Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Advocacy & Independent Visitor Service

London Borough of Brent

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

03 Sep 2026 at 15:46

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

15 Jun 2026 at 20:00

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

11 Jun 2026 at 14:28

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The London Borough of Brent procured an Advocacy and Independent Visitor Service for children and young people. The advocacy service supports care-experienced young people, children subject to child protection plans, children in need, and 16- and 17-year-olds who may be homeless or need accommodation. It provides independent information, advice, support, representation and help with rights, care, treatment and accommodation decisions. The Independent Visitor service provides trained adults to befriend children in care, support their welfare and development, encourage them to raise concerns, and help safeguard them. This is a children’s welfare and social care service, classified under CPV 85311300, delivered across England for the Council.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to Coram Voice on 3 September 2026. It used one lot and an open procedure. The tender closed on 13 July 2026, enquiries closed on 6 July, and the award period ended on 10 August. The awarded value is £398,298 excluding VAT (£477,957.60 including VAT). The contract runs from 1 October 2026 to 1 April 2030, with a possible two-year extension to 1 April 2032. The original estimated value was £410,355 excluding VAT (£492,426 including VAT). Evaluation weighted quality at 50%, social value at 10% and price at 40%. Three bids were received, all from SMEs, and the lot was identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises.

For a future requirement of this kind, credible suppliers will need established expertise in independent advocacy for children and young people, including care-experienced children, children subject to protection plans and young people facing homelessness or accommodation decisions. They will also need to recruit, train and support suitable adults as Independent Visitors, with robust safeguarding, confidentiality and child-centred practice. Strong evidence should show how the service enables children to express their views, understand their rights, challenge poor care and build confidence and trusted relationships. The award demonstrates demand for an integrated advocacy and Independent Visitor model from a local authority, with quality and social value carrying greater combined weight than price. The competition also attracted SME bidders, indicating a scale accessible to capable specialist providers.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Advocacy & Independent Visitor Service

Notice Description

Advocacy Service. The Council has a duty to offer an independent advocacy service to care experienced young people, children subject to a child protection plan and children in need. The main purpose is to empower and enable young people to have a voice by providing independent information, advice, support and advocacy. It provides a confidential opportunity to share information and concerns about their care or treatment, to be informed of their rights and be able to access independent representation. Advocacy should be led by the views, wishes of children and young people, and champion the rights and needs of children and young people. These measures must be implemented alongside relevant guidance including Effective Advocacy for Looked-After Children, Children in Need and Care Leavers 2023 and adapt to new guidance released. The Council also has a duty to provide independent advocacy to 16 and 17 year-old people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation. The service needs to provide independent advocacy to this cohort of young people so that they can make an informed decision about their accommodation. The Independent Visitor Service . Independent Visitors can play an important role in safeguarding children in care, helping to identify problems early and to secure for them the help and support they need to flourish. An Independent Visitor is an adult who has been trained to befriend a child in care, take an interest in their welfare, spend time with them, offer advice, support and guidance, and encourage them to take part in challenging and stimulating personal development activities. Independent Visitors provide positive influences in the lives of children in care, encourage them to express their concerns about issues or query where they are unhappy about any aspects of their care. By maintaining productive relationships with children in care, Independent Visitors help to raise their self-esteem, confidence and ability to nurture trusting and healthy relationships while safeguarding these children.

Planning Information

This tender will be published on 15/06/2026. You can view full tender documents and submit your bid via https://www.londontenders.org/ Registration is free

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b310
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083582-2026
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

98 - Other community, social and personal services

CPV Codes

85000000 - Health and social work services

85311300 - Welfare services for children and young people

98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£410,355 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£410,355 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
£398,298 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
13 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
15 Jun 2026Expired
Award Date
3 Sep 20261 months ago
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 1 Apr 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
London Borough of Brent
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BRENT
Postcode
HA9 0FJ
Postcode Area
Harrow
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI7 Outer London - West and North West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI72 Brent
Delivery Location
TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority
Brent
Electoral Ward
Wembley Park
Westminster Constituency
Brent West

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Coram Voice

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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.

Loading OCDS record...