After the RM6397 Submission: What a Staffing Agency Should Do While It Waits

After the RM6397 Submission: What a Staffing Agency Should Do While It Waits

Submitting to RM6397 does not mark the end of your involvement. The period between tender submission and framework award in early 2027 is the time to prepare for clarification requests, ready your standstill response process, position yourself as a second-tier supplier if needed, and map out alternative routes into NHS contracts if your lot submission is unsuccessful.

RM6397 is replacing the previous RM6281 and RM6277 frameworks that NHS trusts and integrated care boards have relied on for temporary and permanent staffing. Places on those earlier frameworks do not carry over. The new framework runs for four years from February 2027, so the work you do now will determine whether you convert a framework place into actual revenue or find yourself locked out of a substantial public sector channel.

The clarification window

CCS runs a structured clarification process after submission closes. If your submission contains ambiguities, missing documentation, or answers that do not align with the scoring model, you will receive a formal clarification request. This is not an opportunity to improve your score. It is a chance to resolve technical non-compliance or provide evidence you referenced but did not upload correctly.

You have a tight window to respond, typically 48 to 72 hours. The evaluator will not interpret silence as consent or assume good intent. If you fail to respond or provide an incomplete answer, the evaluator scores what is in front of them and moves on.

Set up a dedicated email watch for correspondence from the CCS portal. Assign a named individual to monitor it daily, including weekends if the window is still open. Prepare a response template that includes your organisation reference, lot number, and a structured answer format. Store all supporting evidence in a shared folder with version control so you can attach the correct document within minutes, not hours.

A worked example: a nursing agency submitted to RM6397 Lot 1 (Medical and Healthcare) and referenced its CQC registration certificate in the quality section but uploaded a file labelled generically as "compliance.pdf". The evaluator cannot verify the document matches the claim. The clarification asks for a resubmission with clear labelling. The agency responds within 24 hours with the same file renamed "CQC-Registration-Certificate-2026.pdf" and a cover note confirming the content. The evaluator accepts it and scores the original answer. If the agency had ignored the request or missed the deadline, the quality criterion would have scored zero, likely removing them from consideration entirely.

Standstill and challenge readiness

Once CCS publishes the outcome, a standstill period begins before any supplier can start work. If you are unsuccessful, you receive a debrief explaining your score and the winning threshold. You then have a short window to consider whether the process was conducted fairly.

Most agencies do not challenge. The cost and time required to mount a formal challenge under the Public Contracts Regulations outweigh the realistic chance of overturning a decision, particularly where the scoring was subjective but within the published methodology. However, if you believe there was a clear procedural error, such as applying the wrong lot criteria or miscalculating your financial standing, you need a solicitor with procurement experience to review the debrief within days.

Even if you do not challenge, read the debrief carefully. It tells you where your submission was weak. If you scored poorly on quality because your case studies lacked outcome data, that is actionable intelligence for the next framework or for improving your NHS tender writing approach on direct opportunities.

Positioning as a second-tier supplier

Framework award is not binary. If you did not win a place on the lot you targeted, you can still access RM6397 contracts by partnering with a supplier who did. Many prime suppliers on NHS frameworks rely on a network of specialist or regional partners to fulfil call-offs, particularly where the trust requires niche clinical skills or local presence.

This works if you approach it commercially. A prime supplier takes on the compliance burden, the trust relationship and the credit risk. In return, they will take a margin, typically 5 to 12 per cent of your placement value depending on the volume and the lot. You operate as a subcontractor: you provide the candidates, manage the day-to-day relationship, and invoice the prime.

Start mapping potential partners now. Look at who is likely to have won based on the lot structure and market presence. Approach them with a clear proposition: the geographies you cover, the specialisms where you have a strong candidate pool, and your track record with NHS clients. Do not wait until the award is published. Primes begin building their subcontracting panels during standstill, and early movers secure better terms.

A worked example: a small agency specialising in mental health nursing submitted to RM6397 Lot 1 but did not meet the financial threshold because its turnover was below the required level. Three weeks after the outcome, it approaches a national prime supplier that won Lot 1 and proposes a subcontracting arrangement covering acute mental health placements in the North West. The prime agrees to a 7 per cent margin and onboards the agency into its approved supplier list. Over the four-year term, the agency delivers call-offs worth approximately £1.8 million, netting £1.674 million after the prime's margin. Without the second-tier route, it would have had zero access.

Non-framework NHS routes

RM6397 is not the only way into NHS staffing contracts. Trusts and integrated care boards can and do run direct procurements, particularly for high-volume or urgent requirements that sit outside the framework lot structure. They also use dynamic purchasing systems and may apply the Provider Selection Regime for certain clinical services that include embedded staffing.

Direct opportunities appear on Tenders Electronic Daily, Find a Tender Service, and individual trust procurement portals. They are less predictable than framework call-offs, but they are also less competitive if you are the only bidder with the specific capability the trust needs.

If you are serious about NHS work and did not secure a place on RM6397, engage a consultant who understands the Provider Selection Regime and how it interacts with staffing. The regime, introduced in the previous year, introduces a lighter-touch procurement route for certain services, and some trusts are testing how it applies to managed service arrangements that include workforce supply. This is not yet settled law, but it creates openings for agencies willing to structure their offer around clinical outcomes rather than pure rate-card supply.

You can also target NHS organisations that prefer to manage their own neutral vendor or master vendor arrangements. These contracts sit outside RM6397 and are procured locally. They suit agencies with strong regional relationships and a willingness to integrate with trust rostering and payroll systems.

What this means for mobilisation

If you did win a place, the work between now and go-live in February 2027 determines whether you convert that framework slot into revenue. Trusts do not automatically migrate their existing suppliers. They run mini-competitions under the framework, and your submission to those further competitions is what drives call-off awards.

Build your pipeline now. Identify the trusts and integrated care boards in your target geography. Map their current staffing arrangements and contract end dates. Prepare a mailbox of case studies, rate cards and capability statements so you can respond to a further competition within 48 hours if required.

Set up your compliance infrastructure. RM6397 places requirements on data handling, invoice formatting, management information reporting and safeguarding checks. If you wait until the first call-off to build those systems, you will either miss deadlines or deliver a poor service that damages your reputation with the trust.

Our NHS framework specialists work with agencies during this mobilisation window to prepare call-off response templates, build MI dashboards and map trust procurement calendars. The agencies that do this work early win a disproportionate share of early call-offs, because they can move faster and with more confidence than competitors still reading the framework terms.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I do not respond to a clarification request from CCS?
The evaluator will score your submission based only on the evidence already provided. If the clarification was asking you to resolve a non-compliance or provide missing documentation, that section will likely score zero. There is no appeals process for missed clarifications, and CCS does not send reminders beyond the initial request.

Can I work on RM6397 contracts without being on the framework myself?
Yes, through a subcontracting arrangement with a supplier who did win a place. You provide the candidates and manage the relationship, and the prime supplier invoices the trust and pays you after deducting their margin. Most primes actively seek regional or specialist partners, so approach them during the standstill period with a clear proposition.

If I did not get onto RM6397, what other routes exist for NHS staffing work?
Trusts run direct procurements for high-volume or urgent requirements that sit outside the framework, and these appear on Find a Tender Service and trust portals. Some trusts also operate neutral vendor arrangements that are procured locally. The Provider Selection Regime, which was introduced in the previous year, may also create opportunities for staffing bundled into clinical service contracts, though this is still developing.

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