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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Fosterlink Service - Foster Carer Recruitment

Department for Education · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 18:54.

Opportunity overview

The Department for Education has appointed a contractor for the provision of Fosterlink Service. The successful contractor will be responsible for developing, co-ordination and managing Fosterlink a support service for Local Authority (LA) fostering service providers, which will offer in-depth diagnostic support specifically focused on their recruitment and approval practices, with the aim of providing bespoke recommendations for improvement, alongside building a strong evidence base on which to share good practice nationally. The initial contract term will be 16 months. The contract is expected to commence on the 01 December 2023 and run until 31 March 2025. There will be an option to extend its term for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension will be subject to supplier contract performance, the requirements of the Department, the outcomes of the upcoming Spending Review and the steers of the party in leadership following the General Election at the end of 2024.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Mott Mott Macdonald Limited

Match pending…
Contract value
£571.6k
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
1 Jan 2024
Award ID
001892-2024-Con_23378-1
Status
active
Location
Croydon, UK, CE0 2EE, United Kingdom

Mott Macdonald Limited

Matched by exact name
Contract value
£627.3k
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
11 Jan 2024
Award ID
039767-2024-1-1
Status
active
Location
Croydon, UK, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV85320000 — Social services
  • CPV79600000 — Recruitment services

Lots

  • The Department for Education has appointed a contractor for the provision of Fosterlink Service. The successful contractor will be responsible for developing, co-ordination and managing Fosterlink a support service for Local Authority (LA) fostering service providers, which will offer in-depth diagnostic support specifically focused on their recruitment and approval practices, with the aim of providing bespoke recommendations for improvement, alongside building a strong evidence base on which to share good practice nationally. The initial contract term will be 16 months. The contract is expected to commence on the 01 December 2023 and run until 31 March 2025. There will be an option to extend its term for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension will be subject to supplier contract performance, the requirements of the Department, the outcomes of the upcoming Spending Review and the steers of the party in leadership following the General Election at the end of 2024.  The contract was varied in December 2024 to include some additional work under the same scope.£560k

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1
Status
complete
Has Recurrence
No
Procurement Method
open
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure

Covered By

GPA

Amendments

Entry 1
Id
3

Unstructured Changes

Entry 1

Where

Label
II.2.4 Description
Section
II.2

New Value

Text
The Department is enacting the optional 1 year extension as mentioned in the original notices. The new total contract value including this extension is £802,224.23.

Old Value

Bid Opening

Date
19 Oct 2023, 12:00

Address

Street Address
UK

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Expected award period

Starts
19 Oct 2023, 12:00

Tender Period

Ends
19 Oct 2023, 12:00

Communication

Future Notice Date
4 Sept 2023, 00:00

Contract terms

Has Electronic Payment
Yes

Classification

Id
85320000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Social services

Submission terms

Languages

en

Bid Validity Period

Duration In Days
90

Submission Method

electronicSubmission
written

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
cancelled
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
Yes
Description
The Department for Education has appointed a contractor for the provision of Fosterlink Service. The successful contractor will be responsible for developing, co-ordination and managing Fosterlink a support service for Local Authority (LA) fostering service providers, which will offer in-depth diagnostic support specifically focused on their recruitment and approval practices, with the aim of providing bespoke recommendations for improvement, alongside building a strong evidence base on which to share good practice nationally. The initial contract term will be 16 months. The contract is expected to commence on the 01 December 2023 and run until 31 March 2025. There will be an option to extend its term for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension will be subject to supplier contract performance, the requirements of the Department, the outcomes of the upcoming Spending Review and the steers of the party in leadership following the General Election at the end of 2024.  The contract was varied in December 2024 to include some additional work under the same scope.

Value

Amount
560,000
Currency
GBP

Renewal

Description
There is an option to extend the Initial Contract term (16 months) for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension period is not guaranteed and will be at the absolute discretion of The Department. Any extension will be subject to the Departments approval process, availability of budget and current performance of the supplier.

