Find a TenderAwarded

Published 13 Dec 2022, 16:21 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

project_7478 - The Fosterline Service 2023

Official notice

Authority: Department for Education (Central government)

ServicesOpen procedure

Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: UK

Published estimate£352,016≈ £176k / year

Submissions closed 29 Mar 2023awarded 11 Jul 2023

Awarded to The Fostering Network

Contract term 2 yrsends 30 Sept 2025 · extension options published · starts 1 Oct 2023

What is being bought

Published requirement description

PCR Compliant extension to the Fosterline Service awarded 2023

CPV: Call centre · Helpdesk and support services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1The Fosterline Service is a free, independent national advice service that offers…AwardedRenewal 2 yrs

The Fosterline Service is a free, independent national advice service that offers support for both current and prospective foster carers. It has been in place since 2006, funded by the Department of Education. During that time, the Department also increased the scope of Fosterline from responding to ad hoc enquiries to offering individualised ongoing services for current or prospective foster carers requiring help with ongoing issues or detailed tax and benefits advice. The services aim to support foster families to stay together during times of crisis, reducing placement breakdown, and avoiding costs associated with this. The current service is widely used, with over 108,000 contacts (through the helpline service, 1-2-1s, web-chats, emails, website visits etc )in the year 2021-22.

Contract period: 1 Oct 2023 – 30 Sept 2025 (2 yrs)

Delivery: UK

Extensions: This service contract has an option for a 1 year extension from the period of 1/10/25-30/9/26.Variant bids: not allowed

72253000 Helpdesk and support services

What it takes to win
i
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 more

How bids were scored

Quality: 80%Price: 20%

Published sub-criteria (2)

Technical: 80%
Commercial: 20%

Published award criteria (3)

Technical: 80
Commercial: 20
Price: 80/20

What this means for your bid

Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Open procedure
Legal basis: CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category: Services
Notice status: Awarded
Procurement threshold: Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: No (one-off requirement)
First published: 13 Dec 2022, 16:21 GMT
Last source update: 20 Oct 2025, 09:07 BST
Award evaluation window: 29 Mar 2023 – …
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-066559
Classification (CPV): Call centreHelpdesk and support services
Delivery area: UK
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-038d24 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: Jaggaer · Who buys & how to bid on JAGGAER

Supplier login requiredLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free; latest Chrome/Edge/Firefox only — corporate browsers fail

Submission deadline: 29 Mar 2023, 12:00 BST
Submission channel: {"electronicSubmission","written"}
Accepted languages: en
Bids opened: 29 Mar 2023, 13:00 BST

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

education.app.jaggaer.com ↗

Timeline

1 Mar 2022 → 20 Oct 2025 · 5 dates

Next notice expected
1 Mar 2022
Submission deadline
29 Mar 2023, 12:00 BST
Bids opened
29 Mar 2023, 13:00 BST
Contract starts
1 Oct 2023, 00:00 BST
Notice published373 days ago
20 Oct 2025, 09:07 BST

Notice history

4 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 1 Mar 2023

Status changed to active
1 Mar 2023, 15:41 GMT
Procurement method changed
1 Mar 2023, 15:41 GMT
Deadline published: 29 Mar 2023, 12:00 BST
1 Mar 2023, 15:41 GMT
Status changed to complete
12 Jul 2023, 14:17 BST

Published amendments (2 · 0 deadline changes)

When	What	Before	After
—	TextIV.2.2	Date: (dd/mm/yyyy) 29/03/2023	Date: (dd/mm/yyyy) 12/04/2023
—	TextIV.2.7	Date: (dd/mm/yyyy) 29/03/2023 Local time: (hh:mm) 13:00	Date: (dd/mm/yyyy) 12/04/2023 Local time: (hh:mm) 12:01
—	TextIV.2.7	Local time: (hh:mm) 13:00	Local time: (hh:mm) 12:01
—	TextV.2.1	—	Contract compliantly extended to 30/6/2026

2 amendments published without a description.

Routine re-releases (5)

2023-03: 1 release · 1 Mar 2023
2022-12: 1 release · 13 Dec 2022

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £704,0261 contract exc. VAT

Bids received 4

Contracts signed 1latest 11 Jul 2023

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
The Fostering NetworkSMEThe Fosterline Service	£704,026 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

The Fosterline Service · The Fostering NetworkSME
Signed
11 Jul 2023
Value
£704,026
Period
… – 30 Sept 2025
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
4bids	—	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Department for Education

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsEducation Sanctuary Buildings, 20, Great Smith Street, London, UK, SW1P 3BTContact email Published organisation website ↗

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

The Fostering NetworkAwarded supplier London, UK

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.