Integrated Advocacy Services

Liverpool City Council is procuring an Integrated Advocacy Service for Liverpool. The service covers statutory and non-statutory advocacy, including Independent Health Complaints Advocacy. It must support the Council's duties under the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Mental Health Act 1983, while also providing flexible, issue-based advocacy for people who do not meet formal statutory eligibility criteria.

What will the service do? The official notice says the provider must deliver independent, tailored and outcome-focused advocacy. The service will help people express their views, wishes and preferences, safeguard their rights and participate in decisions affecting their lives.

It gives particular focus to people who have substantial difficulty understanding, retaining or communicating information and who do not have an appropriate person to support their involvement. The procurement has one active lot representing the whole service. Its estimated value is £3,707,890 excluding VAT and £4,449,468 including VAT.

The initial contract runs from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2031. A further extension of up to 12 months may be used, subject to the provider meeting the contract's performance measures, giving a maximum end date of 31 March 2032. The UK4 tender notice was published on 16 October 2026.

Clarification questions must be submitted by 12:00 UTC on 9 November 2026. The tender submission deadline is 12:00 UTC on 16 November 2026. The official procurement reference is DN813372 and the OCID is ocds-h6vhtk-06853c.

Who can bid? The notice uses an open procedure under the light-touch regime and marks the opportunity as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises. The public notice does not name a mandatory provider registration, professional qualification or accreditation.

Suppliers must review the procurement documents for the complete participation and evidence requirements. Bids must remain within the stated budget, include a detailed price schedule and address the published quality, cost and social value criteria. How are bids assessed?

The notice gives Quality a 70% weighting, Cost 20% and Social Value 10%. Social value commitments must be made against measures aligned with the national TOMs Social Value Framework. Full requirements and the evaluation method are in the procurement documents.

How do suppliers bid? The notice directs suppliers to ProContract at procontract.due-north.com for the documents and electronic submission. Responses must be in English and submitted before the deadline.

Care Sync advice: search the portal using DN813372, confirm that the opportunity title and buyer match this notice, review all documents and portal messages, and allow time for upload and validation before submission. Which search questions can the official facts answer? The tender closes at 12:00 UTC on 16 November 2026.

It is worth £3,707,890 excluding VAT, or £4,449,468 including VAT. The initial term is four years with a possible extension of up to 12 months. The contract covers independent statutory and non-statutory advocacy in Liverpool, and bids are made electronically through ProContract.