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Overall Experience
Type
quality
Description
24
Criterion 2
Name
Delivery of Requirement ONE
Type
quality
Description
28
Criterion 3
Name
Delivery of Requirement TWO
Type
quality
Description
18
Criterion 4
Name
Social Value - Wellbeing
Type
quality
Description
10
Criterion 5
Type
price
Description
80

Contract period

Duration In Days
480

Submission terms

Variant Policy
notAllowed

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery Location

Description
UK

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Entry 2
Region
UK
Entry 3
Region
UK
Entry 4
Region
UK
Entry 5
Region
UK

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
79600000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Recruitment services

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
economic
Document Type
economicSelectionCriteria
Entry 2
Id
technical
Document Type
technicalSelectionCriteria

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-165
Name
Department for Education

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UK
Locality
London
Postal Code
SW1P 3BT
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Sanctuary Buildings, 20, Great Smith Street

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
MINISTRY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions
Entry 2
Id
09
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Education

Identifier

Legal Name
Department for Education

Contact

Telephone
+44 8700012345
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-93024
Name
High Court of Justice

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
London
Postal Code
WC2A 2LL
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Strand, London

Identifier

Legal Name
High Court of Justice
Organisation 3
Id
GB-FTS-102948
Name
Department for Education

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Sheffield
Postal Code
S1 2JF
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
St. Paul's Place

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
MINISTRY
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions
Entry 2
Id
09
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Education

Identifier

Legal Name
Department for Education

Contact

Telephone
+44 8700012345
Organisation 4
Id
GB-FTS-102949
Name
Mott Mott Macdonald Limited

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Croydon
Postal Code
CE0 2EE
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Mott MacDonald House, 8 – 10 Sydenham Road, Croydon, CR0 2EE

Details

Scale
large

Identifier

Legal Name
Mott Mott Macdonald Limited
Organisation 5
Id
GB-FTS-98982
Name
High Court of Justice

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
London
Postal Code
WC2A 2LL
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
The Strand, London

Identifier

Legal Name
High Court of Justice
Organisation 6
Id
GB-FTS-18168
Name
Department for Education

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UK
Locality
London
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Sanctuary Buildings, 20, Great Smith Street

Details

Identifier

Legal Name
Department for Education

Contact

Organisation 7
Id
GB-FTS-41674
Name
Mott Macdonald Limited

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UK
Locality
Croydon
Country Name
United Kingdom

Details

Scale
large

Identifier

Legal Name
Mott Macdonald Limited
Organisation 8
Id
GB-FTS-2122
Name
High Courts of Justice

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
London
Country Name
United Kingdom

Identifier

Legal Name
High Courts of Justice

Award information

Award 1
Id
001892-2024-Con_23378-1
Title
Fosterlink Service - Foster Carer Recruitment
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-102949
Name
Mott Mott Macdonald Limited

Related lots

1
Award 2
Id
039767-2024-1-1
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-41674
Name
Mott Macdonald Limited

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
001892-2024-Con_23378-1
Title
Fosterlink Service - Foster Carer Recruitment
Status
active
Award ID
001892-2024-Con_23378-1
Date Signed
1 Jan 2024, 00:00

Value

Amount
571,621
Currency
GBP
Entry 2
Id
039767-2024-1-1
Status
active
Award ID
039767-2024-1-1
Date Signed
11 Jan 2024, 00:00

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Classification

Id
85320000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Social services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK

Value

Amount
627,282.21
Currency
GBP

Period

Duration In Days
480

Amendments

Entry 1
Id
1
Rationale
Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: Section 72, clause (1)(e) of The Procurement Act 2015 applies, which states that changes can be made where: (e)where the modifications, irrespective of their value, are not substantial within the meaning of paragraph (8); This change would not be classed as substantial. In addition to this, it would also create substantial duplication of costs for the Department and so clause (b) would also apply.
Description
Inclusion of additional diagnostic work with local authorities (LAs) who are part of the Department’s North East Pathfinder Fostering recruitment and Retention Programme.

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · London · UK · SW1P 3BT · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1-2025-04-01T14:07:06+01:00compiled ·