--- title: "Holistic Support Services for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in Highland" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "The Highland Council" published: "2026-09-15" --- # Holistic Support Services for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in Highland Buyer: The Highland Council Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2.json) ## Summary The Highland Council intends to commission holistic support services for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children referred through the National Transfer Scheme and for children arriving spontaneously in the Highland area. The service will provide social work and welfare support, helping young people who may have experienced displacement, trauma, loss and uncertainty to live safely and successfully in local communities while progressing through the asylum and immigration process. Its purpose is to promote safety, stability, wellbeing, integration, independence and positive outcomes. This is a children’s social care service delivered across the whole Highland Council geographical area, with the Council as the buying organisation. The work falls within health and social work services, including welfare and social work services for children and young people without accommodation. This is a planned procurement at the market-consultation stage, not a call for competition. The Council expects an initial two-year contract from April 2027 to March 2029, with options for yearly extensions of up to a further three years, potentially taking delivery to March 2032. The estimated total value is £3.6 million including the stated contract scope, although the Council says the value and indicative timetable may change. Interested organisations are asked to submit a response of no more than 800 words describing how they would intend to deliver the service, by 5pm on 7 October 2026. The Council estimated that a subsequent tender process could begin in the second half of October 2026, subject to funding and market consultation. This will suit organisations experienced in supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people with complex needs, including those affected by displacement, trauma, loss and uncertainty. Relevant providers are likely to need the capacity to deliver consistent support across communities throughout Highland, promote safety and wellbeing, and help young people develop stability, independence and positive outcomes. Experience of working with children during asylum and immigration processes, supporting integration into local communities, and coordinating welfare or social work services would be directly relevant. The Council is seeking market responses that explain a practical approach to delivering the holistic service, so prospective providers should prepare a concise service model addressing the requirements in the Summary of Requirement before any later competitive procurement. ## Notice The Highland Council are looking to notify the market of their intention to commission a holistic support service for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) referred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) and those arriving spontaneously within the Highland area. It is anticipated that the initial contract length will be two years (April 2027 - March 2029) with additional options to extend the contract on a yearly basis for up a further three years (March 2032). Funding will be provided through the UK Government's funding arrangements and the Council's ability to exercise any extension option will be dependent on the continuation of this funding supply. ### Lot Information Lot 1 The Highland Council are looking to notify the market of their intention to commission a holistic support service for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) referred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) and those arriving spontaneously within the Highland area. The service will promote safety, stability, wellbeing, integration, independence and positive outcomes for young people who may have experienced displacement, trauma, loss and uncertainty. The service will support UASC to live safely and successfully within local communities across Highland while progressing through the asylum and immigration process. Organisations wishing to express an interest are invited to submit a response to the Summary of Requirement, setting out how they would propose to deliver the service and addressing the questions contained within that document. Responses should be provided in a word-processed document and be no longer than 800 words (Arial, size 11). Responses must be submitted no later than 5.00 pm on Wednesday 7 October 2026. Submission details are provided within the Summary of Requirement document. Any subsequent procurement process will be notified through Public Contracts Scotland and conducted through Public Contracts Scotland-Tender (PCS-T). At this stage it is estimated that a tender process could commence during the second half of October 2026. Please note that this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is being issued for market consultation purposes only and that the content of this Notice, including the estimated contract value and indicative contract timelines, is subject to change. Additional information: 1. Summary of Requirement is enclosed. 2. Potential interested parties are requested to note their interest in line with the instructions contained in the Summary of Requirement. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087146-2026 | | Notice type | Planning 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 | 15 Sep 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 21 Oct 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £3,600,000 | | 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 | The Highland Council | | Locality | INVERNESS | | Postcode area | Inverness | | Postcode | IV3 5NX | | Country | Scotland | | ITL 1 | TLM Scotland | | ITL 2 | TLM2 Highlands and Islands | | ITL 3 | TLM20 Highlands and Islands | | Local authority | Highland | | Electoral ward | Inverness West | | Westminster constituency | Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire | | Delivery location | TLM6 Highlands and Islands | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85000000 - Health and social work services - 85311300 - Welfare services for children and young people - 85312000 - Social work services without accommodation ## Release History - 15 Sep 2026 at 10:08 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/087146-2026 ## Notice URLs - http://www.highland.gov.uk - https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000842976 - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=842976 - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA00045 ## 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-06f9c2. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f9c2.json.