For UK social care providers
You keep losing LA tenders to larger providers despite delivering better care
Local authority procurement has become a technical discipline in its own right. Without bid-writing expertise and a clear read of what commissioners actually score, even strong providers lose on paper, repeatedly.
Two minutes. Solva follows up with specific bid support options.
- Consistently receiving low scores on quality sections of tender feedback
- High staff turnover and burnout among those tasked with bid writing as an add-on duty
- Stagnant growth or reliance on existing contracts without new wins
- Competitors, often larger organisations, securing more framework places and new contracts
- Reduced capacity utilisation due to fewer secured contracts
- Increased administrative burden from repeated, unsuccessful bidding efforts
- Stagnation or decline in revenue from public sector contracts
- Opportunity cost of lost contracts, potentially worth millions over several years
- Perception as a less capable or less professional provider by commissioning bodies
- Difficulty attracting and retaining skilled staff who prefer working for growing organisations
Organisations relying solely on in-house teams achieve bid success rates between 15% and 25%, while those working with specialist bid consultancies typically see rates of 60% to 75% (Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, Association of Proposal Management Professionals, 2025/26)
Frequently asked questions
Why does this problem persist?
Local authority procurement for care services has become increasingly sophisticated, with most contracts awarded through competitive tender or dynamic purchasing systems. Smaller and medium-sized care providers often lose to larger competitors not because of the quality of their care but because of the quality of their bid writing. LA procurement teams score bids against detailed quality and commercial criteria, and providers that do not understand how to structure their responses, evidence their outcomes, or price competitively are at a systematic disadvantage.
What is the cost of leaving it unaddressed?
Professional bid writing support for a major care tender typically costs between £3,000 and £10,000 (Thornton and Lowe, Tsaks Consulting, Executive Compass, Your Tender Team, 2024-2026)
This is exactly what I do with UK private practices. Answer the few questions above and I'll come back personally with where to start. Paul.