Official UK procurement notice
Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors Service
Authority: Bolton Council (Local council)
The Borough Council of Bolton ("the Authority") is looking to procure a contract for the Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors Service. This Procurement is being conducted in accordance with the PA23 Act using the Open Procedure under Light Touch. The contract period will be for three (3) years with the option to extend for up to an additional two (2) x twelve (12) month periods. The first service stream, being the Advocacy Service, shall mobilise 1 April 2027. The second service stream, Independent Visitors Service, shall mobilise and commence during Quarter 2 on 18 July 2027.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Borough Council of Bolton ("the Authority") is looking to procure a contract for the Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors Service.
This Procurement is being conducted in accordance with the PA23 Act using the Open Procedure under Light Touch.
The Services will be split into two service streams:
Advocacy
An advocacy service to be independent of the Authority to avoid perceived conflict of interest, with staff trained in all aspects of advocacy with high levels of legal literacy. Independent advocacy needs to account for all types of need up to 18 (25 care leavers).
Independent Visitors Service
A service for all children and young people who are looked after by the authority (LAC) who wish to have an Independent Visitor, promoted particularly for those who may be isolated, live outside of their local home area, or who have limited, or no, family contact.
The contract period will be for three (3) years with the option to extend for up to an additional two (2) x twelve (12) month periods. It is intended for the contract to commence 1 April 2027.
The first service stream, being the Advocacy Service, shall mobilise 1 April 2027. The second service stream, Independent Visitors Service, shall mobilise and commence during Quarter 2 on 18 July 2027. Both service streams will end on 31 March 2030.
CPV: Health and social work services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£638,301
- Condition of participation
Organisational standards
Please confirm that your organisation is aware and abides by the National Standards for the Provision of Children's and Young People's Advocacy Services and the 2013.06.28-National-IV-Standards.pdf when intended to mobilise the service.
Providers who answer 'NO' to this question, will not be considered any further.
Office Location
Please confirm you can you confirm you will have a Bolton Based office within the boundary of the borough with accessible links for staff and services users, and mobilisation of the contract for commencement date of 1 April 2027.
Providers who answer 'NO' to this question will not be considered any further.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality
- Social Value
- Condition of participation
Organisational standards
Please confirm that your organisation is aware and abides by the National Standards for the Provision of Children's and Young People's Advocacy Services and the 2013.06.28-National-IV-Standards.pdf when intended to mobilise the service.
Providers who answer 'NO' to this question, will not be considered any further.
Office Location
Please confirm you can you confirm you will have a Bolton Based office within the boundary of the borough with accessible links for staff and services users, and mobilisation of the contract for commencement date of 1 April 2027.
Providers who answer 'NO' to this question will not be considered any further.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £425,146 (twice the annual value).
Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Bolton Council buys Health and social work services (CPV 85), and who usually turns up
Bolton Council’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Health and social work services (CPV 85) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 51 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid0% / 17%
2–314% / 32%
4–614% / 29%
7+71% / 21%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate54% / 29%
Within ±2%31% / 62%
Above estimate15% / 10%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 85Published estimate£638k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 85. The comparison uses that group.
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid17%
2–321%
4–625%
7+37%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 315 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£551k–£638k
Estimate£638k
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £689m35 awards in 36m · last 3 months ago | 9 live · £270m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=16 | |
Barnardo'sLarge | £168m84 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 32 live · £87m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=38 |
| £35m22 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 15 live · £62m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=16 | |
| £13m13 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 5 live · £2.4m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=7 | |
| £8.3m16 awards in 36m · last 2 months ago | 10 live · £2.8m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=12 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender and Contracts Finder), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly. Contracts Finder appears in live search, the Retender Radar, contract pages, organisation counts and the buyer's decision figure; the other analytical figures are built from Find a Tender notices.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 23 Sept 2026, 14:22 BST
- Last source update
- 27 Oct 2026, 17:03 GMT
- Authority reference
TC054- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-101771- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0778adFind a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via ProContract (Due North)- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 26 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 19 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
Submissions via the Chest:
Timeline
23 Sept 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 7 dates- Planning notice published45 days ago23 Sept 2026, 14:22 BST
- Market engagement19 days ago19 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
Bolton Council (The Authority) is running a provider webinar for TC054 - Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors Service at 15:00-16:00 on 19 October 2026 via Microsoft Teams.
Please email [email protected] if you are interested and they will provide the webinar link.
- Next notice expected12 days ago26 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published11 days ago27 Oct 2026, 17:03 GMT
- Today8 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 11 days19 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 18 days26 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 143 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
6 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 Sept 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published23 Sept 2026, 14:22 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published27 Oct 2026, 17:03 GMTUK4
- Published value updated27 Oct 2026, 17:03 GMT
- Status changed to active27 Oct 2026, 17:03 GMT
- Procurement method changed27 Oct 2026, 17:03 GMT
- Deadline published: 26 Nov 2026, 16:00 GMT27 Oct 2026, 17:03 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender