Notice Information
Notice Title
Child Poverty Strategic Partnerships
Notice Description
Introduction * This information note, along with the accompanying details, is being publicly shared via Find a Tender Service, making it accessible to all organisations in the market. * The purpose of this market engagement is to identify one or more partners who can work with the Department to help improve health outcomes for children living in poverty in England. * DHSC is specifically looking at collaborating on a "value in kind" basis with potential partners to deliver on the aims of the Child Poverty Strategy (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696646bc99fbdc498faecd98/child-poverty-strategy.pdf), published in December 2025. There is no dedicated funding available for a strategic partnership in this space. This is not a public procurement exercise, nor a paid partnership or sponsorship opportunity and as such it will not lead to the award of a "public contract" as defined in the Procurement Act 2023. While Find a Tender Service would ordinarily be used in connection with a public procurement exercise, this is not the case here as it is being used to have a wide reach to the market. * The questionnaire will close for responses at 23:59 on Monday 3rd August 2026. Responses after this time will not be accepted. * DHSC will progress up to ten proposals that satisfy the criteria set out on page 3 of this notice. The final number of proposals selected will be based on the scoring methodology described herein, with those achieving the highest scores invited to enter negotiations. * Participation in this process does not create any obligation on either party to enter into a formal partnership or agreement. * DHSC recognises that organisations may wish to combine complementary skills, resources or experience by forming a consortium. We encourage strategic partnership proposals from consortia where they strengthen capability, capacity or coverage. Organisations submitting a consortium proposal must nominate a lead organisation to submit the proposal and act as the single point of contact. They must also clearly outline the consortium membership including the roles, responsibilities and contributions of each consortium member. * There are four scored questions for potential partners to answer. Each refers to key aspects of the partnership needs set out in Strategic Partnership Needs section of this notice. Each question will be scored on a scale of 0-4 which is set out below: Score Justification for Awarding Score 0 - The response does not demonstrate an understanding of the partnership needs and provides no confidence that the partnership needs will be delivered. 1 - The response meets elements of the partnership needs but raises concerns across several significant areas. There are reservations because the response shows: Some misunderstandings of the partnership needs, and a low level of information and detail provided. It provides insufficient confidence that the potential partner's proposal will meet and deliver the partnership needs. 2 - The response broadly meets what is expected for the partnership needs, but there are some areas of concern. The response therefore shows: A reasonable understanding of the partnership needs with an acceptable level of information and detail provided. It provides reasonable confidence that the potential partner's proposal will meet and deliver the partnership needs. 3 - The response meets what is expected for the partnership needs in all material respects, with no areas of concern. The response therefore shows: A good understanding of the partnership needs, and a good level of information and detail provided. It provides good confidence that the potential partner's proposal will meet and deliver the partnership needs. 4 - The response exceeds many aspects of the partnership needs. There are no areas of concern. The response therefore shows: A very good understanding of the partnership needs, and very good level of information and detail provided. It provides a high degree of confidence that the potential partner's proposal will meet and deliver the partnership needs. The response goes beyond partnership needs in some areas with evidence of added value beyond what was expected. In addition, the following criteria will be considered when scoring responses: Acceptability: Alignment with Child Poverty Strategy Practicability: Feasibility of partnership Effectiveness: Expected impact Side effects / safety: Alignment with DHSC policy Innovation: Level of ambition Political alignment: Alignment with political priorities Background and Scope Child poverty in the UK has increased by 700,000 since 2010/11, with 4 million children now living in poverty and 1 million having used foodbanks within the last 12 months . Tackling child poverty is central to this government's mission to remove barriers to opportunity and raise the healthiest generation of children ever. Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-children-our-future-tackling-child-poverty) sets out immediate actions to reduce poverty and the long-term foundations needed to change its trajectory. As part of the Strategy, DHSC has committed to explore how industry and government can better work together to address the health impacts of child poverty (page 92). Scale of the problem: Child poverty is a wider determinant of health and can be a risk factor for worse physical and mental health outcomes , Evidence shows that exposure to poverty during childhood is associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes . These health inequalities may manifest differently throughout pregnancy, the early years, middle childhood and adolescence: * Pregnancy: Health behaviours and risks often begin before pregnancy . Poverty increases the risk of low birth weight and infant mortality. * Early years (0-5 years): At ages four and five years, obesity prevalence and tooth decay are strongly linked to deprivation. Children on free school meals are less likely to be school ready at age five years. * Middle childhood (5-11 years): Children from less affluent families are least likely to be