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Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) event related to the provision of Specialist Children's Residential Provision

Leicestershire County Council · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 25 Sept 2026, 15:01.

Opportunity overview

Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) event related to the provision of Specialist Children's Residential Provision Please note this is not an opportunity to tender but is an information gathering exercise to inform the Council's future requirement. Leicestershire County Council Children's and Family Services have undertaken a review of local residential sufficiency as part of the Children's Social Care Market Position and Sufficiency Statement 2024-2027 and our Corporate Better Leicestershire efficiency project. This work is focused on understanding how we can better meet the needs of children and young people with the most complex needs, whilst ensuring sufficient, high-quality and sustainable provision for the future. Our review has identified increasing demand for specialist, regulated residential placements, with growing reliance on solo provision, enhanced staffing arrangements and other high-cost placements for children and young people with complex needs. We are therefore exploring a range of potential options to increase local specialist residential capacity, improve outcomes and achieve greater placement stability. These options include, but are not limited to, innovative residential models and approaches to developing specialist provision. We are undertaking early market engagement to support its ongoing options appraisal for future specialist residential provision for children and young people with complex needs. This engagement is intended to help the Council understand the range of potential delivery models, market capacity, innovation, risks, opportunities and practical considerations before any decisions are made about future commissioning or delivery arrangements. The Council has an existing strategic partnership with Barnardo's through the Children's Innovation Partnership (CIP). As part of its wider options appraisal, the Council may explore whether some emerging models could be developed through that partnership. However, no decision has been made about the future delivery route. This engagement should not be taken as an indication that any future service will necessarily be commissioned through the market, delivered through CIP, or progressed through any particular arrangement. The purpose of this engagement is to gather open and constructive market insight at an early stage. We are keen therefore to invite and hear from suitably experienced providers about potential models, delivery approaches, risks, opportunities and alternatives that may better meet the needs of children and young people. We would like to invite you to join us and Barnardo's, to participate in an early market engagement event with a purpose of supporting open dialogue with the market and to gather constructive feedback that will help inform the Council's thinking. The event will provide an opportunity to: • Share the Council's current understanding of local sufficiency pressures and future demand. • Outline the outcomes the Council is seeking to achieve for children and young people with complex needs. • Explore potential specialist residential models, including innovative and flexible approaches to local provision. • Assess the potential for delivery of all or part of any proposed model by the external market. • Understand provider views on deliverability, capacity, workforce, property, partnership models, risks and implementation considerations. • Identify whether there are alternative approaches or market-led solutions that could better support the Council's aims. • Inform the Council's ongoing options appraisal and any future commissioning intentions. We would welcome participation from providers with experience of delivering specialist residential care and support for children and young people with complex needs, including providers who can offer practical insight into service design, delivery challenges and innovative approaches to improving local sufficiency. Please note: This engagement is exploratory only. It does not constitute a procurement process, call for competition, invitation to tender, or commitment by the Council to undertake any future procurement activity. Participation in this engagement will not give any provider an advantage or disadvantage in relation to any future opportunity, should one arise.

Classification

  • CPV85000000 — Health and social work services

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

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
DN826249
Main Procurement Category
services
Above Threshold
Yes
Status
planning

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Special regime

lightTouch

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
planning

Contract period

Starts
1 Aug 2028, 00:00
Ends
31 Jul 2033, 23:59

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
85000000
Description
Health and social work services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKF22
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Planning and budget

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Description
Engagement will take the form of a market engagement event held via 2 sessions on 14 September. Both sessions will cover the same content and the format will be hybrid to allow for in-person and online attendance. Providers wishing to take part in the event can register their interest via the Council's e-tendering portal EastMidsTenders : https://www.eastmidstenders.org Providers should register/log-in to the East Midlands Tenders portal via the above link and search for the opportunity using the reference DN826249. Full event details, including information on how to register, are available under the opportunity listing. Information shared at the event will be made available to all providers registered for the opportunity on EastMidsTenders following the event.
Due
14 Sept 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled

Documents

Entry 1
Id
079811-2026
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Published
21 Aug 2026, 11:07
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Leicestershire County Council
Id
GB-PPON-PNHT-9235-VXDV

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PNHT-9235-VXDV

Address

Street Address
County Hall
Locality
Leicester
Postal Code
LE3 8RA
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKF22

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

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

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Leicester · UKF22 · LE3 8RA · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKF22 · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. 079811-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·