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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Children’s Advocacy and Independent Visitors Service

Swindon Borough Council · Tender notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 24 Sept 2026, 11:21.

Opportunity overview

Swindon Borough Council invites expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced service providers for the provision of statutory, Children’s Advocacy and Independent Visitor Services. Project Description The Council is seeking to award a single supplier, with a contract to provide CHILDREN’S Advocacy and Independent Visitor services (1200 advocacy hours and maintaining 18 IV relationships at any-one time). This requirement will not be divided into ‘Lots’. TUPE does apply. Swindon Borough Council is seeking to commission a Children’s Advocacy and Independent Visitor Service to support children and young people to have their voices heard, understand their rights, and meaningfully participate in decisions that affect their lives. Children’s Advocacy is a rights-based service that places the voice, wishes and feelings of the child or young person at the centre of decision-making. The service provides independent support to help children and young people understand their rights, navigate complex systems, raise concerns or complaints, and communicate what matters to them. Advocates work alongside children and young people to ensure their views are heard and represented within statutory and non-statutory processes. Independent Visitors provide Children We Care For (Children Looked After) with access to an independent, trained volunteer who develops a consistent, long-term and trusted relationship with them. Independent Visitors offer support, guidance and positive experiences outside of the child’s care arrangements, helping to promote confidence, resilience, wellbeing and a sense of belonging. The initial contract term will be for 36 months with an option to extend for a further 24 months in 12-month increments (2 periods of 12 months) for a potential total contract term of 5 years as stated in the ITT documents. Estimated contract spend is £359,100 across the initial 3-year contract term and £598,500 across the potential total 5-year contract term.

Classification

  • CPV85312300 — Guidance and counselling services
  • CPV85312310 — Guidance services

Lots

  • Lot 1£598.5k

Documents and notices

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
DN828399
Status
active
Procurement Method
open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Main Procurement Category
services
Above Threshold
Yes
How to submit
In order to provide unrestricted, full, direct and free of charge access to the tender documents the authority is providing the documents in the attachment area of the ProContract etender portal at www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk. In order to access amendable versions of the documents and to submit a response, suppliers will need to register as a supplier with ProContract at www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk, then register an interest before obtaining access and download the Word and Excel format documents for completion and submission.
Expression Of Interest Deadline
25 Sept 2026, 17:00

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Procedure

Is Accelerated
Yes
Accelerated Rationale
Light touch contract
Features
Conditions of Participation return date 25/09/2026 (1700 hrs UK Local Time). The issue of the Invitation to Tender is anticipated for 09/10/2026.

Special regime

lightTouch

Covered By

GPA

Submission terms

Electronic Submission Policy
allowed

Languages

en

Enquiry period

Ends
18 Sept 2026, 12:00

Expected award period

Ends
9 Oct 2026, 23:59

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes

Value

Including VAT
718,200
Amount
598,500
Currency
GBP

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Type
price
Name
Price

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
30
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 2
Type
quality
Name
Service Delivery Model (Advocacy)

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
20
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 3
Type
quality
Name
Mobilisation and Open Cases

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
15
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 4
Type
quality
Name
Service Delivery Model (Independent Visitors)

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
10
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 5
Type
quality
Name
SBC Social Value Question

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
10
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 6
Type
quality
Name
Awareness and Promotion

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
10
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 7
Type
quality
Name
Collaborative Working

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
5
Weight
percentageExact

Contract period

Starts
1 Apr 2027, 00:00
Ends
31 Mar 2030, 23:59
Max Extent Date
31 Mar 2032, 23:59

Renewal

Description
The option to extend for a maximum of 24 months shall be in 12-month increments (2 periods of 12 months).

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
85312300
Description
Guidance and counselling services
Entry 2
Scheme
CPV
Id
85312310
Description
Guidance services

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Entry 2
Id
083846-2026
Document Type
tenderNotice
Notice Type
UK4
Description
Tender notice on Find a Tender
Published
4 Sept 2026, 11:54
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Swindon Borough Council
Id
GB-PPON-PNPT-6195-XDWV

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PNPT-6195-XDWV

Address

Street Address
Swindon Borough Council, Civic Offices, Euclid Street
Locality
Swindon
Postal Code
SN1 2JH
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKK14

Contact

Name
Mr Harry Mattingly

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Swindon · UKK14 · SN1 2JH · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

2 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

2 VERSIONS
  1. 037047-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·
  2. 083846-2026Tender notice on Find a Tender ·