---
title: "Newham Best Start Family Hubs Befriending, Navigation and Peer Support Service"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06cdab"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06cdab"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06cdab.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06cdab.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "LONDON BOROUGH OF NEWHAM"
published: "2026-07-17"
---

# Newham Best Start Family Hubs Befriending, Navigation and Peer Support Service

Buyer: LONDON BOROUGH OF NEWHAM  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06cdab

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## Summary

The London Borough of Newham is in the planning stage to procure a new service titled "Newham Best Start Family Hubs Befriending, Navigation and Peer Support Service." The procurement process, initiated under the Procurement Act 2023, is reserved for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary Community and Social Enterprises (VCSE) registered in England. This service is aimed at supporting families in Newham from pregnancy to age five through a flexible and accessible befriending and navigation model. The service is expected to utilise multi-channel access methods and provide a first point of contact outside normal operational hours. The preliminary market engagement notice was published on 17th July 2026, with a scheduled engagement milestone on 11th August 2026. The contract, valued at £450,000, is set to run from 1st December 2026 to 30th November 2028, potentially extending until November 2029.

This tender offers significant opportunities for businesses specialising in social work and related services. With a focus on delivering a peer support service reflecting Newham's diverse communities, there is scope for local businesses to recruit and train volunteers, thus enhancing community ties and social value. Enterprises adept in outreach, community engagement, and digital communication channels will find this an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their innovation in reaching underrepresented groups. SMEs and VCSEs with expertise in providing emotional and practical support, particularly through digital means and outside regular hours, are encouraged to participate in shaping and executing this community-focused service to support vulnerable families in Newham.

## Notice

The London Borough of Newham is looking to commission a new Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector (VCFS)-led befriending and navigation service, to complement our existing Best Start Family Hubs offer. This service should be flexible and accessible, supporting Newham families from pregnancy to age five. We are particularly interested in commissioning a model with multi-channel access, for instance with a telephone helpline and additional options such as text, WhatsApp, web-based or other virtual channels. At this stage, we want to test the market on a model that could act as a trusted first point of contact for parents and carers, particularly during out of hours periods such as evenings and weekends when other services are less available. The intention is that the service would combine informal emotional support, 'a listening ear', with practical advice, including signposting and referrals. The overall aim is to reduce isolation, build parental confidence, engage seldom heard groups, and support families to navigate local services and systems. This service will utilise a peer support approach that reflects Newham's diverse communities, recruiting and training local volunteers to deliver elements of the offer. We would expect the service to connect closely into the Best Start Family Hubs network, enabling warm handovers and ongoing light-touch support until families are successfully linked into wider provision. Alongside the core phone offer, we are also interested in how providers might use outreach, community engagement and digital channels to extend reach, particularly to underrepresented groups who may not access traditional services. Through this market engagement, we are looking to shape a realistic and deliverable approach that will support vulnerable families in Newham. Feedback will be used to directly inform the service design and subsequent service specification. For access to the event please register via the below link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/newham-best-start-family-hubs-befriending-service-market-engagement-tickets-1994028739638

### Planning Information

The Procurement Process will be undertaken using the Procurement Act 2023 regulations. Procurement Policy Note 005 applies as the tender will be reserved for Small Medium Enterprise (SME) organisations and Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE). Organisations will need to be registered in England for this procurement.
We welcome organisations participation in this event and for them to bring their knowledge and expertise for the ongoing development of the service and the procurement.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067671-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 17 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 11 Aug 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Dec 2026 - 30 Nov 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £450,000 |
| 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 | LONDON BOROUGH OF NEWHAM |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | East London |
| Postcode | E16 2QU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI4 Inner London - East |
| ITL 3 | TLI41 Hackney and Newham |
| Local authority | Newham |
| Electoral ward | Royal Albert |
| Westminster constituency | West Ham and Beckton |
| Delivery location | TLI41 Hackney and Newham |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85300000 - Social work and related services

## Release History

- 17 Jul 2026 at 10:34 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067671-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067671-2026
  17th July 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/newham-best-start-family-hubs-befriending-service-market-engagement-tickets-1994028739638
- 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-06cdab. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06cdab.json.