Fostering Services in Derby – Soft Market Testing

Description

Over the last five years Derby City Council has undertaken a number of initiatives to increase the capacity of its in-house fostering provision, which have been largely unsuccessful.

Only 40% of our Children in Care (CIC) are now placed with in-house provision, with the remainder placed with Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs). The Council uses the East Midlands Children’s Framework to source foster care provision for children and young people when there is no internal provision available.

The increasing use of IFAs has a direct, significant, and unsustainable impact on the cost of Fostering for the Council.

The Council, therefore, wishes to explore and test the market to see if there is an appetite for a different foster care provision model in the city.

We now wish to engage with suitably qualified and experienced providers to assess whether there is potential in the market to achieve our aims. These are:

• To explore quality, innovative and alternative models for placements within the city of Derby,
• To drive sustainable and realistic reductions in the budgetary spend for this service area, and
• To achieve a smooth transition in the event of any subsequent procurement exercise and ensure any barriers to success are managed.

THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION

Interested providers will be required to complete a short questionnaire.

To take part in the process, you will need to complete the attached Non-Disclosure Agreement and return to procurement@derby.gov.uk

You will then be sent instructions how to access the questionnaire and associated information and details of how to submit the completed document.

This stage will take place using the East Mids Tenders e-tendering portal and you will need to register your company details at https://www.eastmidstenders.org.
To avoid delays, please do this as soon as you have submitted the Non-Disclosure Agreement.

Registration is a quick and easy process done by going to the website and clicking on the ‘REGISTER’ link at the top of the page.

Associated Documents

These documents are for information only. Please follow instructions for registration and receipt of full tender/quotation documentation.

• Non-Disclosure Agrement(doc)Non-Disclosure Agreement71.5 KB

Additional information