Official UK procurement notice
Strategic Partnership Framework for Commissioning of Children's Services
Authority: Liverpool City Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Council is undertaking preliminary market engagement in respect of a potential future procurement to establish up to three Strategic Partnership Frameworks for the commissioning of Children's Services.
These frameworks would aim to support the development and delivery of high-quality, inclusive and outcomes-focused services for children and young people.
At this stage, the proposed approach, structure and scope of the Frameworks are indicative only and subject to change following market feedback.
The Council is considering a model comprising three service clusters, with initial indicative annual values as follows:
Cluster 1: approximately £56,142,500 per annum (exclusive of VAT)
Cluster 2: approximately £18,050,000 per annum (exclusive of VAT)
Cluster 3: approximately £5,865,000 per annum (exclusive of VAT)
This equates to a combined indicative annual value of approximately £80,057,500, and a potential total value of up to £800,575,000 (exclusive of VAT) over an anticipated maximum term of up to 10 years.
This notice is issued for information and engagement purposes only and does not constitute a call for competition. The Council is seeking feedback from the market to help inform its future commissioning strategy and procurement approach.
The Cluster 3 market engagement event will be held on 7 May, 11:00-12:00 via Microsoft Teams.
The session will provide an overview of the proposed scope for Cluster 3 and will cover the following indicative Lots:
Lot 1 - Complex Health Needs
Including medical and mental health services
Lot 2 - Care and Personal Support
Day-to-day support provided in the home and community
Lot 3 - Behavioural Support
Support to manage and reduce behaviours that challenge
Lot 4 - Short Breaks
Wraparound support, day services and overnight respite
Lot 5 - Emergency / Crisis Support
Rapid response provision to support crisis situations
Lot 6 - Therapeutic Support Services
Psychological, emotional and therapeutic interventions
Lot 7 - Specialist Assessment Service
Multi-disciplinary and specialist assessment provision
Suppliers interested in attending are requested to complete and return the following form:
Strategic Partnership Framework for the Commissioning of Children's Services - Fill in form via link:
forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx ↗
Cluster 1: Children's Social Care Services - Market Engagement Event
Liverpool City Council is preparing to commission a new Strategic Partnership Framework for Children's Services, which includes Children's Social Care Services (Cluster 1).
The framework will provide a continuum of care and accommodation, supporting children and young people from fostering and residential care through to independence. Its purpose is to ensure that future provision maximises independence, choice and control, best value, and long‑term sustainability within the local care market.
This procurement will be undertaken in line with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023.
We are inviting providers to attend a Market Engagement Event, where we will outline our commissioning intentions, proposed lot structure, and anticipated procurement approach. This session will also provide an opportunity for providers to share early feedback and help shape the final specification and framework design.
The proposed indicative Lots are:
Lot 1 - Independent Fostering Agency Placements
Including respite placements and parent and child foster placements
Lot 2 - Residential Children's Homes
Including solo placements, parenting assessment units, and short-term crisis provision
Lot 3 - Semi-Independent Accommodation and Supported Living
For care-experienced young people and Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children (UASC) aged 16-18 and beyond age 18 where their asylum claim remains pending
Lot 4 - Supported Lodgings
The engagement event will be held on 11 June, 11:00-12:30 via Microsoft Teams.
Please complete the following form to register your interest: forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx ↗
The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is 10 June at 11:00am. The event link will be issued via email on 10 June between 15:00-17:00.
Please note that your details will be captured and stored by Liverpool City Council for the purposes of this event and to gather feedback only.
CPV: Social work and related services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 10 yrs from 1 Apr 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat 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).
- “Strategic Partnership Framework for Commissioning of Children's Services” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Liverpool City Council buys Social work and related services (CPV 8530), and who usually turns up
Liverpool City Council’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Social work and related services (CPV 8530) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in North West England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 55 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid12% / 0%
2–315% / 13%
4–619% / 0%
7+54% / 88%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 8530Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 93 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid3%
2–312%
4–619%
7+66%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
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
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 19 Sept 2025, 15:28 BST
- Last source update
- 24 Sept 2026, 14:45 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-090636- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-059e4fFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
19 Sept 2025 → 1 Apr 2027 · 5 dates- Planning notice published396 days ago19 Sept 2025, 15:28 BST
- Latest notice published26 days ago24 Sept 2026, 14:45 BST
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 12 days31 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
Strategic Partnership Framework for the Commissioning of Children's Services
Follow-Up Market Engagement Session for Strategic Partnership Framework (Cluster 3)
Date: 14 October 2026
Time: 10am to 11:30am
Location: Microsoft Teams
Following the initial market engagement event held on 7 May 2026, Liverpool City Council is pleased to invite interested providers to attend a further engagement session focused on Cluster 3.
This session will provide a more detailed overview of the proposed Framework, including:
- The indicative scope and requirements of each Lot
- Proposed admission requirements for joining the Framework
- How the Framework is expected to operate in practice
- An overview of the procurement process and tendering requirements
- Liverpool City Council's approach to social value and how this may be reflected within future procurement and contract arrangements
There will also be opportunities throughout the session for providers to ask questions, share feedback and help inform the ongoing development of the Council's commissioning and procurement approach.
Register Your Interest
Providers wishing to attend should register by completing the form below:
forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx ↗
Registration deadline: 10:00am on 13 October 2026
Microsoft Teams joining details will be sent to registered attendees following the deadline on 13 October 2026.
Additional Opportunity for Providers
Providers may also be interested in attending the free supplier workshop:
How to Bid for Liverpool City Council Contracts
- Tender notice expectedin 13 days1 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 163 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
6 events · 6 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Sept 2025- Pipeline notice published19 Sept 2025, 15:28 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published19 Sept 2025, 15:36 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published16 Dec 2025, 09:43 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published30 Apr 2026, 13:09 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published26 May 2026, 15:35 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published24 Sept 2026, 14:45 BSTUK2
Published amendments (4)
The project timeline has been adjusted slightly to allow the Authority to complete internal governance processes. Further information regarding the planned series of engagement events and the tender publication schedule will be shared in due course.
Cluster 3 market engagement event details added, to be held on 07 May, 11:00-12:00 via Microsoft Teams.
Cluster 1 Market Engagement details added to notice. Please complete the form to register your interest: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=s2IPJ6SMY02KgP_LH2H-BDWFlU-oeiBOpkkTSNnn5wRUOTNTNzBaTFJMRDU3MzhJNkMyREdYVFFPRS4u The deadline for submitting interest is 10th June by 11:00am. The event link will be shared via email on 10/06/26 between 3-5pm. Please note your details wi…
Liverpool City Council continues to undertake market engagement activities in relation to the proposed Strategic Partnership Frameworks for the Commissioning of Children's Services. A further engagement session focused on Cluster 3 will take place on 14 October 2026. The market engagement period has therefore been extended until 31 October 2026 to allow interested providers to participate in the e…
Routine re-releases (6)
- 2025-12: 1 release · 16 Dec 2025
- 2025-09: 2 releases · 19 Sept 2025, 19 Sept 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender