All-Age Independent Advocacy Service

What the buyer is asking for

Cornwall Council is inviting tenders for the delivery of an All-Age Independent Advocacy Service across Cornwall and statutory adult advocacy provision for the Isles of Scilly. The Service will provide coordinated, accessible and rights-based independent advocacy for children, young people, adults and eligible parents across health, social care, children’s social care and community settings. The Service will support people to understand and exercise their rights, express their views, wishes, feelings and desired outcomes, participate meaningfully and seek appropriate representation or challenge in decisions that affect their lives. The Service will comprise: • Advocacy Hub and single point of access; • Adults Statutory Advocacy; • Children and Young People's Advocacy, Independent Visiting and Parents' Advocacy; and • Community, General and Specialist Advocacy. The Service will be commissioned through a single contract and delivered as an integrated all-age advocacy model. The estimated total value of the Contract over the maximum six-year term is approximately £6,416,447. The Contract will commence on 01 April 2027.

How this is scored

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

• 60%qualityQualityEvaluation of the Supplier's response to the Quality Questions and Quality Presentation in accordance with the Invitation to Tender.
• 25%pricePriceEvaluation of the completed Price Evaluation Schedule and Written Pricing Justification.
• 15%qualitySocial ValueEvaluation of the Supplier's Social Value commitments and delivery proposals.

What you must already have

Conditions of participation. These are pass or fail, so check them before writing anything.

• economic

  Suppliers must demonstrate sufficient economic and financial standing to deliver the Contract in accordance with the requirements set out in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire.

• technical

  Suppliers must demonstrate relevant experience of delivering advocacy services of a similar size, scale and complexity, together with the capability to deliver statutory and non-statutory advocacy services in accordance with the Specification. Suppliers must also demonstrate appropriate arrangements relating to data protection, safeguarding, equality and diversity, health and safety, advocacy quality standards and modern slavery requirements.

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 199 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 publishedyesterday

   1 Oct 2026, 16:41 BST
2. Clarification questions byin 27 days

   29 Oct 2026, 16:00 GMT
3. Submission deadlinein 41 days

   12 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
4. Award decision expected byin 109 days

   18 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 notice13 Feb 2026, 13:28 GMT013428-2026
2. Tender notice1 Oct 2026, 16:41 BST093025-2026

Payment terms

Invoices must be submitted in accordance with the Contract. The Council will pay valid undisputed invoices within 30 days of receipt.

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender