--- title: "Family Time Service in Milton Keynes - Market Engagement" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0673fa" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0673fa" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0673fa.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0673fa.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "MILTON KEYNES CITY COUNCIL" published: "2026-03-25" --- # Family Time Service in Milton Keynes - Market Engagement Buyer: MILTON KEYNES CITY COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0673fa [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0673fa) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0673fa.json) ## Summary The Milton Keynes City Council is currently in the planning stage of procuring services under the title "Family Time Service in Milton Keynes - Market Engagement." This procurement concerns the provision of supervised contact services for children, falling under the health and social work services industry category. Located in Milton Keynes, UK, the council seeks to gather information on market capability and interest in partnership opportunities. Interested organisations are encouraged to respond to the market engagement questions by 12 noon on 8th April 2026. The council anticipates future service development or commissioning activities to commence, with the future procurement notice expected by 1st February 2027. This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in social work services to participate in a vital community-support initiative under a "light touch" regime. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs), would find themselves well-positioned to compete, given the suitability requirements outlined in the tender's procurement plan. Companies with expertise in providing structured, safe, and legally compliant environments for supervised child-family interactions are likely candidates for partnership with Milton Keynes City Council. Engaging in this collaboration could enable businesses to expand their service offerings and establish robust community relationships. ## Notice Milton Keynes City Council (MKCC) wish to request information regarding the provision of supervised contact for children, known as 'Family Time'. This is a preliminary market testing exercise to establish provider appetite and capacity, identify potential opportunities for partnership working, and ensure that future service development or commissioning activity is guided by evidence and an informed understanding of the market. The Family Time Service offers secure and structured opportunities for children to spend time with their parents or family members when unsupervised contact is not appropriate. Its primary objective is to preserve and strengthen family relationships while prioritizing the child's best interests. Main functions include: * Supervised and Supported Contact: Facilitating visits in a safe and positive setting * Observation and Reporting: Documenting interactions to inform care planning and judicial decisions * Parental Support: Assisting parents in developing effective and positive parenting skills during contact * Safeguarding: Ensuring compliance with all legal and multi-agency child protection standards. The entirety of the Family Time service is delivered internally. Please refer to the Process Map contained within the documents section on In-Tend which illustrates the various elements of service delivery. We would like to hear from organisations interested in working in partnership to deliver some of, or all these elements. We are keen to hear from providers on the questions published contained within the market engagement document on our e-tendering portal In-Tend . Please respond to the questions latest by 12 noon on Wednesday 8th April 2026 via In-Tend Correspondence section/market engagement stage. 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 (MKCC) wish to request information regarding the provision of supervised contact for children, known as ‘Family Time’. This is a preliminary market testing exercise to establish provider appetite and capacity, identify potential opportunities for partnership working, and ensure that future service development or commissioning activity is guided by evidence and an informed understanding of the market. The Family Time Service offers secure and structured opportunities for children to spend time with their parents or family members when unsupervised contact is not appropriate. Its primary objective is to preserve and strengthen family relationships while prioritizing the child's best interests. Main functions include: • Supervised and Supported Contact: Facilitating visits in a safe and positive setting • Observation and Reporting: Documenting interactions to inform care planning and judicial decisions • Parental Support: Assisting parents in developing effective and positive parenting skills during contact • Safeguarding: Ensuring compliance with all legal and multi-agency child protection standards. The entirety of the Family Time service is delivered internally. Please refer to the Process Map contained within the documents section on In-Tend which illustrates the various elements of service delivery. We would like to hear from organisations interested in working in partnership to deliver some of, or all these elements. We are keen to hear from providers on the questions published contained within the market engagement document on our e-tendering portal In-Tend . Please respond to the questions latest by 12 noon on Wednesday 8th April 2026 via In-Tend Correspondence section/market engagement stage. 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/027387-2026 | | 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 Mar 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 1 Feb 2027 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 31 May 2027 - 31 May 2030 | | 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 | Planning | | 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 | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85000000 - Health and social work services - 85300000 - Social work and related services - 85310000 - Social work services ## Release History - 25 Mar 2026 at 14:29 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027387-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027387-2026 25th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement 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-0673fa. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0673fa.json.