active . By age 10-11 years, children in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to be obese * Adolescence (11-18 years): Risky health behaviours often begin during adolescence. Poverty is usually measured at individual or household level whereas deprivation uses area-based measures (typically using the Index of Multiple Deprivation). Inequalities in health outcomes can be measured in different ways. In some cases, health and poverty metrics data are not measured together, so other measures like area-based deprivation or the family's socioeconomic status are used. While area-based deprivation metrics can help identify need, they do not capture all children experiencing poverty. This work therefore focuses on children living in poverty across England, regardless of location. We have heard from young people, parents and wider stakeholders through early market engagement exercises that: * Poverty has an impact on ability to access healthy food, affordable transport, housing quality and lack of outdoor spaces that support physical activity. * Financial, job insecurity, and debt pressures can place additional stress on families experiencing poverty. * There is limited access to learning opportunities and education for families in poverty, as well as low health literacy and awareness, which can act as barriers to health improvement. We are looking for scalable solutions that address the wider determinants of health associated with child poverty. Solutions should focus on: * Mitigating impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, to enable families to live healthy lives and make healthy choices. This includes equitable access to affordable and nutritious food, cooking equipment, leisure activities and transport. * Adequate mental health, education and developmental support provision, including addressing stigma, raising awareness of existing support and eligibility. Educational and developmental support could include life skills such as cooking and diet, budgeting and financial literacy. Following the market engagement event hosted by DHSC on Wednesday 15 April 2026, this notice is an invitation to submit a proposal to collaborate with DHSC and contribute to innovative, impactful solutions to improve the health of children living in poverty. Please complete questionnaire to submit a proposal: https://forms.office.com/e/SnUJi1QCJF Whilst this engagement focuses specifically on the wider determinants of health associated with child poverty, opportunities to support the broader Children and Young People (CYP) health agenda are expected via the CYP Modern Service Framework (MSF), which is being developed by NHS England. The CYP MSF is intended to support the NHS and system partners, including public health and local government, to ensure all children receive timely, high-quality care and support when they need it, while improving performance and efficiency across the health system. Engagement relating to the CYP MSF will be conducted by NHSE and does not form part of this market engagement exercise.
Planning Information
Strategic Partnership Needs We recognise that addressing the complex challenges surrounding child poverty requires collaboration across sectors. We are open to a range of collaborative models and are particularly interested in contributions that may include but are not limited to: • Financial or in-kind support • Donations of goods or services • Joint public awareness campaigns • Access to networks, data, or expertise • Programme suggestions/development • Other innovative resources or approaches, including joining up with other government departments and initiatives We are looking for partnerships that would help mitigate the impact that poverty has on children’s health outcomes and address the wider determinants of health associated with child poverty, as outlined in the Background and Scope section. In return, DHSC may offer to: • Collaborate with you around PR moments and provide recognition to the collaboration. • Seek opportunities to promote outputs from the collaboration. This market engagement is looking to gather insights and explore collaboration opportunities only. It is not a procurement process and will not lead to the award of a “public contract” as defined in the Procurement Act 2023. We are interested in proposals where collaboration with DHSC could help deliver on the priorities set out in the Child Poverty Strategy and 10 Year Health Plan while creating additional impact, scale or reach. Discussions may include the potential use of branding to promote the initiative. Before progressing any proposals, DHSC will undertake due diligence on all organisations, including individual members of consortia proposals, to ensure alignment with the objectives on child poverty. This may involve the use of a range of tools and sources, including data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), to support proportionate and risk-based assessments. DHSC reserves the right to exclude organisations that present legal, ethical or reputational risks. Market Consultation Questionnaire Return 1.1. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies to the Department. You should be aware of the Department's obligations and responsibilities under the FOIA to disclose, on written request, recorded information held. Information provided by you in connection with this market engagement exercise may therefore have to be disclosed in response to such a request, unless the Department decides that one of the statutory exemptions under the FOIA applies. The Department may also include certain information in the publication scheme which it maintains under the FOIA. 1.2. In certain circumstances, and in accordance with the Code of Practice issued under section 45 of the FOIA or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the Department may consider it appropriate to ask you for your views as to the release of any information before a decision on how to respond to a request is made. In dealing with requests for information under the FOIA, the Department must comply with a strict timetable and the Department would, therefore, expect a timely response to any consultation within two working days. 1.3. You may provide information which is confidential in nature and which you may wish to be held in confidence. You must give a clear indication which type of material is to be considered confidential and why it is considered to be so, along with the time period for which it will remain confidential in nature. The use of blanket protective markings such as "commercial in confidence" will no longer be accepted. In addition, marking any material as confidential or equivalent should not be taken to mean that the Department accepts any duty of confidentiality by virtue of such marking. Please note that even where you have indicated that information is confidential the Department may be required to disclose it under the FOIA if a request is received. 