Planning

Families First Partnership Programme: Integrated Front Door - Soft Market Test Questionnaire

ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

27 Feb 2026 at 10:55

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Essex County Council is currently in the planning stage of a procurement process titled "Families First Partnership Programme: Integrated Front Door - Soft Market Test Questionnaire," focused on providing services in the health and social work sector. This project aims to develop an Integrated Front Door for children, families, and professionals in Essex, creating a streamlined access point for early help and support services. The procurement involves a soft market test to gather feedback from the market, scheduled to conclude with a response deadline on 13th March 2026. The contracting authority is Essex County Council, and the project is expected to be implemented by April 2027 under a two-year contract, potentially transitioning to a successor body due to Local Government Reform. The primary location for this initiative is within the UKH3 region, and the procurement method falls under the 'light touch' regime in compliance with the UK's legal frameworks.

This procurement offers significant opportunities for businesses, especially those specialising in health and social work services. The call for a soft market test indicates that Essex County Council is seeking innovative solutions and partnerships to enhance service delivery across multiple channels including digital, phone, and in-person guidance. The scope for businesses includes delivering integrated, digital entry points, skilled practitioner support, and a collaborative approach to service listing and navigation, all of which align with contemporary trends in public sector service provision. Firms with capabilities in digital solutions, service integration, and collaborative service delivery models stand to benefit from participating in this procurement process. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations are particularly well-suited to contribute to and gain from this opportunity, given the council's accommodation for diverse business sizes and the inclusive nature of the service requirements.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Families First Partnership Programme: Integrated Front Door - Soft Market Test Questionnaire

Notice Description

Essex County Council ("the Council") is inviting prospective providers to participate in a soft market test to inform the Council's commissioning considerations regarding the development of an Integrated Front Door (IFD) for children, families, and professionals across Essex. This proposed model would create a single, joined-up, easy-to-navigate route into early help, information, advice, guidance and support. At this stage, no decision has been made to commission the IFD. The purpose of this Soft Market Test is to understand: * whether the external market has the capability and capacity to deliver the whole IFD model if the Council chooses to commission it * what enabling conditions, digital requirements and partnership arrangements would be essential * The Council's emerging vision is a single, integrated, multi-channel front door that: * simplifies access for families * provides warm, guided navigation to earlier help * reduces duplication and bounce around the system * supports professionals with clear threshold guidance * ensures families tell their story once * enables timely, appropriate help * aligns partners behind shared outcomes This soft market test is designed to secure market feedback on the current commissioning intentions for this service. For indicative purposes, please note that the scope of the IFD must include: * A single digital point of entry with clear navigation and self-serve information and integrated contact recording to ensure all interactions are captured, * A multi-channel contact model including online and phone * Supported navigation delivered through skilled practitioners who hold holistic, strength-based conversations * Warm referrals and coordinated handovers into early help services * Effective triage that identifies and escalates safeguarding concerns safely and quickly * A single directory and open data model for service listings * A joined-up workforce with thresholds and decision points that are easy to apply * Shared visibility across partners Please note that the Council reserves the right to refine the scope of this proposed procurement following the market engagement process. In addition, please note that this procurement remains subject to governance approval. Therefore, the Council will confirm the final scope of the procurement, including but not limited to, the contract duration and confirmed procurement timetable in the corresponding Tender Notice following the conclusion of the requisite governance process. However, please note that the Council currently envisages that this service will be implemented by April 2027 under a two (2) year contract term. In addition, please note that the contracting authority for this service is Essex County Council and any Successor Body meaning one or more entities which assumes any of the Council's functions (as applicable) as a result of Local Government Reform (LGR). Such successor body or bodies may be, without limitation, a local authority, a combined authority, a combined county authority, a strategic authority or any other status determined pursuant to the Devolution and LGR Legislation. In addition, please note that further details of the Council's commissioning intentions for this service and a suite of soft market test questions can be located via the Council's e-tendering portal, ProContract: https://procontract.due-north.com/ Please note that you will need to undertake the registration process to secure a user account to access the soft market test questionnaire on ProContract. However, please be advised that the registration process is free of charge and provides access to all the current and forthcoming procurement opportunities for Essex County Council alongside several other public sector organisations. Please note that the deadline for the soft market test responses will be 17:00 on Friday 13th March 2026 and all responses must be submitted via the online questionnaire in ProContract.

Planning Information

Full details of the structure of this proposed procurement and associated timetable will be detailed within the corresponding Tender Notice in due course. However, please note that the specified response deadline within this notice relates to the submission requirements for the soft market test only. Further details regarding the current commissioning proposals for this service alongside a copy of the soft market test questionnaire can be accessed via the Council's e-tendering portal: https://procontract.due-north.com/

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-065e05
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017777-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

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
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Feb 20262 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
13 Mar 20262 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ESSEX COUNTY 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
CHELMSFORD
Postcode
CM1 1QH
Post Town
Chelmsford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH36 Heart of Essex
Delivery Location
TLH3 Essex
Local Authority
Chelmsford
Electoral Ward
Moulsham and Central
Westminster Constituency
Chelmsford

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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