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Children and Young People's Advocacy and Independent Visitor Service

Cheshire East Borough Council

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

Award

04 Sep 2026 at 11:05

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

23 Apr 2026 at 11:11

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

07 Jan 2026 at 14:31

UK4 - Tender Notice
PlanningUpdate

07 May 2025 at 12:18

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

29 Apr 2025 at 10:33

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Cheshire East Council commissioned a children and young people’s advocacy and independent visitor service across Cheshire East. The requirement covers three related services delivered by one provider: advocacy, including an opt-out model for children aged 8 to 18 who are open to child protection; an Independent Visitor Service; and spot-purchased advocacy support for children undergoing an age assessment. The age-assessment element includes support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. This is a public social care service, classified as health and social work services. The service supports the council’s statutory duties and its Children and Young People’s Plan, with a focus on outcomes for children, young people and families, alongside value for money and effective delivery.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to Coram Voice as the sole provider. It used a single lot and an open procedure. Three bids were received, including two from SMEs and one from a voluntary, community or social enterprise. Evaluation gave quality 70% and pricing 30%. The award was made on 21 April 2026 for £737,650 net (£885,180 gross), with a standstill period ending 5 May 2026. The contract was signed on 31 July 2026 and runs from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2029. Its contract value is £737,651 net (£885,181 gross). The council may use two 12-month extensions, potentially extending the contract to 31 July 2031. The contract is active.

This requirement demonstrates demand for providers able to deliver statutory advocacy and independent visiting for children and young people through one coordinated service. A credible competitor would need practitioners able to advocate for children aged 8 to 18, including those subject to child protection arrangements, and to provide independent visitors who can build sustained relationships with children. Experience supporting children undergoing age assessments, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, would also be relevant. The service model requires breadth across planned advocacy and responsive spot-purchased support, with the organisational capacity to manage all three offers under one contract. The evaluation places greater emphasis on service quality than price, so evidence of outcomes, safeguarding, accessibility and effective work with children and families would be important.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Children and Young People's Advocacy and Independent Visitor Service

Notice Description

Cheshire East Borough Council has awarded a contract to a single provider to deliver Advocacy, Independent Visitor services for Children and Young People and age assessment for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC). The requirement is divided into three offers, all to be provided by a single supplier. These offers are as follows: * Offer 1 - Advocacy, including an opt out model for children and young people open to child protection aged 8-18 * Offer 2 - Independent Visitor Service * Offer 3 - Spot purchase to provide advocacy support for children who are subject to an age assessment Please note that the contract commencement date was 1 August 2026; however, the contract was not fully executed by all parties until 24th August 2026. As the system does not permit a contract signature date that falls after the commencement date, the signature date has been entered incorrectly for administrative purposes.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: 2 x 12 month extensions are available to be used at the Council's discretion.

Planning Information

Cheshire East Council is conducting a soft market testing exercise to understand interest from providers in the delivery of Advocacy and Independent visitors. Advocacy and Independent visitors form an integral part of the overall local offer for children and Young People in Cheshire East ensuring that our statutory duty as a local authority is met. The current service design of commissioned services will be reviewed to ensure that the re-commission focuses on achieving the 7 outcomes of the Children and Young People's Plan 2022-2026. The re-commission will also focus on achieving greater value for money and effectiveness for children, young people and their families. Cheshire East Council would like to gain insight from providers who may be interested in providing these services in Cheshire East. Your feedback will help to inform future commissioning intentions. For more information, please refer to the attached questionnaire and return your responses via email to StrongStartCommissioning@cheshireeast.gov.uk. The deadline to respond is Friday 9th May: 16:00pm The questionnaire can be accessed via the Chest from below link/reference: https://procontract.due-north.com/RFx/RFxSummary?rfxId=190282c6-d524-f011-8136-005056b64545&projectId=bb00f588-d324-f011-8136-005056b64545# Chest Ref: DN772936 Please note, suppliers need to register on the Chest please visit www.the-chest.org.uk, and select the "register free" option.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0508de
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083809-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85000000 - Health and social work services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£747,800 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£747,800 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£737,650 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
£737,651 £500K-£1M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
4 Feb 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
1 Oct 2025Expired
Award Date
21 Apr 20264 months ago
Contract Period
1 Aug 2026 - 31 Jul 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Cheshire East Borough Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CREWE
Postcode
CW1 2JZ
Postcode Area
Crewe
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD6 Cheshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD62 Cheshire East
Delivery Location
TLD62 Cheshire East
Local Authority
Cheshire East
Electoral Ward
Crewe Central
Westminster Constituency
Crewe and Nantwich

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Coram Voice

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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