1.4. The Department does not accept that trivial information or information which by its very nature cannot be regarded as confidential should be subject to any obligation of confidence. 1.5. In certain circumstances where information has not been provided in confidence, the Department may still wish to consult with you about the application of any other exemption such as that relating to disclosure that will prejudice the commercial interests of any party. 1.6. The decision as to which information will be disclosed is reserved to the Department notwithstanding any consultation with you. 1.7. The publication of any documents at this stage is intended to provide potential partners with the opportunity to express and interest to be considered to form partnerships and to view and comment on the background and partnership needs. The Department does not intend to be bound by any information at this stage. The Department makes no commitment to proceed with forming partnerships or to accept recommendations or suggestions. 1.8. Before discussing any potential collaboration with the Department, you will be asked to enter into a binding confidentiality agreement relating to the content of such discussions. Please see attached questionnaire to apply: https://forms.office.com/e/SnUJi1QCJF Regards, Sector Insights and Commercial Strategy Commercial Directorate, Department of Health & Social Care Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EU Annex Research Documents: The documents below are provided as supplementary sources used to inform the statistics and metrics above and are included for further reading. 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Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-06c2ac
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062438-2026
- 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
- Not specified
- Awardee Scale
- Not specified
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
15 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
18 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories
30 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages
33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
66 - Financial and insurance services
72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
75 - Administration, defence and social security services
80 - Education and training services
85 - Health and social work services
-
- CPV Codes
15000000 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
18000000 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories
30000000 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages
33000000 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
55000000 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
55520000 - Catering services
60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
65000000 - Public utilities
66000000 - Financial and insurance services
72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
75122000 - Administrative healthcare services
75123000 - Administrative housing services
80000000 - Education and training services
80590000 - Tutorial services
85000000 - Health and social work services
85100000 - Health services
85140000 - Miscellaneous health services
85300000 - Social work and related services
85310000 - Social work services
85311300 - Welfare services for children and young people
85312000 - Social work services without accommodation
85312100 - Daycare services
85312110 - Child daycare services
85312300 - Guidance and counselling services
85312400 - Welfare services not delivered through residential institutions
85320000 - Social services
85321000 - Administrative social services
85322000 - Community action programme
85323000 - Community health services
92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
98133000 - Services furnished by social membership organisations
98133100 - Civic betterment and community facility support services
98133110 - Services provided by youth associations
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- Not specified
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 2 Jul 2026Today
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- 3 Aug 20262 months to go
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 3 Aug 2026 - 1 Jul 2030 3-4 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
- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE
- 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
- SW1H 0EU
- Post Town
- 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
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062438-2026
2nd July 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender -
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062403-2026
2nd July 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Notice URLs
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
