County Durham Children and Young People's Independent Advocacy Service

The contract is for the provision of an Independent Advocacy Service for Children and Young People ("the Contract") to Durham County Council and affiliated bodies. This contract is for a service to ensure that children in need who receive services from Durham County Council's Children's Services and Aycliffe Secure Service have access to independent advocacy services which will ensure they have a say in decisions made about their lives, are enabled to share their concerns about their circumstances, will be listened to and heard and are treated fairly in the course of their contact with the Children's Services. This procurement is issued under an Open Tender process in line with Public Contracts Regulation 2015, under Regulation 74 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 for contracts for social and other specific services (Light Touch Regime). Additional information: The expected start date for the proposed contract is 1st December 2022. The expected end date for the proposed contract is 30th November 2025. The proposed contract is to be let with an option to extend for a further 2 periods of 12 months from the actual end date, subject to budget and commissioner approval.