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Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) Support Services

Home Office

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

12 Oct 2026 at 19:03

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

11 Sep 2026 at 22:11

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

31 Mar 2026 at 09:12

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Home Office is seeking support services for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the UK without a parent or guardian. The service is intended to meet children’s immediate needs on arrival, before they enter a local authority’s care, and help them understand and navigate the asylum process. The two core service areas are delivery of services at the Kent Intake Unit and delivery of orientation sessions. Work must be available across both service areas, with the combination provided to each child determined by individual need. The provider will work alongside the Home Office, other services and Home Office suppliers. Delivery is in the United Kingdom, including at the Kent Intake Unit in Kent. This is child welfare and social work support delivered without residential accommodation.

The Home Office invited offers through an open procedure. Suppliers must register on its eSourcing portal, express interest and complete a non-disclosure agreement to receive access to the invitation-to-tender event. The contract is due to run from 25 January 2027 to 24 January 2030, with a possible 12-month extension at the Authority’s discretion. The estimated value is £4.5 million excluding VAT (£5.4 million including VAT). Questions were due by 6 October 2026 and tenders by 21 October 2026; the award decision was expected by 13 January 2027. Quality accounts for 70% of the evaluation and price for 30%. The requirement is presented as one lot, and the contract is identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises.

This opportunity is suited to providers with practical experience supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and meeting the needs of vulnerable young people during arrival and transition into local authority care. Relevant strengths include delivering child-focused welfare support at an intake setting, providing clear orientation about the asylum process, and adapting delivery to the circumstances of individual children. Suppliers should be able to make both service areas available and coordinate effectively with the Home Office and other organisations involved in the support system. The requirement combines operational delivery at the Kent Intake Unit with orientation services across the UK, so bidders need appropriate staffing and the ability to work across both functions. The buyer states that the opportunity is suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) Support Services

Notice Description

The Home Office (the Authority) has a statutory duty under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to discharge its immigration and asylum functions having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK. This includes Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) who arrive in the UK and enter the immigration system without a parent or guardian. The Support Services for UASC ensure that their immediate needs are met upon arrival in Kent, or elsewhere, prior to entering the care of a local authority. Additionally, there is a need to ensure UASC have access to information and support to help them navigate the asylum process. The services will operate alongside, and in collaboration with the Authority and a range of other services and Authority suppliers, to enable the effective operation of the system to manage and support UASC. It is recognised that service users may require only one, or a combination of these services at any given time. Therefore, all services areas must be available, but would be delivered on an as-required basis, according to the needs of each individual case. The core service areas are: Service Area 1: Delivery of Services at Kent Intake Unit (KIU) Service Area 2: Delivery of Orientation Sessions

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The Authority may at its sole discretion, choose to exercise a future 12-months extension option if it deems in its commercial best interests to do so.

Planning Information

Note: Any previous expression of interest or signed NDA associated with Project 19042 will need to be renewed and previous participation in market engagement will not result in automatic inclusion in this new preliminary market engagement and any subsequent tender process. It is our intention to invite those suppliers that express an interest in this procurement to complete an initial Supplier Questionnaire, subject to parties signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Following receipt of responses, the Authority will decide whether to conduct further market engagement activities. These may include an Industry Day, one-to-one engagement sessions with prospective bidders, or the issuing of clarifying questions to suppliers. How to Express Interest 1. Register on the Home Office eSourcing Portal Suppliers must be registered on the Home Office eSourcing Suite to participate. If your organisation is not yet registered, please do so at: https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Select the "To register click here" link and follow the instructions. Note: You must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun & Bradstreet) for the organisation that will be entering into any subsequent contract. 2. Submit an Expression of Interest via Email Send an email to: AsylumSupportProcurementTeam@homeoffice.gov.uk Use the subject line: Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) Support Services – Expression of Interest Please include the following details in the body of the email, using the format below: Organisation name: [Insert name] Contact name: [Insert name] Email address: [Insert email] Telephone number: [Insert number] Next Steps Following Expression of Interest 3. NDA Issuance Once your Expression of Interest has been received, your organisation will be invited to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), which must be completed prior to receiving further materials. 4. Access to Further Information Suppliers will be unable to participate in preliminary market engagement or any subsequent tender process without returning a signed NDA via the Home Office eSourcing Portal. Upon receipt of the signed NDA, you will be provided with access to a Background Note providing further detail on the potential scope of services, along with a Supplier Questionnaire to complete.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-067882
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096320-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, 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

85310000 - Social work services

85311300 - Welfare services for children and young people

85312000 - Social work services without accommodation

85312400 - Welfare services not delivered through residential institutions

85321000 - Administrative social services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£4,500,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£4,500,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
12 Oct 2026Today
Submission Deadline
21 Oct 20262 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
18 May 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
25 Jan 2027 - 24 Jan 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

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
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

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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