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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This may involve the use of a range of tools and sources, including data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), to support proportionate and risk-based assessments. DHSC reserves the right to exclude organisations that present legal, ethical or reputational risks. Market Consultation Questionnaire Return 1.1. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies to the Department. You should be aware of the Department's obligations and responsibilities under the FOIA to disclose, on written request, recorded information held. Information provided by you in connection with this market engagement exercise may therefore have to be disclosed in response to such a request, unless the Department decides that one of the statutory exemptions under the FOIA applies. The Department may also include certain information in the publication scheme which it maintains under the FOIA. 1.2. In certain circumstances, and in accordance with the Code of Practice issued under section 45 of the FOIA or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, the Department may consider it appropriate to ask you for your views as to the release of any information before a decision on how to respond to a request is made. In dealing with requests for information under the FOIA, the Department must comply with a strict timetable and the Department would, therefore, expect a timely response to any consultation within two working days. 1.3. You may provide information which is confidential in nature and which you may wish to be held in confidence. You must give a clear indication which type of material is to be considered confidential and why it is considered to be so, along with the time period for which it will remain confidential in nature. The use of blanket protective markings such as \"commercial in confidence\" will no longer be accepted. In addition, marking any material as confidential or equivalent should not be taken to mean that the Department accepts any duty of confidentiality by virtue of such marking. Please note that even where you have indicated that information is confidential the Department may be required to disclose it under the FOIA if a request is received. 1.4. The Department does not accept that trivial information or information which by its very nature cannot be regarded as confidential should be subject to any obligation of confidence. 1.5. In certain circumstances where information has not been provided in confidence, the Department may still wish to consult with you about the application of any other exemption such as that relating to disclosure that will prejudice the commercial interests of any party. 1.6. The decision as to which information will be disclosed is reserved to the Department notwithstanding any consultation with you. 1.7. The publication of any documents at this stage is intended to provide potential partners with the opportunity to express and interest to be considered to form partnerships and to view and comment on the background and partnership needs. The Department does not intend to be bound by any information at this stage. The Department makes no commitment to proceed with forming partnerships or to accept recommendations or suggestions. 1.8. Before discussing any potential collaboration with the Department, you will be asked to enter into a binding confidentiality agreement relating to the content of such discussions. 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"title": "Child Poverty Strategic Partnerships",
"description": "Introduction * This information note, along with the accompanying details, is being publicly shared via Find a Tender Service, making it accessible to all organisations in the market. * The purpose of this market engagement is to identify one or more partners who can work with the Department to help improve health outcomes for children living in poverty in England. * DHSC is specifically looking at collaborating on a \"value in kind\" basis with potential partners to deliver on the aims of the Child Poverty Strategy (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696646bc99fbdc498faecd98/child-poverty-strategy.pdf), published in December 2025. There is no dedicated funding available for a strategic partnership in this space. This is not a public procurement exercise, nor a paid partnership or sponsorship opportunity and as such it will not lead to the award of a \"public contract\" as defined in the Procurement Act 2023. While Find a Tender Service would ordinarily be used in connection with a public procurement exercise, this is not the case here as it is being used to have a wide reach to the market. * The questionnaire will close for responses at 23:59 on Monday 3rd August 2026. Responses after this time will not be accepted. * DHSC will progress up to ten proposals that satisfy the criteria set out on page 3 of this notice. The final number of proposals selected will be based on the scoring methodology described herein, with those achieving the highest scores invited to enter negotiations. * Participation in this process does not create any obligation on either party to enter into a formal partnership or agreement. * DHSC recognises that organisations may wish to combine complementary skills, resources or experience by forming a consortium. We encourage strategic partnership proposals from consortia where they strengthen capability, capacity or coverage. Organisations submitting a consortium proposal must nominate a lead organisation to submit the proposal and act as the single point of contact. They must also clearly outline the consortium membership including the roles, responsibilities and contributions of each consortium member. * There are four scored questions for potential partners to answer. Each refers to key aspects of the partnership needs set out in Strategic Partnership Needs section of this notice. Each question will be scored on a scale of 0-4 which is set out below: Score Justification for Awarding Score 0 - The response does not demonstrate an understanding of the partnership needs and provides no confidence that the partnership needs will be delivered. 1 - The response meets elements of the partnership needs but raises concerns across several significant areas. There are reservations because the response shows: Some misunderstandings of the partnership needs, and a low level of information and detail provided. It provides insufficient confidence that the potential partner's proposal will meet and deliver the partnership needs. 