Find a TenderAwarded

Published 13 Jul 2023, 15:54 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Fosterlink Service - Foster Carer Recruitment

Official notice

Authority: Department for Education (Central government)·Consortium: 3 public authorities

ServicesOpen procedureSME suitable

Sectors: Health & Social Care (85) Delivery: UK

Published estimate£560,000exc. VAT · 1 value update

Submissions closed 19 Oct 2023awarded 11 Jan 2024

Awarded to Mott MacDonald2 awards

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Department for Education has appointed a contractor for the provision of Fosterlink Service. The successful contractor will be responsible for developing, co-ordination and managing Fosterlink a support service for Local Authority (LA) fostering service providers, which will offer in-depth diagnostic support specifically focused on their recruitment and approval practices, with the aim of providing bespoke recommendations for improvement, alongside building a strong evidence base on which to share good practice nationally.

The initial contract term will be 16 months. The contract is expected to commence on the 01 December 2023 and run until 31 March 2025. There will be an option to extend its term for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension will be subject to supplier contract performance, the requirements of the Department, the outcomes of the upcoming Spending Review and the steers of the party in leadership following the General Election at the end of 2024.

CPV: Recruitment services · Social services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£560,000

Delivery: UK · UK

Extensions: There is an option to extend the Initial Contract term (16 months) for an additional period of 12 months. The optional extension period is not guaranteed and will be at the absolute discretion of The Department. Any extension will be subject to the Departments approval process, availability of budget and current performance of the supplier.Variant bids: not allowed

79600000 Recruitment services

What it takes to win
i
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 more

How bids were scored

Quality: 70Price: 80Social value: 10

Published sub-criteria (5)

Overall Experience: 24
Delivery of Requirement ONE: 28
Delivery of Requirement TWO: 18
price: 80
Social Value - Wellbeing: 10

Published award criteria (5)

Overall Experience: 24
Delivery of Requirement ONE: 28
Delivery of Requirement TWO: 18
Social Value - Wellbeing: 10
Price: 80

What this means for your bid

Price carries 80 of 160 points: a 10% discount moves about 8 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

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: 13 Jul 2023, 15:54 BST
Last source update: 1 Apr 2025, 14:07 BST
Award evaluation window: 19 Oct 2023 – …
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-012271
Classification (CPV): Recruitment servicesSocial services
Delivery area: UK
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03e1a1 Find a Tender

Contract terms

Electronic trading: electronic payment

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: portal not identified

Language: EN

Submission deadline: 19 Oct 2023, 12:00 BST
Submission channel: {"electronicSubmission","written"}
Accepted languages: en
Bid validity: 90 days from the deadline
Bids opened: 19 Oct 2023, 12:00 BST

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

www.gov.uk/government/organisat… ↗

Timeline

4 Sept 2023 → 1 Apr 2025 · 4 dates

Next notice expected
4 Sept 2023, 00:00 BST
Submission deadline
19 Oct 2023, 12:00 BST
Bids opened
19 Oct 2023, 12:00 BST
Notice published
1 Apr 2025, 14:07 BST

Notice history

8 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Sept 2023

Published value published: £560,000
19 Sept 2023, 18:49 BST
Status changed to active
19 Sept 2023, 18:49 BST
Procurement method changed
19 Sept 2023, 18:49 BST
Deadline published: 19 Oct 2023, 12:00 BST
19 Sept 2023, 18:49 BST
Status changed to complete
19 Jan 2024, 11:52 GMT
Buyer details updated
19 Jan 2024, 11:52 GMT
Buyer details updated
10 Dec 2024, 14:24 GMT
Buyer details updated
1 Apr 2025, 14:07 BST

Published amendments (1 · 0 deadline changes)

When	What	Before	After	Shift
—	TextII.2.4 Description · II.2	—	The Department is enacting the optional 1 year extension as mentioned in the original notices. The new total contract value including this extension is £802,224.23.

1 amendment published without a description.

Routine re-releases (5)

2023-09: 1 release · 19 Sept 2023
2023-07: 1 release · 13 Jul 2023

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 2

Awarded value £1,198,9032 contracts exc. VAT

Bids received 31 from SMEs

Contracts signed 2latest 11 Jan 2024

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Mott MacDonald	£571,621 †	—	Awarded
Mott MacDonald	£627,282 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 039767-2024-1-1 · Mott MacDonald
Signed
11 Jan 2024
Value
£627,282
Status
active
- Change Inclusion of additional diagnostic work with local authorities (LAs) who are part of the Department’s North East Pathfinder Fostering recruitment and Retention Programme., Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: Section 72, clause (1)(e) of The Procurement Act 2015 applies, which states that changes can be made where: (e)where the modifications, irrespective of their value, are not substantial within the meaning of paragraph (8); This change would not be classed as substantial. In addition to this, it would also create substantial duplication of costs for the Department and so clause (b) would also apply.
Fosterlink Service - Foster Carer Recruitment · Mott MacDonald
Signed
1 Jan 2024
Value
£571,621
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
3bids · 3 from abroad	1	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

Department for Education

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsEducation St. Paul's Place, Sheffield, UK, S1 2JFContact email, phone

Dispute resolution & review bodies

High Court of JusticeReview body London
High Courts of JusticeReview body London

Bidders & participating suppliers

2 commercial parties on the notice

Mott Macdonald LimitedAwarded supplier Croydon, UK
Mott Mott Macdonald LimitedAwarded supplier Mott MacDonald House, 8 – 10 Sydenham Road, Croydon, CR0 2EE, Croydon, UK, CE0 2EE

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria