National Kinship Care Services

Tender description

The Scottish Government Children and Families Directorate, on behalf of the Strategy, GIRFEC and Promise Division, wished to commission a National Kinship Care Advice Service to run for two years (2023 – 2025) Provision of Kinship Advice Services in Scotland comprise of a kinship care advice telephone line, face to face advice services and regional co-ordinators, the development of peer support groups, a dedicated website and a published guide for Kinship carers. Information is specifically tailored to the needs of kinship carers and children and young people living in kinship care arrangements. The service should also provide a platform for bringing kinship care families together and the sharing of best practice between local authorities and other agencies. Tenders were invited to put forward proposals on how best to meet the aims and objectives, the three core service provisions (minimum requirements) and added value components within the budget available. The Scottish Government has committed to provide all children, young people and their families with the right support at the right time so that every child and young person in Scotland can reach their full potential through its Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) approach. GIRFEC provides Scotland with a consistent framework and shared language for promoting, supporting, and safeguarding the wellbeing of children and young people. In line with The Promise, the Scottish Government recognises that there is a an important role for kinship care to play in providing a safe, loving and secure home for children who cannot live with their birth parents. Our Promise Implementation Plan sets out our plans to transform the way that care looks and feels like for children, families and their caregivers. It commits to supporting a comprehensive, continuing programme of training and support for Scotland's caregivers, including kinship care. A national kinship care service contributes to this. The Kinship Care Collaborative has also been established to support national and local improvements to achieve better outcomes for children and young people and better support kinship carers and professionals who work with them. If there are named subcontractors/technicians upon which the bidder will rely to meet the selection criteria,these named parties must complete and reattach the SPD Supplier Response Form attached to SPD questions 2C.1.1 (Technicians) and 2D.1.2 (Subcontractors) on PCS-T. These parties must complete the first three sections of the SPD form, as well as any part of the section 4 selection criteria that the main bidder will rely upon the parties to fulfil. If parties have not yet been identified, this information may be required at a later date. Scottish Government reserves the right to request this information from relevant parties upon whom the main bidder will not rely to fulfil selection criteria. 4C.10 Bidders will be required to confirm whether they intend to sub-contract and if so, for what proportion of the contract. Bidders must confirm that they will pay staff that are involved in the delivery of services under the contract, at least the real Living Wage. Any tenderer who answers "No" to this question will not be subject to further evaluation. Bidders must confirm that they will include the standard clause in all contracts used in the delivery of the requirements, ensuring payment of subcontractors at all stages of the supply chain within 30 days and include a point of contact for subcontractors to refer to in the case of payment difficulties. This will require active monitoring of payment performance and provision of evidence and reporting to the Scottish Government on a regular basis. Bidders who fail to answer “Yes” to this question will not have their tender considered further.