2 - The response broadly meets what is expected for the partnership needs, but there are some areas of concern. The response therefore shows: A reasonable understanding of the partnership needs with an acceptable level of information and detail provided. It provides reasonable confidence that the potential partner's proposal will meet and deliver the partnership needs. 3 - The response meets what is expected for the partnership needs in all material respects, with no areas of concern. The response therefore shows: A good understanding of the partnership needs, and a good level of information and detail provided. It provides good confidence that the potential partner's proposal will meet and deliver the partnership needs. 4 - The response exceeds many aspects of the partnership needs. There are no areas of concern. The response therefore shows: A very good understanding of the partnership needs, and very good level of information and detail provided. It provides a high degree of confidence that the potential partner's proposal will meet and deliver the partnership needs. The response goes beyond partnership needs in some areas with evidence of added value beyond what was expected. In addition, the following criteria will be considered when scoring responses: Acceptability: Alignment with Child Poverty Strategy Practicability: Feasibility of partnership Effectiveness: Expected impact Side effects / safety: Alignment with DHSC policy Innovation: Level of ambition Political alignment: Alignment with political priorities Background and Scope Child poverty in the UK has increased by 700,000 since 2010/11, with 4 million children now living in poverty and 1 million having used foodbanks within the last 12 months . Tackling child poverty is central to this government's mission to remove barriers to opportunity and raise the healthiest generation of children ever. Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-children-our-future-tackling-child-poverty) sets out immediate actions to reduce poverty and the long-term foundations needed to change its trajectory. As part of the Strategy, DHSC has committed to explore how industry and government can better work together to address the health impacts of child poverty (page 92). Scale of the problem: Child poverty is a wider determinant of health and can be a risk factor for worse physical and mental health outcomes , Evidence shows that exposure to poverty during childhood is associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes . These health inequalities may manifest differently throughout pregnancy, the early years, middle childhood and adolescence: * Pregnancy: Health behaviours and risks often begin before pregnancy . Poverty increases the risk of low birth weight and infant mortality. * Early years (0-5 years): At ages four and five years, obesity prevalence and tooth decay are strongly linked to deprivation. Children on free school meals are less likely to be school ready at age five years. * Middle childhood (5-11 years): Children from less affluent families are least likely to be active . By age 10-11 years, children in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to be obese * Adolescence (11-18 years): Risky health behaviours often begin during adolescence. Poverty is usually measured at individual or household level whereas deprivation uses area-based measures (typically using the Index of Multiple Deprivation). Inequalities in health outcomes can be measured in different ways. In some cases, health and poverty metrics data are not measured together, so other measures like area-based deprivation or the family's socioeconomic status are used. While area-based deprivation metrics can help identify need, they do not capture all children experiencing poverty. This work therefore focuses on children living in poverty across England, regardless of location. We have heard from young people, parents and wider stakeholders through early market engagement exercises that: * Poverty has an impact on ability to access healthy food, affordable transport, housing quality and lack of outdoor spaces that support physical activity. * Financial, job insecurity, and debt pressures can place additional stress on families experiencing poverty. * There is limited access to learning opportunities and education for families in poverty, as well as low health literacy and awareness, which can act as barriers to health improvement. We are looking for scalable solutions that address the wider determinants of health associated with child poverty. Solutions should focus on: * Mitigating impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, to enable families to live healthy lives and make healthy choices. This includes equitable access to affordable and nutritious food, cooking equipment, leisure activities and transport. * Adequate mental health, education and developmental support provision, including addressing stigma, raising awareness of existing support and eligibility. Educational and developmental support could include life skills such as cooking and diet, budgeting and financial literacy. Following the market engagement event hosted by DHSC on Wednesday 15 April 2026, this notice is an invitation to submit a proposal to collaborate with DHSC and contribute to innovative, impactful solutions to improve the health of children living in poverty. Please complete questionnaire to submit a proposal: https://forms.office.com/e/SnUJi1QCJF Whilst this engagement focuses specifically on the wider determinants of health associated with child poverty, opportunities to support the broader Children and Young People (CYP) health agenda are expected via the CYP Modern Service Framework (MSF), which is being developed by NHS England. The CYP MSF is intended to support the NHS and system partners, including public health and local government, to ensure all children receive timely, high-quality care and support when they need it, while improving performance and efficiency across the health system. Engagement relating to the CYP MSF will be conducted by NHSE and does not form part of this market engagement exercise.",
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