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DHSC: SCI: Healthy Babies Evaluation

Department of Health & Social Care

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

26 Aug 2026 at 13:19

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department of Health and Social Care commissioned an evaluation and viability assessment of the Healthy Babies scheme. The work covers a national programme supporting families from conception until children are two, delivered through Best Start Family Hubs and local authorities in England. The evaluation is intended to examine how services are delivered, which outcomes they affect, what works for different families and contexts, and the value for money of early intervention. It concerns services including infant feeding, parent–infant relationships, perinatal mental health, family engagement in service design and the development of a joined-up Healthy Babies Offer. The delivery location is London, while the programme and evidence base concern delivery across England. The procurement category is survey and evaluation services (CPV 79311000).

The procurement has been awarded following a CCS Dynamic Purchasing System further competition without prior publication of a call for competition. The process used a limited procedure and had one lot. Three bids were received, all electronically and all from SMEs; none came from EU suppliers. RAND Europe Community Interest Company was awarded the contract on 28 July 2026. The contract is active and is valued at £3,843,396.85. The published evaluation criterion was price. The procurement record also shows the tender as complete and the lot as cancelled, although the award and contract remain recorded as active. The contract period is not stated. The Department of Health and Social Care is the buyer, and the contract is subject to the Government Procurement Agreement.

This award demonstrates demand for independent evaluation of a large, complex public health programme delivered through multiple local authorities and community-facing family services. A credible competitor would need to design and run robust surveys and other evaluation activity, assess delivery viability, and connect service models with outcomes for babies, children, parents and carers. Relevant capability includes evaluating infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parent–infant relationships, family engagement and prevention services across different local contexts. Suppliers should be able to investigate what works, for whom and in which circumstances, while assessing value for money and producing evidence useful to national policy and future investment decisions. The three-bid competition and selection of an SME indicate that specialist evaluation organisations can compete through a public sector purchasing system.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

DHSC: SCI: Healthy Babies Evaluation

Notice Description

Mini Comp via RM6126 DPS for a supplier to run evaluation, viability assessment into the Healthy Babies scheme.

Lot Information

Lot 1

What is Healthy Babies?

Healthy Babies (HB), formerly referred to as Start for Life (2022-2026), provides integrated, preventative support for families in the critical period from conception to age two. DHSC funds 75 local authorities (LAs) to deliver enhanced Healthy Babies services focus on infant feeding, parent-infant relationships and perinatal mental health. Healthy Babies services are delivered through Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs). Additionally, we provide funding for LAs to i) engage parents and carers on service design and delivery, and ii) to produce a 'Healthy Babies Offer', where LAs are supported to bring together all their services aimed at families with babies into one place. In total, DHSC is investing PS200m into Healthy Babies over the 2026/27 to 2028/29 phase of Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies delivery.

LAs are provided with guidance which sets expectations for what they are to deliver and how delivery should be achieved. The Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies Guidance has been provided to LAs for delivery from 2026 - 2029 here. Previous versions of the guidance (under previous Family Hubs and Start for Life naming) are available here (2022-2025) and here (2025-2026).

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guidehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide-2025-to-2026https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c6be4acdfd19de13d0f810/best-start-family-hubs-and-healthy-babies-guidance-for-local-authorities.docx.pdf

Healthy Babies, formerly referred to as 'Start for Life' (2022 - 2026) has three overarching objectives:

Provide support to parents and carers to help them nurture their babies and children, improving health and education outcomes for all;

Contribute to a reduction in inequalities in health and education outcomes for babies, children and families across England by ensuring that support reaches all families, including marginalised communities and/or those most in need;

Build the evidence base for what works when it comes to improving health and education outcomes for babies, children and families in different delivery contexts.

Why is this a priority for government?

As set out in the Plan for Change, 10 Year Health Plan and Best Start in Life strategy the Government has committed to continuing Best Start Family Hubs (BSFH) and Healthy Babies, with DHSC delivering the Healthy Babies component.

The government intends that, in every Best Start Family Hub, families will be able to find the core support they need in one place: friendly parenting advice, help to support children's learning and development at home, early help for children with additional needs and support during pregnancy and the first years of life (including access to infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parent-infant relationship support, maternity services and health visiting). There will also be groups, activities, peer support and practical help shaped around what local families say would make the biggest difference. By involving families in designing what each hub offers, the hubs will reflect the needs, strengths and everyday realities of the communities they serve.


Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies services will also be central to wider reforms, strengthening the end-to-end system for families and embedding prevention at the heart of local delivery. They will be central to increasing school readiness and delivering SEND reforms, complement Families First Partnerships, support the Healthy Child Programme, and a cornerstone of the emerging Neighbourhood Health Service.

Why do we need an evaluation of Healthy Babies?

To meet our third objective, we must build the evidence base on how the programme has been delivered, the outcomes that have been impacted and the progress we are making towards the government's missions. Whilst the programme focuses on interventions with good evidence of improving child and parent outcomes, there is more to understand about the relationship between the services being delivered, the different delivery models through which they operate and the outcomes for children and their families as well as the value for money in this type of early intervention activity. Crucially, we need to understand what works, for whom and in what contexts, and how this creates benefit for families, to inform future policy development & make the case for further investment in this important programme.

Procurement Information

The procedure used was CCS DPS Further Competition and it did not require a prior FTS.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ec84
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081297-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award 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
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79311000 - Survey services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£3,843,396 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
26 Aug 2026Today
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
28 Jul 20261 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
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
Postcode Area
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
TLI32 Westminster
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

RAND Europe Community Interest Company

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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