Advocacy Services for Children, Young People & Adults

What the buyer is asking for

Plymouth City Council is seeking to commission a single integrated Advocacy and Independent Visiting Service for the residents of Plymouth, bringing together a range of statutory and non-statutory advocacy functions for adults, children, young people and families within one cohesive model of delivery. The proposed integrated service is expected to include a range of functions, including: Adult Advocacy Services, such as Care Act Advocacy, Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA), Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), Health and Social Care Complaints Advocacy, Court of Protection Representation and associated advocacy functions. Children, Young People and Family Services, including advocacy for eligible children and young people, Independent Visitor Services, parental advocacy, and support linked to Plymouth's Families First Partnership Programme. For further information please see Supplying The South West Portal and search for Procurement opportunity DN834021.

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• 30%qualityMSQ1: Delivering Child-Centred Advocacy
• 20%qualityMSQ2: Accessibility and Safeguarding
• 15%qualityMSQ3: Quality and Outcomes
• 10%qualityMSQ4 - Collaboration, Partnerships and Sub-Contracting
• 20%pricePrice
• 5%qualitySocial Value

3 lots

You can usually bid for one lot without bidding for all of them.

• Children's Advocacy and Independent Visiting Services£2.4m

  For advocacy and Independent Visiting services for children and young people in Plymouth, this includes those involved with children's social care services, children in need, children subject to child protection processes, looked after children, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, care leavers, children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), young carers, young people in residential settings, young people in secure environments, those accessing health services who wish to make complaints, and young people who may require continued support during transition to adulthood. Also, providing advocacy for 16-17 young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

• Adult Advocacy Services£4.6m

  For adults, the service will provide both statutory and non-statutory advocacy. Non-statutory advocacy supports adults and young people transitioning to adult social care who require assistance with social care, health and wellbeing matters. Statutory advocacy responsibilities include NHS Complaints Advocacy; Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) and associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) representation under the Mental Capacity Act 2005; Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) under the Mental Health Act 1983; and advocacy duties arising from the Care Act 2014, including support for individuals who experience substantial difficulty in participating in assessment, care planning or safeguarding processes and have no appropriate person to represent them. Also, providing advocacy for parents navigating children's social care and child protection processes.

• Out-of-Area Advocacy Services for children and young people placed outside Plymouth£200k

  For advocacy and Independent Visiting services for children and young people placed outside of Plymouth, this includes those involved with children's social care services, children in need, children subject to child protection processes, looked after children, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, care leavers, children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), young people in residential settings, young people in secure environments, those accessing health services who wish to make complaints, and young people who may require continued support during transition to adulthood.

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 244 comparable procurements we can tell you the typical field size, how often one of these goes uncontested, and whether the buyer awards on price or on quality.

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice published14 days ago

   23 Oct 2026, 17:56 BST
2. Clarification questions by4 days ago

   2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
3. Submission deadlinein 7 days

   13 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
4. Award decision expected byin 84 days

   29 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender

1. Pipeline or early engagement notice4 Sept 2026, 12:12 BST083858-2026
2. Tender notice23 Oct 2026, 17:56 BST100761-2026

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender