Official UK procurement notice
COMMS-Family Advocacy Service for Bereaved Families following a Death in Prison Custody
Authority: Scottish Government (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Scottish Government seeks to commission an independent Family Advocacy Service to provide specialist support and representation to families following the death of a loved one in prison custody. The service will be independent, trauma-informed, and rooted in advocacy principles, ensuring families are supported, heard, and empowered throughout complex post-death processes.
CPV: Other community, social and personal services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1The Service Provider must:AwardedRenewal
The Service Provider must:
- Manage, administer and coordinate the delivery of high-quality advocacy support to all eligible Service Users who request support following a death in prison custody.
- Design the service to deliver the activities within the Specification.
- Put in place systems, agreements and processes to ensure local delivery of advocacy support are consistently available across the whole of Scotland.
- Deliver the service independently of both Scottish Ministers, Scottish Prison Service, COPFS, and other statutory bodies.
- Monitor service delivery; provide the Purchaser with robust monitoring information; and act when needed to improve services.
- Ensure that Service Users, staff and other stakeholders are treated with dignity, fairness and respect. Additional information: The Contract may be extended by two 12-month periods, to a date falling no later than 31 August 2029.
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: 80
- Price: 20
- Economic & financial standing
Within the SPD, Scottish Government will ask the following criteria on economic and financial standing. Please respond with the appropriate information.
Bidders will be required to state the value(s) for the following financial ratio(s).
Current Ratio will be calculated as follows: total current assets divided by total current liabilities and shall be based on the previous financial year.
There must be no qualification or contra-indication from any evidence provided in support of the bidders economic and financial standing.
It is a requirement of this contract that bidders hold, or can commit to obtain prior to the commencement of any subsequently awarded contract, the types and levels of insurance indicated below. Such insurance must be maintained for the duration of the Contract and for a minimum of 5 years following the expiry or termination of the Contract.
Minimum: Financial Ratio - Bidders must demonstrate a Current Ratio of no less than 1.0. Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = in accordance with any legal obligation for the time being in force. Public Liability Insurance (in a sum not less) = 2,000,000 GBP Professional Risk Inde… - Technical & professional ability
- Supply Chain Management/Tracking Systems Used (MANDATORY)
- Environmental Management Measures (MANDATORY)
- Proportion (%) to be Sub-Contracted (MANDATORY)
Minimum: - If bidders intend to use a supply chain to deliver the requirements detailed in the Contract Notice, they should confirm they have (or have access to) the relevant supply chain management and tracking systems to ensure a resilient and sustainable supply chain. This will include…
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
- Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 9 Dec 2025, 11:49 GMT
- Last source update
- 5 Aug 2026, 11:15 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 29 Apr 2026 – …
- Authority reference
Case/799177- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-074068- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f1a6Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
- Performance terms
As detailed in the procurement documents.
Publisher note: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. SPD will be scored on a pass/fail basis. Bidders must complete the SPD to demonstrate adherence to the Exclusion and Selection Criteria for this procurement. The contract award criteria will be Quality 80% Price 20%. Question Scoring Methodology for Award Criteria outlined in Invitation to Tender: 0 Unacceptable. Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement. 1 Poor. Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled. 2 Acceptable. Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas. 3 Good. Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled. 4 Excellent. Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. Tenderers are also asked to confirm: that they will pay staff that are involved in the delivery of services under the contract, at least the real Living Wage. they will meet standards on payment of subcontractors Tenderers who do not pass these questions will not be subject to Commercial Analysis. As a result the tender will not be considered further. Bidders must complete the SPD (Scotland) to demonstrate adherence to the Exclusion and Selection Criteria for this procurement. If there are named subcontractors/technicians upon which the bidder will rely to meet the selection criteria, these named parties must complete and reattach the SPD Supplier Response Form attached to SPD. The Contract may be extended by two 12-month periods, to a date falling no later than 31 August 2029. (SC Ref:838941)
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 29 Apr 2026, 11:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 29 Apr 2026, 11:00 BST
Timeline
5 Jan 2026 → 5 Aug 2026 · 4 dates- Next notice expected291 days ago5 Jan 2026
- Submission deadline176 days ago29 Apr 2026, 11:00 BST
- Bids opened176 days ago29 Apr 2026, 11:00 BST
- Notice published78 days ago5 Aug 2026, 11:15 BST
Notice history
5 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 25 Mar 2026- Published value published: £450,00025 Mar 2026, 11:02 GMT
- Status changed to active25 Mar 2026, 11:02 GMT
- Procurement method changed25 Mar 2026, 11:02 GMT
- Deadline published: 29 Apr 2026, 11:00 BST25 Mar 2026, 11:02 GMT
- Status changed to complete5 Aug 2026, 11:15 BST
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-12: 1 release · 9 Dec 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AdvoCardSME | £450,000 †same award published again · counted once | — | Awarded |
| AdvoCardSME | £450,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4bids · 4 electronic · 4 from abroad | 4 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Edinburgh Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- AdvoCardAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.