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Therapeutic support and mental health services for children in care

Suffolk County Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

19 Aug 2026 at 17:00

Tender Notice
Award

19 Aug 2026 at 16:52

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Suffolk County Council is procuring therapeutic support and mental health services for children in care across Suffolk, including the surrounding council area. The service covers specialist mental health and therapeutic interventions for children up to 18 with moderate to severe or mild to moderate needs, through NHS clinical teams in Suffolk excluding and including Waveney. It also includes clinical psychology support for Suffolk’s therapeutic fostering service, training and support for in-house foster carers, and psychology support for staff in the council’s residential children’s homes. The work is a health service, including psychiatrist and psychologist services. The council is the buyer and commissioning authority; delivery is centred on Suffolk and includes activity in Waveney, with the supplier based in Norwich.

The procurement is recorded as complete and uses a direct award without prior publication of a competition under the Provider Selection Regime, using a limited procedure. Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust was selected for the single service package, with an award recorded as active. The contract was signed on 23 June 2026 and is scheduled to run from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2028, with an optional 12-month extension to 31 March 2029. Its estimated lifetime value, including the extension, is £2,804,546 excluding VAT. The recorded award basis was the existing provider’s satisfactory performance and expected ability to meet the proposed requirement. The notice also records the lot as cancelled, despite the active award and contract, and describes the process as an intention to award under the PSR.

This procurement indicates sustained demand for integrated therapeutic and mental health provision for looked-after and adopted children, combining clinical intervention with support for foster carers, residential-care staff and council teams. A credible future competitor would need access to appropriately qualified clinical psychologists and multidisciplinary child and adolescent mental health professionals, with experience across mild to severe presentations and children in care. It would also need to provide training, consultation and trauma-informed practice for foster and residential settings, while coordinating effectively with local authority children’s services and NHS teams. Evidence of reliable delivery against key performance indicators, service sustainability, collaboration, improved access and reduced health inequalities would be important. The evaluation also considered innovation, value and social value, so providers would need to demonstrate these alongside clinical quality.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Therapeutic support and mental health services for children in care

Notice Description

Therapeutic support and mental health services for children in care within Suffolk County Council surrounding areas.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Suffolk County Council are intending to award a contract to an existing provider following direct award process C under the Provider Selection Regime. These services are provided by the NHS and consist of providing healthcare to individuals. This contract includes the following services undertaken by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT): * Connect - this is a team of various clinical roles, that sits within the NSFT CAMHS (Child adolescent mental health services) in Suffolk (Excluding Waveney) they provided specialist mental health and therapeutic intervention to children in care with moderate to severe presentation up to the age of 18. * CFYP (Children Family and young people) LAAC (looked after and adopted children) Waveney - as above with Connect this team offers specialist mental health and therapeutic intervention to children in care up to the age of 18 with mild to moderate presentation and covers the Waveney part of Suffolk. * Suffolk Therapeutic Fostering (STF) - SCC commission 2 clinical psychologists that work within SCC CYPS STF team. The STF team offer support and training for Suffolks in house foster carers and children in their care. * Psychology support in Residential homes- SCC commission a clinical psychologist who works within our in-house residential children's homes, their role is to support staff by providing advice, support, and training, to promote trauma informed care. The contract is expected to run from 1st April 2026 to 31 March 2028, with an optional 12-month extension to 31 March 2029. The total estimated lifetime value of the contract (including the optional extension) is PS2,804,546 ex VAT.

Options: The contract can be extended by up to 12 months.

Procurement Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by 1st September 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e805
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079209-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85100000 - Health services

85121270 - Psychiatrist or psychologist services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£2,804,546 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
19 Aug 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
23 Jun 20262 months ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Suffolk 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
IPSWICH
Postcode
IP1 2BX
Postcode Area
Ipswich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH6 Suffolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH62 Ipswich
Delivery Location
TLH14 Suffolk CC
Local Authority
Ipswich
Electoral Ward
Gipping
Westminster Constituency
Ipswich

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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