---
title: "Suffolk Appropriate Adults Service"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-065c7c"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-065c7c"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065c7c.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065c7c.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-02-25"
---

# Suffolk Appropriate Adults Service

Buyer: SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-065c7c

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## Summary

Suffolk County Council is currently in the planning phase for a tender titled "Suffolk Appropriate Adults Service," targeting the education, training, and health and social work services sectors. Located in Ipswich, United Kingdom, the Council aims to commission a core service involving volunteer recruitment, coordination, and training to fulfil Appropriate Adults requirements under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The procurement process includes key milestones such as market engagement and questionnaire responses, closing at 5 pm on Monday, 16th March 2026, with follow-up discussions expected by Thursday, 2nd April 2026. The tender, which falls under the light-touch regime for service procurement, anticipates a start date on 1st October 2026, with the potential for renewal until 2030.

This tender presents significant opportunities for both small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) to play a pivotal role in enhancing community welfare through service provision. Businesses specialising in volunteer management, social care services, or training programs would be particularly suited to compete in this contract, as expertise in these areas aligns closely with the service requirements. The procurement process under Suffolk County Council's guidance encourages innovation and collaboration, aiming to work in partnership to control costs and adapt to emerging best practices, thereby offering ample room for business growth and strategic development.

## Notice

The Council seeks to retender its commissioned appropriate adults offer. The Council intends to commission a core service recruiting, co-ordinating, and training volunteers to provide Appropriate Adults as required for young people and vulnerable adults where entitled under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

### Planning Information

Suffolk County Council is exploring provider capabilities in relation to delivering an Appropriate Adults service young people and adults as specified in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The Council intends for this service to be a primarily volunteer delivered offer where the provider delivers a core co-ordination, training, and recruitment offer. The Council expects to contract with such a provider who can demonstrate close partnership working, control of costs, and adaptable in relation to emerging lived-experience accounts and best practice.
A questionnaire is provided for prospective providers to provide feedback on the commissioning priorities identified by the Council and identify the volume of interest in bidders for this contract.
The Council may need to discuss responses in more detail with interested providers and therefore contract details are requested. It is expected any follow-up discussions will take place no later than Thursday 2nd April.
Questionnaire link: https://forms.office.com/e/LDQSUVtXhZ 
-Questionnaire closes 5pm Monday 16th March 2026-

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017061-2026 |
| 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 | 25 Feb 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 1 Jun 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 30 Sep 2026 - 30 Sep 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £480,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | IPSWICH |
| Post town | Ipswich |
| Postcode | IP1 2BX |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH6 Suffolk |
| ITL 3 | TLH62 Ipswich |
| Local authority | Ipswich |
| Electoral ward | Gipping |
| Westminster constituency | Ipswich |
| Delivery location | TLH14 Suffolk CC |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 80 - Education and training services
- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 80000000 - Education and training services
- 85000000 - Health and social work services

## Release History

- 25 Feb 2026 at 16:09 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017061-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017061-2026
  25th February 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://forms.office.com/e/LDQSUVtXhZ
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-065c7c. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065c7c.json.