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TD2371 - Children's Rights Service - Advocacy and Independent Visitor Provision

Derby City Council

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

27 Aug 2026 at 14:39

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

26 Jun 2026 at 10:02

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

31 Mar 2026 at 10:11

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Derby City Council procured an independent Children’s Rights Service providing advocacy, representation and Independent Visitor support. The service is for children and young people who are looked after or leaving care, privately fostered, have disabilities, or need advocacy at Child Protection Conferences. It must provide child-centred and flexible support, meet statutory duties under the Children Act 1989 and Care Planning Regulations 2010, support at least 40 children and young people at any one time, and provide representatives for at least 50 Child Protection or ACYP meetings each year. The work is delivered in Derby, under the health and social work services category (CPV 85000000). The contracting authority and buyer is Derby City Council.

This procurement has been awarded following an above-threshold open procedure. The tender closed at 10.00am on 28 July 2026, and the award was made on 27 August 2026. Citizens Advice Mid Mercia was selected for the single lot at £389,499.86 excluding VAT, or £467,399.84 including VAT. The contract runs from 20 November 2026 to 19 November 2028, with three possible 12-month renewals and a maximum end date of 19 November 2031. Evaluation weighted quality at 80% and price at 20%. Five bids reached the final stage, all from SMEs. The lot was marked complete, and contract signature was scheduled for 10 September 2026.

This award shows demand for an independent, child-centred rights service combining advocacy, representation and Independent Visitor provision across several vulnerable children’s groups. A credible future competitor would need demonstrable experience supporting looked-after children and care leavers, privately fostered children, disabled children and children involved in protection processes. It would also need the capacity to maintain support for a substantial live caseload while supplying representatives for frequent formal meetings. Strong knowledge of statutory duties, care planning, safeguarding and participation practice would be important, alongside arrangements that protect independence, accessibility and flexibility. The requirement was identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises, so specialist providers of either type could be well placed when this service is next reviewed.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

TD2371 - Children's Rights Service - Advocacy and Independent Visitor Provision

Notice Description

Provision of an independent Children's Rights Service including advocacy, representation, and Independent Visitor services for children and young people who are looked after or leaving care, privately fostered, have disabilities, or require advocacy for Child Protection Conferences. The service must support a minimum of 40 children and young people at any one time and provide representatives for at least 50 Child Protection or ACYP meetings per year. The service must be flexible, child centred, and compliant with statutory duties including the Children Act 1989 and Care Planning Regulations 2010.

Planning Information

Actions undertake so far: 1 - The Council has undertaken benchmarking with a range of local and national local authorities to understand current Children's Rights Service models, including who delivers the service, what elements are included, and how other areas are incorporating Families First Partnership Programme (FFPP) requirements. Benchmarking also explored how Children's Rights Services support participation and advocacy within Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) and wider family network decision making, as well as any FFPP related outcomes or KPIs. 2 - In parallel, the Council carried out soft market testing with both local and national providers. Providers were invited to share their understanding of FFPP, their experience of delivering services aligned to Family Help and FGDM reforms, and how a Children's Rights Service could best support children's voices within these processes. Providers also commented on potential delivery models, independence, accessibility, and key commissioning considerations. 3 - Local providers were contacted directly, while national providers are now able to participate via the contact details provided below to ensure open and inclusive engagement. Feedback from both exercises will inform the development of the proposed service model and its alignment with FFPP principles. We would now welcome any further comments from providers as outlined above and outside of those already contacted so far on the proposed service and its delivery. A copy of the existing service specification can be obtained from sophie.pickles@derby.gov.uk Further comments and contributions into the pre-market engagement can also be submitted to this email address.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06789f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081817-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

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
£820,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£820,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£389,499 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
27 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
28 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
1 Jun 2026Expired
Award Date
27 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
20 Nov 2026 - 19 Nov 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
2031-06-18

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Derby City 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
DERBY
Postcode
DE1 2FS
Postcode Area
Derby
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF1 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF11 Derby
Delivery Location
TLF11 Derby
Local Authority
Derby
Electoral Ward
Darley
Westminster Constituency
Derby South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Citizens Advice Mid Mercia

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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