GCA has confirmed that non-NHS contracting authorities can specify their own required pre-employment checks, for example the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), rather than defaulting to the full NHS check set. If you're targeting central or local government, universities or blue light buyers through this framework, it's worth being ready to flex your compliance evidence accordingly rather than assuming NHS Employers Check Standards apply universally.

The most significant new detail is a mandatory NHS Employers training requirement, confirmed as a pass/fail item during pre-market engagement. Here's what suppliers need to know:

• Ownership: NHS Employers writes and owns the standards and the e-learning modules.
• Structure: The training contains 6 modules, corresponding to the 6 check standards, including knowledge checks and a final assessment.
• Timing: Each module takes approximately 30 minutes, for a total completion time of around 3 hours.
• When to complete it: The training must not be completed before the ITT release date, so don't front-load this before 4 August 2026.
• Who must complete it: The compliance manager must complete it as a minimum.
• Pass mark: 100% is required. A score below 100% results in exclusion from the process, making this a genuine pass/fail gate rather than a scored element.
• Evidence: Certificates and module breakdowns are downloadable from the external hosting platform and will be required as evidence in your submission.
• Cost: £250 plus VAT per licence, with 12 months' access.
• Post-award: Annual re-completion is required throughout the life of the framework, and the same health assurance audit requirements continue to apply post-award. Knowledge should also be disseminated to all relevant compliance staff, not just the individual who completes the training.

From a practical “getting bid-ready” standpoint, it is worth building a single evidence pack that is easy for evaluators to navigate and easy for auditors to test. The check areas called out include identity, professional registration and qualification, employment history and references, worker health assessment, criminal records, and right to work.

A strong supplier submission will be:

• Specific: names exact checks, control points, and escalation routes
• Measurable: includes KPIs, audit cadence, and exception handling
• Operational: shows how the process works at volume, not just in theory

Policy and Compliance Requirements

Pre-market engagement has now confirmed hard figures for several compliance areas that were previously only indicative. Build these into your tender library now:

• Insurance: minimum £10 million employers' insurance, £10 million public liability, and £5 million professional indemnity.
• Cyber Essentials is required; Cyber Essentials Plus is not.
• ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001 are not required, though holding them may still support your quality narrative.
• A Carbon Reduction Plan is confirmed as a requirement.
• Social value: a mandatory commitment applies across all lots, in line with PPNs 002 and 06/20, with social value specifically tested as part of evaluation on Lots 11 and 12.
• Prompt payment: suppliers must pay 95% of invoices within 60 days, with an average payment period of 45 days, in line with PPN 018.
• Financial standing: Lots 1 to 10 require Bronze status; Lots 11 and 12 require Gold status. Check your accounts, financial ratios, group support arrangements and any mitigation evidence early, particularly if you are targeting the managed service lots.

Even if you ultimately target transactional lots only, it's worth having all of these components ready, as they tend to appear as pass/fail gates or scored narratives that can be strengthened quickly if the groundwork is already in place.

Opportunities for SMEs

The market data being used in engagement highlights a high proportion of SMEs across the existing agreements and a strong SME spend mix: 41% SME spend mix against a 33% target, and 78% of 551 suppliers described as SMEs. There is also an intention to understand the difficulties SMEs encounter and design the agreement to alleviate those challenges.

This does not reduce the need for clarity. For SMEs, it's smart to:

• choose the right lots, using the confirmed past performance thresholds above to be realistic about scope
• present audit-ready compliance evidence, including the NHS Employers training certificate
• show a credible resourcing model for peaks and out-of-hours
• demonstrate how your specialism improves fill and continuity

What to Have Ready

With the ITT now expected on 4 August 2026 and submissions expected to close on 22 September 2026, now is the time to get prepared. Start getting bid-ready and creating your plan today.

1. Decide your route to market early
   Map your offer against the confirmed 12-lot structure, including whether you're targeting transactional lots, Permanent Recruitment (Lot 10), or the managed service lots (11 and 12), and how you will cover regions, out-of-hours, and escalation processes.
2. Check your past performance evidence against the confirmed thresholds
   Gather delivery hours (or placements, for Lot 10) against the minimum requirements for your target lots now, so any gaps are identified early.
3. Book and complete the NHS Employers training at the right time
   Budget for the £250 plus VAT per licence cost, allow around 3 hours for completion, and make sure it's completed on or after 4 August 2026, not before.
4. Build an audit-ready compliance evidence pack
   Align it directly to NHS Employers Check Standards and the inspection themes highlighted (identity, registration, employment history, health assessment, DBS, right to work).
5. Pressure-test your commercial model
   Prepare to explain pricing structures, how you will comply with capped rates, and how discounts will be applied in practice across engagement types.
6. Prepare your policy responses
   Confirm your insurance levels meet the £10m/£10m/£5m minimums, check your Cyber Essentials certification is current, and make sure your Carbon Reduction Plan and social value approach are ready.
7. Take part in market engagement
   Engagement routes include webinars, round tables and supplier surveys, covering topics such as pricing, transfer fees, structure and service lines.

RM6397 Frequently Asked Questions

When is the RM6397 ITT released?

The RM6397 ITT is expected to release on 4 August 2026, with a submission deadline of 22 September 2026. These dates are pre-market estimates from GCA and remain subject to change until formally published.

What frameworks does RM6397 replace?

RM6397 will replace RM6281 (National Framework for the Provision of Clinical and Healthcare Staffing) and RM6277 (Non-Clinical Staffing), combining clinical and non-clinical staffing into a single agreement.

How many lots does RM6397 have?

The most recent supplier engagement materials set out 12 lots, covering nursing and midwifery, medical staffing, allied health and emergency services, social care, corporate functions, IT, legal, scientific/technical/clinical coding, estates and facilities, permanent recruitment, and two managed service provision lots (neutral vendor and master vendor).

What is the NHS Employers training pass mark for RM6397?

The mandatory NHS Employers training is a pass/fail requirement with a 100% pass mark. A score below 100% results in exclusion from the process. The training must be completed after the ITT release date, not before, and costs £250 plus VAT per licence.

What insurance levels does RM6397 require?

Suppliers need a minimum of £10 million employers' insurance, £10 million public liability, and £5 million professional indemnity cover.

Is RM6397 still run by CCS?

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) became the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) on 1 April 2026. RM6397 is now run by GCA, though it was originally developed under the CCS name.

How Thornton & Lowe Can Help You to Bid

If RM6397 is in your pipeline, then don't leave it until the last minute. Thornton & Lowe helps staffing and recruitment suppliers get framework-ready by offering support with your strategy, as well as with our healthcare bid writing service. We also offer bid reviews, evidence library creation, social value and carbon reduction plan support, and mobilisation planning, so you can respond quickly and confidently when RM6397 goes live.