Tender

Provision of an Advocacy Service for parents with children in or on the edge of care

MEDWAY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

12 Feb 2026 at 12:07

Summary of the contracting process

Medway Council is inviting tenders for the provision of an Advocacy Service aimed at supporting parents with children either in care or at risk of entering care. The tender, titled "Provision of an Advocacy Service for parents with children in or on the edge of care," falls under the "Social work and related services" category. The service will focus on building family stability and emotional resilience in Chatham, United Kingdom, and is currently in the tender stage with several key dates: the enquiry period ends on 27 February 2026, the tender submission deadline is 16 March 2026, and the award period concludes on 6 May 2026. The procurement method is an open procedure with electronic submissions allowed, and the contract is valued at £1,000,000 GBP, reflecting its substantial scope and impact.

This procurement offers significant growth opportunities for businesses specialising in social work services, advocacy, and family support. Suitable candidates include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as voluntary community and social enterprises (VCSEs) with expertise in handling diverse issues like emotional wellbeing, mental health, and domestic violence. As the project involves extensive interaction with families, organisations with multidisciplinary capabilities and a strong inclination towards community service will find this tender particularly beneficial for expansion and establishing meaningful community impact. The contract begins on 1 July 2026 and may be renewed for an additional 12 months, expanding the business's potential for sustained engagement and influence in the sector.

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Notice Title

Provision of an Advocacy Service for parents with children in or on the edge of care

Notice Description

Medway Council believes that where appropriate and safe to do so, every effort should be made to support families to keep their children with their family setting. The Advocacy service for parents will work in a multi-disciplinary way to support families on the edge of care and those with children already in care to build their strength and emotional resilience. Giving them the confidence to access support and services to ensure they can safely keep their children in their care. The service will provide high quality advocacy support to families to enable them to address the issues and challenges in their lives that may prevent them from keeping their children. These may include issues such as: -Poor emotional wellbeing -Poor physical and mental health -Experience of Trauma -Significant Learning disability -Limited access to community support and services -Inconsistent use of contraception -Continued experience of Domestic Violence -Ongoing Substance Misuse -Inadequate Housing -Financial Hardship Direct work with families will recognise differences in experiences of these and other factors providing a holistic, well-rounded support focused on building a family's stability to work through these factors to safely support their child or children. It is likely that the majority of families supported by this service will be in pre-proceedings, some families may have already had children removed. The service will support families as directed by the Medway Family Partnership Co-ordinator. Note - Families refers to working with both parents (either jointly or separately) or working with single parents (either Mum or Dad). For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Chatham:-Social-work-and-related-services./3EUG35KYV8 To respond to this opportunity, please click here: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/3EUG35KYV8

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: One option to extend for a period of 12 months.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-064ee2
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/012829-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85300000 - Social work and related services

85310000 - Social work services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,000,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
12 Feb 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
16 Mar 20263 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
30 Jun 2026 - 30 Jun 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MEDWAY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Mr James Welch
Contact Email
james.welch@medway.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
CHATHAM
Postcode
ME4 4TR
Post Town
Rochester
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ41 Medway
Delivery Location
TLJ41 Medway

Local Authority
Medway
Electoral Ward
Chatham Central & Brompton
Westminster Constituency
Rochester and Strood

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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