--- title: "Soft Market Testing - Specialist child exploitation support service" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL" published: "2026-01-19" --- # Soft Market Testing - Specialist child exploitation support service Buyer: NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6.json) ## Summary The procurement process, conducted by Nottinghamshire County Council, is currently in the planning stage for a tender titled "Soft Market Testing - Specialist child exploitation support service." This falls under the "Social work and related services" industry category, focusing on specialist support for children at risk of exploitation. The procurement process is located in the East Midlands, United Kingdom. An essential milestone in this process is the end date for market engagement, scheduled for 29th January 2026. Nottinghamshire County Council aims to gather data and input from potential providers to inform future commissioning strategies. This tender presents significant opportunities for business growth, particularly for SMEs and VCSEs operating in the social work sector. Businesses with expertise in providing comprehensive support services to children affected by exploitation, both sexual and criminal, will be well-positioned to contribute to this initiative. By participating in this engagement, businesses can help shape the future of service delivery in this critical area and potentially benefit from increased funding targeted at enhancing support for criminally exploited children. Engaging in this process will also provide valuable market insights and strengthen partnerships with Nottinghamshire County Council. ## Notice We currently commission a specialist service to support children at risk of sexual exploitation and looking to expand the provisions of this contract to support children impacted by criminal exploitation. In our local area, we recognise that children impacted by criminal exploitation often receive substantial support through our youth justice service, the youth service and other projects (often funded by the Violent Reduction Partnership) which seek to offer safe, positive and aspirational spaces providing opportunities for inclusion, connection and constructive activity. One of the strengths of our current specialist commissioned service is having the remit to reach out to families impacted by child sexual exploitation in a way that provides space, time and connection to increase safety whilst supporting children out of sexual exploitation. We recognise that providing a carbon copy of this approach to children impacted by criminal exploitation may not work in the same way given the statutory involvement of several other welfare and criminal justice services. As such, we are looking at what an increase in funding (by 1/3) for our commissioned specialist service could achieve for children impacted by criminal exploitation in light of other support available through local statutory and non-statutory services. Your feedback will help us better understand market conditions, refine our commissioning strategy, and ensure that any potential future contact is informed by provider experience. We value your input and expertise in the market, and welcome open and honest conversations throughout the process. To reiterate, this is not a procurement exercise but rather a data gathering exercise. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ab5c491a-1a32-49af-bfc1-a4fbcf390280 | | Notice type | Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Not specified | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 19 Jan 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 29 Jan 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL | | Locality | NOTTINGHAMSHIRE | | Post town | Nottingham | | Postcode | NG2 7QP | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLF East Midlands (England) | | ITL 2 | TLF1 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | | ITL 3 | TLF16 South Nottinghamshire | | Local authority | Rushcliffe | | Electoral ward | Trent Bridge | | Westminster constituency | Rushcliffe | | Delivery location | TLF East Midlands (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85300000 - Social work and related services ## Release History - 19 Jan 2026 at 16:10 - Planning - Market Engagement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ab5c491a-1a32-49af-bfc1-a4fbcf390280 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/ab5c491a-1a32-49af-bfc1-a4fbcf390280 19th January 2026 - Early engagement notice on Contracts Finder ## Notice URLs - http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-bf72487b-8cf4-43ab-a3d5-9aef9b2888a6.json.