TenderlineUK
Procurement Intelligence
Official OCDSSearch
Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 25 Sept 2026, 09:52 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Independent Review Mechanism (IRM)_ Market Engagement Event

Authority: Department for Education (Central government)

ServicesAbove thresholdLight touch regimeSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Health & Social Care (85) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Published estimate£800,000≈ £400k / year · £800,000 inc. VAT
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 2 yrsup to 3 yrs with extensions · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Department for Education is exploring options for the future delivery of the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), a statutory service that provides an independent review route for prospective and existing foster parents, adopters, and adult adoptees.

The IRM enables applicants to request an independent review of certain decisions made by fostering and adoption services, including decisions relating to approval status and access to records. Cases are considered by independent panels comprising experienced children's social care professionals, ensuring an impartial and objective review process.

The Department is seeking market feedback to inform the future service model, delivery approach, and commercial strategy. The service plays a key role in supporting transparency, fairness, and confidence in fostering and adoption decision-making processes across England.

Please note: This notice relates to pre-procurement market engagement only and does not constitute the commencement of a procurement process. Any future procurement opportunity will be advertised separately. The scope, requirements, and estimated contract value may be subject to change following market engagement.

CPV: Health and social work services · Social work and related services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Lot 1PlannedRenewal 2 yrsSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 — 31 Mar 2029 (2 yrs) · up to 3 yrs with extensionsEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions
Extension options published
85000000 Health and social work services85300000 Social work and related services

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Light touch regime
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
25 Sept 2026, 09:52 BST
Last source update
25 Sept 2026, 09:52 BST
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Health and social work servicesSocial work and related services
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077a23

How it was run

Submission deadline
—

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice publishedearlier today
    25 Sept 2026, 09:52 BST
  2. Market engagementin 21 days
    15 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
    Market Engagement Event - Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) The Department for Education is undertaking market engagement in relation to the future delivery of the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), a statutory service that provides an independent review route for prospective and existing foster more…parents, adopters and adult adoptees. An initial market engagement session will be held on 15 October 2026, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm, via Microsoft Teams, to present the service requirements and gather feedback from the market. Interested organisations should submit an expression of interest via Jaggaer (ssq_855). Any questions should be raised through the Jaggaer messaging system. Follow this link to access Jaggaer e-procurement portal - https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Teams joining instructions will be issued on 14 October 2026 to all organisations that have registered their interest. A consolidated Q&A log will be shared via Jaggaer following the event. Important: This notice is for market engagement purposes only and does not constitute the start of a procurement process or any commitment by the Department for Education. Should a procurement proceed, a separate notice will be published in due course. Requirements and estimated values may be subject to change.
  3. Contract startsin 188 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    25 Sept 2026, 09:52 BSTUK2

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Department for Education

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PDZG-3487-DPVD Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street, London, London, SW1P3BT

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure