Official UK procurement notice
DCAF-National Kinship Care Advice Service
Authority: Scottish Government (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Scottish Government has a requirement to place a contract with an external service provider for the provision of a National Kinship Care Advice Service.
The Scottish Government Children and Families Directorate, on behalf of the Care Experience and Whole Family Wellbeing division, wishes to commission a National Kinship Care Service. The purpose of the Service is to provide relevant support, and up to date advice and information, including peer support, specifically tailored to the needs of kinship carers and children and young people living in kinship care. The new service should also provide a platform for bringing kinship care families together and the sharing of practice between local authorities and other agencies.
CPV: Social work and related services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1The procurement will follow an Open ProcedureAwardedRenewal
The procurement will follow an Open Procedure.
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
questions 2C.1.1 (Technicians) and 2D.1.2 (Subcontractors) on PCS-T.
Scottish Government reserves the right to request this information from relevant parties upon whom the
main bidder will not rely to fulfil selection criteria.
4C.4 Bidders must confirm that they will include the standard clause in all contracts used in the delivery of the requirements, ensuring payment of subcontractors at all stages of the supply chain within 30 days and include a point of contact for subcontractors to refer to in the case of payment difficulties. This will require active monitoring of payment performance and provision of evidence and reporting to the Scottish Government on a regular basis. Bidders who fail to answer “Yes” to this question will not have their tender considered further.
4C.7 Light Touch: Bidders will be required to confirm that they will employ environmental management measures that meet the following requirements: Evidence that their organisation has taken steps to build their awareness of the climate change emergency and consideration of how they will respond. This should include details of planned projects and actions to reduce the bidder’s carbon emissions.
4C.10 Bidders will be required to confirm whether they intend to sub-contract and if so, for what proportion of the
contract.
Bidders must confirm that they will pay staff that are involved in the delivery of services under the contract, at least the real Living Wage. Any tenderer who answers "No" to this question will not be subject to further evaluation.
Bidders will be required to complete a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire with a Moderate risk allocated. Suppliers must pass the initial questionnaire or provide a Cyber Implementation Plan.
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
Current Ratio of 1.1
The acceptable range for each financial ratio is:
1 April 2020: 31 March 2023
The ratio will be calculated as follows:
total current assets divided by total current liabilities.
Minimum: Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = as required by law Public Liability Insurance = 2,000,000 (2 million) GBP Professional Risk Indemnity Insurance = 2,000,000 (2 million) GBP
- 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
- 24 Jan 2025, 11:40 GMT
- Last source update
- 3 Jul 2025, 11:51 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 6 May 2025 – …
- Authority reference
CASE/758852- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-037057- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04d5fbFind a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
- Performance terms
It shall be a condition of the Contract that, if required by the Scottish Government, the appointed Service Provider shall deliver a validly
executed Parent Company Guarantee in the form set out in the tender documents.
Publisher note: SPD will be scored on a pass/fail basis. The contract award criteria will be Price 20%/Quality 80 %. 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. Bidders must complete the SPD (Scotland) to demonstrate adherence to the Exclusion and Selection Criteria for this procurement. The mobilisation period starts from signature of the Contract (Contract execution) to the Commencement Date (1st September 2025). Community Benefit Proposal: For this service, Children First’s community benefits will actively contribute to the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes through improving community’s economic, social, and environmental wellbeing. -Provision of community spaces and community facing hubs across Scotland for local families to utilise; -Include families in the development of our services; -For any recruitment that takes place for this Service we will conduct a targeted campaign that will be inclusive and offer opportunities to priority groups within communities; -Use local small, medium, and local enterprises or supported businesses to provide goods and services for example where we use external training providers; and -Workforce training on: Adverse Childhood Experiences; Systemic Practice; Trauma Recovery Practice; Restorative Practice; Family Group Decision Making; Alcohol/Drug Awareness; Children’s Human Rights; Financial Wellbeing and Anti-racism. (SC Ref:803314)
How it was run
Official noticeTender documents are also served through a separate tool: https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk ↗
- Submission deadline
- 6 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 6 May 2025, 14:00 BST
Timeline
31 Jan 2025 → 1 Sept 2025 · 5 dates- Next notice expected31 Jan 2025
- Submission deadline6 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Bids opened6 May 2025, 14:00 BST
- Notice published3 Jul 2025, 11:51 BST
- Contract starts1 Sept 2025, 00:00 BST
Notice history
5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 3 Apr 2025- Published value published: £697,5003 Apr 2025, 15:39 BST
- Status changed to active3 Apr 2025, 15:39 BST
- Procurement method changed3 Apr 2025, 15:39 BST
- Deadline published: 6 May 2025, 12:00 BST3 Apr 2025, 15:39 BST
- Status changed to complete3 Jul 2025, 11:51 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Children 1st | £697,479 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 037057-2025-CASE/758852-1 · Children 1st
- Signed
- 25 Jun 2025
- Value
- £697,479
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2027
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3bids · 3 electronic · 3 from abroad | 2 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Sherrif Court HouseReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- CHILDREN 1STAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.