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Child Poverty Reduction Programme - Local Test and Learn Pilot - Baby Boxes

North East Combined Authority

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

01 Sep 2026 at 14:31

Award Notice
Tender

11 Nov 2025 at 14:09

Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The North East Combined Authority procured a child poverty reduction service delivering Baby Boxes containing essential items for new babies to eligible low-income families in Newcastle and Sunderland. The provider works with local authorities, public health teams and community partners to identify eligible families, manage referrals and distribute the boxes. It also supports evaluation of the local test-and-learn pilot. The programme is intended to reduce financial hardship, improve child development and parental wellbeing, and strengthen families’ engagement with health and early years services. The procurement is classified as social services, including welfare services for children and young people. The stated requirement is to support at least 2,000 families.

This was an open-procedure call-off from an established framework. The tender closed on 5 December 2025 at 12:00, with evaluation and bid opening scheduled five minutes later. The contract was awarded on 20 August 2026 to The Children Foundation Limited, an SME, for £473,026. The award is active and the contract is active. The awarded contract covers the Child Poverty Reduction lot; that lot is recorded as cancelled in the tender data, while the separate Education Improvement lot remains active and has no published award here. The Baby Box contract period runs from 1 January 2026 to 31 August 2028. Evaluation was weighted 80% quality and 20% price, with no variants allowed.

This opportunity indicates demand from the North East Combined Authority for an integrated family-support provider able to deliver practical goods alongside public-service coordination. A credible competitor for a future equivalent requirement would need the operational capacity to source, assemble and distribute Baby Boxes at regional scale, while supporting at least 2,000 families. Relevant capability includes referral management, eligibility assessment, partnership working with local authorities, public health teams, community organisations and early years services, and reliable delivery to families in Newcastle and Sunderland. Experience of reducing hardship, supporting child development and parental wellbeing, and collecting evidence for pilot evaluation would strengthen a supplier’s position. The existing award to an SME shows that delivery is not necessarily limited to a large national organisation.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Child Poverty Reduction Programme - Local Test and Learn Pilot - Baby Boxes

Notice Description

This contract is a call-off from an established framework for the delivery of the North East MSA Child Poverty Reduction Programme: Baby Box Local Test and Learn Pilot. The contract will run for 36 months and aims to provide Baby Boxes containing essential items for new babies to eligible low-income families in Newcastle and Sunderland. The successful provider will work with local authorities, public health teams and community partners to identify eligible families, manage referrals, distribute Baby Boxes and support the pilot's evaluation. The project is intended to reduce financial hardship for families, improve child development and parental wellbeing, and strengthen engagement with health and early years services. A minimum of 2,000 families will be supported through the programme.

Lot Information

Child Poverty Reduction

This contract is a call-off from an established framework for the delivery of the North East MSA Child Poverty Reduction Programme: Baby Box Local Test and Learn Pilot. The contract will run for 36 months and aims to provide Baby Boxes containing essential items for new babies to eligible low-income families in Newcastle and Sunderland. The successful provider will work with local authorities, public health teams and community partners to identify eligible families, manage referrals, distribute Baby Boxes and support the pilot's evaluation. The project is intended to reduce financial hardship for families, improve child development and parental wellbeing, and strengthen engagement with health and early years services. A minimum of 2,000 families will be supported through the programme.

Education Improvement

North East CA's Excellence in Education forms part of our Home of Real Opportunity portfolio and exemplifies a commitment to thinking creatively and progressively about the widest implications of an inclusive economy. We are dedicated to giving everyone the opportunity to thrive - to achieve and access good jobs, working with businesses, civil society, and our residents to achieve this. Our current programme of work has 3 objectives: Inclusion Realising Potential Teacher Wellbeing and Development

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05debf
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082716-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85311300 - Welfare services for children and young people

85320000 - Social services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£473,026 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
5 Dec 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Jan 2026 - 31 Aug 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Active, Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
North East Combined Authority
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Postcode
NE4 5BZ
Postcode Area
Newcastle upon Tyne
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC43 Tyneside
Delivery Location
TLC14 Durham, TLC2 Northumberland, and Tyne and Wear
Local Authority
Newcastle upon Tyne
Electoral Ward
Arthur's Hill
Westminster Constituency
Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

The Children Foundation Limited

Further Information

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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