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Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) Service

Home Office

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

10 Aug 2026 at 11:44

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

19 Jun 2026 at 12:31

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

15 Sep 2025 at 18:29

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Home Office procured the Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) Service, a specialist safeguarding and support service for children who may be victims of modern slavery. The service provides independent guidance, advocacy and advice from entry to the National Referral Mechanism, helping protect children from further harm, repeat victimisation, re-trafficking and going missing. It includes one-to-one direct support for children without parental responsibility in the UK, indirect support where parental responsibility exists, and exceptional direct support in some cases. Referrals come from First Responders or First Responder Organisations. The requirement covers all local authorities in England and Wales, extending the existing service across both countries. The procurement category is social work, welfare, guidance and counselling services, including welfare services delivered without residential accommodation.

This procurement has been completed and awarded following an open procedure. The sole valid bidder, Barnardo’s, was awarded the contract on 19 June 2026 for £40,000,000 excluding VAT (£48,000,000 including VAT). The contract was signed on 2 July 2026 and runs from 6 July 2026 to 5 July 2029, with two optional one-year extensions subject to performance. Its maximum possible end date is 5 July 2031. There was one geographical lot covering the requirement, with suitability for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises. Selection required economic and technical capability. Evaluation weighted technical quality at 60%, social value at 10% and price at 30%. One bid was received and accepted. The requirement is identified as recurring from 20 May 2030.

This award demonstrates substantial demand from the Home Office for nationwide specialist services supporting children affected by trafficking and modern slavery. A credible future competitor would need experience in child safeguarding, welfare, guidance, counselling and advocacy, with the operational reach to support referrals across local authorities in England and Wales. Providers would need to work effectively with First Responders, local authorities and other public authorities, including children with complex vulnerabilities and differing parental-responsibility circumstances. The service model requires reliable triage, vulnerability assessments, safeguarding advice, direct and indirect support, and casework that protects children from further harm and re-trafficking. Strong performance management would be important: requirements include rapid initial assessments and safeguarding advice, regular in-depth assessments, and timely in-person meetings for direct-support cases. Social value and technical quality were more important than price in the evaluation.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) Service

Notice Description

The Government is committed to tackling the terrible crime of modern slavery. The Modern Slavery Act (MSA) 2015 provides the legal framework for tackling modern slavery in the UK, it gives law enforcement agencies the tools to combat it and sets out our obligations to ensure victims are proactively identified and supported. Since the introduction of the MSA, the first legislation of its kind in the world, successive governments have continued to commit to tackling this crime. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a system for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery towards independence, is also an integral part of the Government's approach to supporting victims to recover and reduce risks of re-trafficking. Modern Slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking. Modern Slavery is often 'hidden in plain sight'. Traffickers and exploiters coerce, deceive and force individuals against their will into a life of abuse, servitude, and inhumane treatment. The exploitation can cause severe trauma and can leave victims with complex needs. In human trafficking cases, exploitation can take many forms, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery, servitude, forced criminality and removal of organs. The Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) Service has been running since 2017, initially in three sites, and now operating in two thirds of Local Authorities (LAs) in England and Wales. Through this Contract, the ICTG Service shall be expanded to cover all LAs in England & Wales. Delivering the ICTG service is one way that the UK meets its domestic and legal obligations to Child Victims of Modern Slavery (CVoMS), alongside the statutory obligations on LAs to safeguard all children (including CVoMS) in their areas. ICTGs provide an additional source of advice and support for potentially trafficked children, irrespective of nationality or immigration status, and somebody to advocate on their behalf to ensure their best interests are reflected in the decision-making of the Public Authorities involved in their care. An ICTG's advocacy and involvement throughout the decision-making process is intended to ensure the Child is protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation, re-trafficking or going missing, and promote the Child's recovery. The ICTG Service model provides one-to-one Direct Support for Children with no parental responsibility for them in the UK and Indirect Support for Children where there is someone with parental responsibility for them in the UK. In exceptional circumstances, Children with a Figure of Parental Responsibility (FOPR) for them in the UK can receive Direct Support. Referrals into the ICTG Service are made by First Responders (FR) or First Responder Organisations (FRO). The ICTG Service supports Children from the moment they enter the NRM process, providing independent, specialist guidance. If Children receive a Negative Reasonable Grounds Decision or Negative Conclusive Grounds Decision, Support will end, subject to the Reconsideration Requests process and Exit Criteria detailed in this Contract. More information on the ICTG Service can be found in the Data Room, in the Jaggaer Portal following registration.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Two separate 12-month optional extensions, conditional upon adequate performance of KPIs and at the discretion of the Authority.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-059ac1
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/075649-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
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
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85310000 - Social work services

85311300 - Welfare services for children and young people

85312300 - Guidance and counselling services

85312310 - Guidance services

85312320 - Counselling services

85312400 - Welfare services not delivered through residential institutions

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£40,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£40,000,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
£40,000,000 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
£40,000,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
10 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
30 Oct 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
19 Jun 20262 months ago
Contract Period
6 Jul 2026 - 5 Jul 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
2030-05-20

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Home Office
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England), TLL Wales
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Barnardo's

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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