Liverpool City Council Highways Professional Services Framework 2026-30
Competition Brief
Liverpool City Council (LCC) is procuring a new Highways Professional Services Framework (PSF) to commence in October 2026, replacing the current framework which expires at the same time. This is a UK government open procurement under the Procurement Act 2023, published on the Find a Tender service on 27 February 2026. The framework is estimated at £100,000,000 excluding VAT over its four-year term, covering professional consultancy services across highways, sustainable transport, infrastructure design, and commercial management.
The framework is structured into four lots, each targeting distinct professional service areas. Successful suppliers will be placed on a roster from which LCC and a defined group of Merseyside local authorities may call off contracts directly or through mini-competitions over the framework period. The opportunity is explicitly open to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across all four lots.
Intent
The framework is designed to provide Liverpool City Council and its regional partners with a pre-qualified roster of professional consultancy firms capable of delivering highways and transport services continuously from October 2026 to October 2030. It replaces a previous framework of the same character and continues LCC’s approach of procuring professional services through a structured multi-supplier agreement rather than individual project-by-project appointments.
Purpose
The framework covers four areas of professional consultancy. Lot 1 addresses sustainable transport planning and policy advice. Lot 2 covers highways and infrastructure design support services, which is the lot of most direct relevance to architecture and engineering consultancies working in the built environment. Lot 3 covers programme and project management and NEC contract administration support. Lot 4 covers commercial and contract management support services. Each lot will carry a separate roster of awarded suppliers who may be called off independently. Contracting authorities eligible to use the framework include all LCC departments, Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, and Wirral borough councils, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and Transport for Liverpool City Region (formerly Merseytravel).
Requirements
The procurement follows a two-stage competitive flexible procedure. At Stage 1, a Pre-Qualification Submission (PSQ) is issued to all interested suppliers. The PSQ assesses Conditions of Participation and lot-specific quality questions based on previous experience, each carrying individual weightings to a total of 100%. The eight highest-ranked bidders for Lots 1, 2, and 3 will be shortlisted and invited to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage; the six highest-ranked bidders for Lot 4 will be invited to ITT. At Stage 2, the ITT assesses quality and price at their respective weightings. Suppliers must complete provided pricing schedules which will form the basis of framework rates. Suppliers awarded a place on the framework pay a rebate of 1.5% of all qualifying funds received from contracting bodies other than LCC called off under the framework. All submissions must be made electronically via ProContract using reference DN788248.
Jury
There is no jury in the traditional sense. Evaluation is conducted by Liverpool City Council’s commercial procurement team in accordance with the published award criteria. The process is governed by the Procurement Act 2023 and subject to oversight by the Procurement Review Unit for England. The evaluation is structured, documented, and conducted independently of the consultancy market. Award decisions are estimated for 2 September 2026.
Registration Fees
| Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Submission fee for all lots | None |
| Framework rebate (on call-off contracts from non-LCC bodies) | 1.5% of qualifying funds received |
There is no fee to submit a tender. The 1.5% rebate applies only to revenues generated through call-off contracts placed by contracting bodies other than Liverpool City Council itself using the framework. It does not apply to LCC’s own call-off contracts.
Prizes and Rewards
| Outcome | Value |
|---|---|
| Framework total value (estimated, excl. VAT) | £100,000,000 |
| Framework total value (estimated, incl. VAT) | £120,000,000 |
| Framework duration | 4 years: 6 October 2026 to 5 October 2030 |
| Maximum suppliers awarded per lot (Lots 1, 2, 3) | 4 suppliers each |
| Maximum suppliers awarded (Lot 4) | 3 suppliers |
The £100,000,000 estimated value represents the total anticipated spend across all four lots and all eligible contracting authorities over the four-year framework period. Individual call-off contract values will vary significantly. Framework placement does not guarantee any minimum value of work.
Key Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Notice published | 27 February 2026 |
| Enquiry deadline | 26 June 2026, 12:00pm |
| Tender submission deadline | 8 July 2026, 12:00pm |
| Estimated award decision | 2 September 2026 |
| Framework start date (estimated) | 6 October 2026 |
| Framework end date | 5 October 2030 |
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The Liverpool City Council Highways Professional Services Framework is a substantive four-year public sector consultancy framework with an estimated total value of £100 million, covering a geography that extends across the full Liverpool City Region. Lot 2, covering highways and infrastructure design support services, is the most directly relevant to architecture and urban design consultancies, and the explicit SME eligibility across all four lots is a considered inclusion that lowers the barrier for smaller specialist firms. The two-stage evaluation process is structured and transparent, with published shortlisting numbers and weighting ratios. The 70% quality, 30% price weighting at ITT stage signals that LCC is prioritising capability over cost, which is a positive indicator for the quality of appointed firms. The 1.5% rebate on non-LCC call-off revenue is a standard framework mechanism and does not represent a hidden cost for firms working primarily with the council. The broad geographic eligibility across six Merseyside authorities and Transport for Liverpool City Region significantly expands the potential volume of work available to framework suppliers beyond LCC alone. For consultancies with demonstrable experience in sustainable transport planning or highways infrastructure design in a UK urban context, this is a well-structured and commercially meaningful opportunity.
Final Thoughts
The Liverpool Highways PSF 2026-30 is a significant regional framework procurement offering up to four years of recurring commission potential for shortlisted consultancies across highways design, transport planning, project management, and commercial services. The submission deadline is 8 July 2026 at 12:00pm via ProContract, reference DN788248, accessible at procontract.due-north.com.
Registration Deadline
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