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Short Breaks Services

TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN SUNDERLAND LIMITED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

04 Sep 2026 at 08:46

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Together for Children Sunderland Limited intends to commission community short-break services for disabled children and young people aged 5 to 17 years and 11 months. The services fall within social work and related services and are intended to provide community-based short breaks for this age group. Delivery is planned across Sunderland. The procurement is being considered under the light-touch regime. It is organised as one service lot and is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises. Relevant providers are likely to include organisations experienced in delivering safe, inclusive community activities, respite services or wider support for disabled children and young people, together with the staffing, safeguarding arrangements and operational capacity needed for this client group.

This procurement is at the planning stage: the buyer has announced an intention to procure and has not invited tenders. Preliminary market engagement is planned through a questionnaire, allowing suppliers to indicate interest and provide feedback on the future tender. The buyer expects responses to the engagement by 18 September 2026. The intended contract period is 4 January 2027 to 3 January 2031, with the possibility of renewal extending the maximum period to 3 January 2033. The procurement is expected to use the light-touch regime, with one lot covering the services. No estimated procurement value or budget is stated. Suppliers should treat the dates as the buyer’s current expectations rather than tender deadlines.

This engagement will suit providers already delivering community short breaks, respite, social care or related support for disabled children and young people. It is explicitly considered suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises, so participation should not be limited to large national care operators. Organisations preparing for the future tender should be ready to explain their experience with children aged 5 to 17 years and 11 months, their approach to safe and inclusive activities, and how they would meet the needs of disabled children and young people in Sunderland. The engagement is an opportunity to influence the emerging service requirement and demonstrate relevant market capability before the procurement reaches tender stage.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Short Breaks Services

Notice Description

Together for Children (TfC) are undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement for the following: Community Short Breaks Services for Disabled Children and Young people aged 5 - 17 year and 11 months. Please refer to the attached Market Engagement questionnaire advertised on OPEN for further details.

Planning Information

There is a preliminary market engagement questionnaire available on Together for Children's online tendering platform, the Open system ref: OPEN20261961. You will need to create an account on Open in order to access and bid for public sector opportunities issued by Together for Children. Visit www.open-uk.org to register an account (Registration is free and easy. Simply head over to www.open-uk.org and complete the online registration form). Top tips to help you get started: Keep an eye out for the temporary password to confirm your account - this is only valid for 3 days so if you have not logged in during this period, you will need to contact open.support@nepo.org to request a new temporary password Adding your Companies House number will populate fields and make it easier to register. Once registered, select Codes & Categories relevant to your area of business. Add notifications@open-uk.org to your safe sender list to ensure you don't miss out on notifications of relevant opportunities The Open Hub is packed with resources and information to help you get the most out of Open. We have answered your questions in our FAQ section and developed a range of how-to guides so you can familiarise yourself with the system at your own pace. Visit www.open-hub.org to find out more. Suppliers must also ahead of the publication of the tender, register on the Central Digital Platform (CDP) and ensure their information is up-to-date on the system. The CDP is available at https://www.gov.uk/find-tender. This market engagement will allow Together for Children to understand the appetite in the market and to allow the market to provide feedback and express their interest in this future tender opportunity.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f1c6
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083700-2026
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
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85300000 - Social work and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
4 Jan 2027 - 3 Jan 2031 4-5 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
TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN SUNDERLAND LIMITED
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
SUNDERLAND
Postcode
SR1 3AA
Postcode Area
Sunderland
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC44 Sunderland
Delivery Location
TLC23 Sunderland
Local Authority
Sunderland
Electoral Ward
Millfield
Westminster Constituency
Sunderland Central

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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