Missing Children and Independent Return Home Conversation Service

What the buyer is asking for

Buckinghamshire Council is seeking to recommission its Missing Children and Independent Return Home Conversation Service. Statutory guidance requires children who have been reported missing to be offered an independent Return Home Conversation following their return, with the conversation normally taking place within 72 hours of the child returning home or to their care setting. The Service will provide independent Return Home Conversations for eligible Buckinghamshire children and young people aged 10 to 17 inclusive following a missing episode, including Buckinghamshire children looked after who are placed outside the county. The Service will identify safeguarding concerns, exploitation, unmet needs and factors contributing to missing behaviour, and support the identification and implementation of actions to improve safety and reduce repeat missing episodes. It will also provide Missing Interventions for children experiencing repeat or persistent missing episodes, emerging vulnerabilities or unmet needs. The Provider will work within a multi-agency framework and use information gathered through service delivery to inform safeguarding, prevention, contextual safeguarding, disruption activity, strategic insight and partnership responses. The Provider will be responsible for delivering or securing out-of-county Return Home Conversations, including directly delivering conversations where appropriate and managing and quality assuring any subcontracted or host local authority arrangements. The Contract will have an initial term of three years, with the option to extend for up to two further one-year periods, giving a maximum potential Contract term of five years.

How this is scored

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

• 70%qualityQuality
• 30%pricePrice

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 693 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

3 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice published15 days ago

   22 Oct 2026, 14:59 BST
2. Submission deadlinein 13 days

   19 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
3. Award decision expected byin 45 days

   21 Dec 2026, 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 notice5 May 2026, 13:45 BST041025-2026
2. Tender notice22 Oct 2026, 14:59 BST100062-2026

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender