Tower Hamlets is preparing HAC6150 Homecare, a major domiciliary care procurement estimated at £300 million excluding VAT. The Council wants the future service to give residents greater choice and control while supporting independence, social value and a sustainable local care market.
The proposed procurement will use a competitive flexible procedure and a tiered provider model. Market engagement is taking place during September, with the tender notice currently expected on 2 October 2026.
If your organisation provides domiciliary care in London, speak to Thornton & Lowe about HAC6150 readiness, case-study evidence and your likely position within the provider model.
What is Tower Hamlets trying to achieve?
The primary objective is to commission homecare services that meet eligible needs under the Care Act 2014. The Council wants care to support people’s desired outcomes and independence while also delivering wider community benefits.
The notice specifically refers to best value, local employment, development of the care market and contribution to the local economy. Providers should therefore expect the future tender to combine core care quality with workforce, market sustainability and social value considerations.
A tiered provider model is being developed
Market engagement refers to three provider positions: Prime Area Provider, Secondary Provider and Specialist Provider. The detailed operating model is still being shaped, so suppliers should not assume how work, geography or volumes will be divided until the tender documents are published.
What is clear is that Tower Hamlets is testing provider capacity as part of the engagement. Organisations seeking one-to-one discussions are asked to identify the tier they want to discuss and provide evidence that they can deliver the required number of care hours.
The engagement evidence gives bidders an early clue
For the one-to-one stage, interested providers are asked for two case studies, an indication of the chosen service tier, evidence of capacity and a short covering letter explaining how they would meet the requirements set out in the market-engagement brief.
These are not scored tender responses, but they show the type of evidence providers should have ready. Strong case studies should describe the service context, workforce model, volumes, quality controls and outcomes rather than simply naming previous contracts.
How the procurement is expected to run
The Council proposes a competitive flexible procedure with an SQ stage used to shortlist participants, followed by an ITT stage. That means providers may need to clear an initial qualification hurdle before competing on the full service solution.
The estimated contract dates run from August 2027 to August 2031, with a possible extension to August 2033. Final contract structure and evaluation details will be confirmed in the tender documents.
What homecare providers should prepare
Useful preparation areas include:
- CQC registration and regulatory compliance.
- Local mobilisation and workforce capacity.
- Recruitment, retention, travel and rota management.
- Continuity of care and missed-visit controls.
- Safeguarding, medication and incident management.
- Strengths-based and outcomes-focused care planning.
- Digital care records, scheduling and management information.
- Business continuity and out-of-hours arrangements.
- Case studies demonstrating delivery at the scale of the intended tier.
- Social value linked to local jobs, skills and the Tower Hamlets community.
Key dates
Provider engagement registration closes on 14 September 2026. The main engagement event is scheduled for 17 September, followed by selected one-to-one sessions during the week beginning 21 September. The tender notice is currently estimated for 2 October.
The official Find a Tender notice contains the current engagement requirements and timetable.
Prepare for the SQ as well as the service response
A two-stage process means eligibility, capacity and evidence can matter before the full methodology is evaluated. Providers should make sure corporate documents and case studies are ready to support a concise first-stage response.
Our health and social care tender guide covers wider quality, compliance and evidence issues for care providers competing for local authority contracts.
Use the engagement stage to sharpen your position
HAC6150 is still being shaped, so the immediate question is not how to write the final tender. It is which provider tier fits your organisation, what evidence proves the required scale and where there are gaps to address before October.
Thornton & Lowe supports domiciliary care providers with bid strategy, SQ responses, tender writing and independent review. Contact our team if you want help preparing for Tower Hamlets HAC6150 Homecare.
