---
title: "National Advocacy Information, Advice and Safety Net Service"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077808"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077808"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077808.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077808.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "Department for Education"
published: "2026-09-24"
---

# National Advocacy Information, Advice and Safety Net Service

Buyer: Department for Education  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077808

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## Summary

The Department for Education is planning to re-procure a national advocacy helpline and safety-net service for looked-after children, care leavers, children in need and other eligible children and young people across England. The service is intended to provide clear, child-friendly information about advocacy rights, national multi-channel information and advice, and signposting to local provision. It would provide independent advocacy where local services are unavailable, unreasonably delayed, inaccessible or denied. The provider would also keep information on advocacy provision, help children access local services and report national intelligence on demand, waiting times, access barriers and emerging themes. The Department is exploring a possible opt-out advocacy pilot for children in residential care, but its scope and design remain under development.

This is at the planning stage: the Department has not begun a competitive procurement or committed to buying the service. It is seeking market feedback on the proposed scope, delivery model, digital requirements, commercial approach and the feasibility, affordability and delivery of the residential-care pilot. An initial supplier engagement event is expected on 29 September 2026; registration was expected by 28 September 2026. A questionnaire is planned after the event, with its response timing to be communicated separately. The Department expects a future notice on 26 October 2026. The current estimated value is £540,000 excluding VAT (£648,000 including VAT). The planned contract runs from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029, with a possible extension to 31 March 2030. The service is planned as one lot.

This service is likely to suit organisations with experience delivering national or regional advocacy, information or advice, particularly for children in care, care leavers and vulnerable young people. Relevant strengths include independent advocacy in statutory or regulated settings; helplines, digital triage or online advice platforms; and safeguarding or children’s social care. Providers should be prepared to operate and maintain digital, telephony, case-management and reporting systems, and to meet safeguarding, information-governance, cyber-security and data-protection requirements. The Department expects sufficient workforce capacity, skills, training and quality assurance to maintain continuity, monitor performance and support evaluation and improvement. It is also seeking views on workforce and implementation implications, affordability and the practical delivery of a possible opt-out pilot. SMEs and voluntary, community and social enterprises are encouraged to engage; consortia, partnerships and collaborative participation are welcomed.

## Notice

The Department for Education is seeking market feedback on the re-procurement of a national Advocacy Helpline and Safety Net Service for looked after children, care leavers, children in need, and other eligible children and young people in England. The service will provide clear, child-friendly information on advocacy rights; a national multi-channel information, advice and signposting service; and a Safety Net advocacy function where local advocacy provision is unavailable, unreasonably delayed, inaccessible or denied. In addition, the Department is exploring the inclusion of a pilot to test an opt-out advocacy model for children living in residential care. Under this model, advocacy would be routinely offered to children unless they choose to decline participation. The Department intends to use this market engagement to gather feedback on the feasibility, affordability and practical delivery considerations associated with incorporating such a pilot within the future contract. The scope, scale and final design of the pilot are therefore subject to further development and market testing. The provider will also be expected to: * maintain accurate information on advocacy provision across England and support children and young people to access appropriate local services; * provide national intelligence to the Department on advocacy demand, access, waiting times, barriers to provision and emerging themes; * maintain appropriate digital, telephony, case management and reporting systems; * comply with safeguarding, information governance, cyber security and data protection requirements; * ensure appropriate workforce capacity, skills, training and quality assurance arrangements; * support performance monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement; and * ensure continuity of service throughout the contract period. The Department is particularly interested in market views on the delivery model, affordability, workforce implications and implementation requirements associated with integrating an opt-out advocacy pilot within the wider Advocacy Helpline and Safety Net Service.

### Planning Information

The Department for Education (DfE) is undertaking preliminary market engagement to gather views on the proposed scope, delivery model, digital requirements and commercial approach for the re-procurement of the National Advocacy Information, Advice and Safety Net Service.
Supplier experience and capability 
To support this engagement, the Department is interested in feedback from suppliers with experience in:
• delivering national or regional advocacy, information or advice services;
• supporting children in care, care leavers and vulnerable children and young people;
• providing independent advocacy in statutory or regulated contexts;
• operating helplines, digital triage services or online advice platforms; and
• delivering safeguarding, children’s social care or -related services.
These capability areas are indicative only and do not constitute formal selection or evaluation criteria.
Feedback received through this engagement will help inform the Department's requirements and proposed specification, ensuring that any future service reflects the needs of children and young people, the sector and potential providers.
Supplier engagement event
The Department will hold an initial supplier engagement event on Tuesday 29th September 2026 10am-11am.
The deadline for registering for this event is 12pm on Monday 28th September 2026 via Jaggaer.
The event can be accessed through the "View Opportunities" section of the Jaggaer e-Tendering portal.
Select the opportunity notice titled "National Advocacy Information, Advice and Safety Net Service - SSQ" to access the registration page.
The event is open to all potential suppliers, regardless of any previous engagement with the Department.
The session will provide an overview of the proposed National Advocacy Information, Advice and Safety Net Service and outline the subsequent market engagement activities.
Market Engagement Questionnaire
Following the engagement event, suppliers will be invited to complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire is intended solely to inform the Department's understanding of the market and the development of any future procurement strategy. Participation is voluntary and responses will not be evaluated as part of any future procurement process.
The questionnaire will be made available via the Jaggaer e-Tendering portal following the supplier engagement event.
Details of any deadlines will be communicated through the Jaggaer messaging system and during the supplier engagement event.
All correspondence relating to this market engagement exercise will be issued through Jaggaer.
Important notice
This notice:
• does not signify the commencement of a competitive procurement process;
• does not constitute any commitment by the Department for Education to procure services; and
• does not create any obligation on the Department.
The DfE is keen to maximise opportunities for participation by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs). Consortia, partnerships and collaborative bids from all organisation types will be welcomed and considered.
Any funding estimates referred to during this market engagement are indicative only and may be subject to change. The Department makes no commitment at this stage regarding the final scope, value or funding envelope of any future procurement activity.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090419-2026 |
| 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 | 24 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 26 Oct 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £540,000 |
| 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 | Department for Education |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3BT |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85311300 - Welfare services for children and young people
- 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services
- 85320000 - Social services
- 85321000 - Administrative social services

## Release History

- 24 Sep 2026 at 09:58 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090419-2026
- 23 Sep 2026 at 14:37 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090189-2026
- 23 Sep 2026 at 07:16 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089880-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090419-2026
  24th September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090189-2026
  23rd September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089880-2026
  23rd September 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- 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-077808. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077808.json.