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HEA26042 - Family Hubs Direct Award 2026

Worcestershire County Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

21 Jul 2026 at 17:04

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Worcestershire County Council procured community and family support services for the Wyre Forest District. The work supports the Best Start Family Hubs programme, a government-funded initiative intended to improve outcomes for babies, young children and their families, particularly in areas of higher deprivation. The scope includes expanding the existing Family Hub offer, launching and branding a new Best Start Family Hub system, extending parenting support, developing home-learning-environment support, increasing outreach and peer-support provision, and involving families in co-production and service development. Services are delivered in the Wyre Forest District. The procurement is classified as other community, social and personal services. Worcestershire County Council is the public-sector buyer, and the selected supplier is Barnardo’s, a large voluntary, community and social enterprise.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through a direct award below the applicable threshold, without competition, under the light-touch regime. It covered one service lot. Barnardo’s was awarded the contract on 1 April 2026, and the contract was signed on the same date. The contract runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Its stated value is £35,700 excluding VAT, or £42,840 including VAT. The award is active and the contract is active. The opportunity was evaluated through the direct-award route rather than a competitive tender, so no comparative award criteria are published. The arrangement concerns the continuation and development of Family Hub provision specifically within the Wyre Forest District.

This award demonstrates demand from Worcestershire County Council for an established provider able to deliver integrated early-years and family-support services at district level. A credible future competitor would need practical experience expanding community-based family hubs, supporting parents and families with babies and young children, and developing evidence-based parenting and home-learning-environment interventions. It would also need the capacity to coordinate partnerships across health, public health, education and voluntary-sector organisations, while providing outreach and peer support. Experience with service branding, local engagement, co-production and service development would be relevant. The selected supplier’s voluntary-sector status indicates that organisations with strong community delivery capability and a social-purpose model may be well placed for this type of requirement.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

HEA26042 - Family Hubs Direct Award 2026

Notice Description

The Best Start Family Hubs Grant funding is a national government investment led by the Department for Education (DfE). It sits within the wider "Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life" strategy, published in July 2025, and the government's Plan for Change ambition to ensure 75% of children achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD) by 2028. The grant will expand and embed a local network of Best Start Family Hubs, prioritising areas of higher deprivation. This will be achieved by identifying and expanding hub sites, strengthening local partnerships across health, public health, education and the voluntary sector, and developing evidence-based parenting and home learning environment interventions, particularly for families with babies and young children. This funding will be used locally to continue the expansion of the local offer of Family Hubs, and services offered within these, taking them into the new phase of Best Start Family Hubs. Development of the Family Hub provision in the Wyre Forest District. To include: *Expand the capacity of the current Family Hub offer *Rebrand and launch a new 'Best Start Family Hub' system branding *Expand the current offer of parenting support with Family Hubs *Develop and expand a Home learning Environment offer of support *Expand current outreach provision *Expand current peer support delivery *Ensure families are engaged in coproduction and service development Contract value is PS35,700 for the period 01/04/26 - 31/03/27

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d046
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/068893-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - without competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

98 - Other community, social and personal services

CPV Codes

98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£35,700 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Jul 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Worcestershire 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
WORCESTER
Postcode
WR5 2NP
Postcode Area
Worcester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG1 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG12 Worcestershire CC
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Worcester
Electoral Ward
Nunnery
Westminster Constituency
Worcester

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Barnardo's

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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