Supporting the local delivery of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF)

The Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) provides health, nutrition, well-being and learning opportunities for children from low-income families across England. It provides free childcare, structured activities and food for those on free school meals (FSM), during the longer school holidays. The programme was successfully piloted in a limited number of areas between 2018 and 2020 and has been delivered nationally since 2021. As we move into the third year of nationwide HAF delivery, we need to support local authorities (LAs) in a way that enhances delivery while maximising value for money. This notice seeks interest from organisations that could monitor and provide universal support to all upper tier LAs, as well as providing ad-hoc intensive support for LAs that require this. Please note, the precise value and details of this service are yet to be determined. The Department intends to run a procurement for a support contract that monitors LA delivery and offers a basic support package for all upper tier local authorities. The support contract would also provide intensive support for those local authorities that need it. Possible challenges include insufficient places, low take up of places or poor quality of provision. In these circumstances, the Department could work with the local authority and the relevant specialist from the support contractor to develop and implement a support plan. A support plan, written jointly by the local authority, the Department and supplier, would outline the steps which need to be taken to improve HAF to an adequate standard in their area and the timescales in which this improvement action will take place. The supplier would then work with the Department to offer their expertise, and check that the actions identified in the plan are being delivered on time. We are interested in understanding potential supplier views on how to provide these services on a national level. The Department has developed a questionnaire for interested suppliers to complete , this is located within the Departments e-procurement portal Jaggaer. Please download, complete, and upload your responses via the messaging function on Jaggaer.