--- title: "Independent Foster Care: Local Homes for Local Children" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0557e5" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0557e5" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0557e5.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0557e5.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "MILTON KEYNES CITY COUNCIL" published: "2025-07-09" --- # Independent Foster Care: Local Homes for Local Children Buyer: MILTON KEYNES CITY COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0557e5 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0557e5) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0557e5.json) ## Summary Milton Keynes City Council is currently in the planning stage for a procurement process titled "Independent Foster Care: Local Homes for Local Children," under the services category, specifically health and social work services. The initiative aims to collaborate with Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) to develop quality local homes for children in care. Located in Milton Keynes, the focus is on creating sustainable commissioning by developing block or soft-block contracts. A market engagement is scheduled, with responses to be submitted by 5pm on 25th July 2025. The contract period is planned from 2nd November 2026 to 1st November 2031, with a gross value of £9.5 million. This tender presents significant opportunities for independent fostering agencies, particularly those capable of offering or expanding placements suitable for children who might otherwise need residential care. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) are encouraged to participate. The collaboration seeks to establish long-term partnerships with local providers, fostering competitive advantage through sustainable and innovative service solutions. The tender process promises engagement that could significantly influence service provision and foster business growth in the social care sector. ## Notice Milton Keynes City Council ('the Council') is keen to explore how we can best work with Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) to develop sufficient, good-quality local homes for children in our care. We are a growing city, experiencing rapid expansion of our population and an increase in the number of children looked after by the local authority. We want to look beyond the traditional 'framework' model of contracting to build closer relationships with fostering providers operating locally, guarantee sustainable commissioning and work in partnership to recruit and retain foster carers. We are particularly keen to engage with IFAs around the possibility of developing block or soft-block contracts for foster care placements to ensure the needs of our children can be met long-term. These are likely to be 'enhanced' placements, intended for children who could live in a foster home but who might otherwise enter residential care due if sufficient fostering placements are not available. We are keen to hear from providers on the questions given in the market engagement document. The responses to the questions will help the Council in developing the specification and the tender. Please respond to the questions within the attached document by latest 5pm on 25th July 2025 via In-Tend Correspondence section/market engagement stage. If there is sufficient interest in a scoping event to explore the proposal in more detail, this will be held w/c 11th August, please indicate in the attached document if you would like to receive an invitation. The Market Engagement document can be accessed on our e-tendering portal: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/milton-keynes/aspx/Home ### Planning Information Milton Keynes City Council ('the Council') is keen to explore how we can best work with Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) to develop sufficient, good-quality local homes for children in our care. We are a growing city, experiencing rapid expansion of our population and an increase in the number of children looked after by the local authority. We want to look beyond the traditional 'framework' model of contracting to build closer relationships with fostering providers operating locally, guarantee sustainable commissioning and work in partnership to recruit and retain foster carers. We are particularly keen to engage with IFAs around the possibility of developing block or soft-block contracts for foster care placements to ensure the needs of our children can be met long-term. These are likely to be 'enhanced' placements, intended for children who could live in a foster home but who might otherwise enter residential care due if sufficient fostering placements are not available. We are keen to hear from providers on the questions given in the market engagement document. The responses to the questions will help the Council in developing the specification and the tender. Please respond to the questions within the attached document by latest 5pm on 25th July 2025 via In-Tend Correspondence section/market engagement stage. If there is sufficient interest in a scoping event to explore the proposal in more detail, this will be held w/c 11th August, please indicate in the attached document if you would like to receive an invitation. The Market Engagement document can be accessed on our e-tendering portal: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/milton-keynes/aspx/Home ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038650-2025 | | 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 | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 9 Jul 2025 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 19 Nov 2025 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 2 Nov 2026 - 1 Nov 2031 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £9,500,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planned | | Lots status | Planned | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | MILTON KEYNES CITY COUNCIL | | Locality | MILTON KEYNES | | Post town | Milton Keynes | | Postcode | MK9 3EJ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | | ITL 3 | TLJ12 Milton Keynes | | Local authority | Milton Keynes | | Electoral ward | Central Milton Keynes | | Westminster constituency | Milton Keynes Central | | Delivery location | TLJ12 Milton Keynes | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85000000 - Health and social work services ## Release History - 9 Jul 2025 at 13:55 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038650-2025 - 9 Jul 2025 at 13:51 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038645-2025 - 2 Jul 2025 at 15:47 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036941-2025 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038650-2025 9th July 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/038645-2025 9th July 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036941-2025 2nd July 2025 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://in-tendhost.co.uk/milton-keynes/aspx/Home - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.milton-keynes.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-h6vhtk-0557e5. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0557e5.json.