Manchester City Council is inviting organisations to participate in a Preliminary Market Engagement exercise regarding a review of statutory and non-statutory Advocacy service delivery. Please note the following explanation of the Council’s approach to preliminary market engagement; the core principle for underpinning our approach is to ensure probity be maintained throughout the process by strict adherence to the following guidelines: All potential suppliers are informed that they are invited to participate in soft market testing Any information provided by the authority to a supplier participating in preliminary market engagement will be shared with all suppliers participating in the exercise. Any information provided by a supplier participating in preliminary market engagement will be deemed as commercially sensitive and handled by the authority in such a manner as to ensure commercial confidentiality is not violated. Any information provided by a supplier participating in preliminary market engagement will not be shared with any third party without the express permission and written consent of the participating supplier. The preliminary market engagement exercise is to be undertaken to ascertain if the Council wishes to proceed to a competitive tender process and if so will help inform the design of any future procurement process and will assist the Council to shape their requirements to ensure that they obtain the best solution to meet their needs and that will be most attractive to the market to ensure as much competition as possible. If the outcome of the preliminary market engagement is such that the authority decides to go out for a competitive tender (N.B: the Council reserves the right not to do so if it so decides or to utilise other procurements routes open to it such as pre-tendered national/regional/other frameworks), then all suppliers who have participated in the preliminary market engagement will be notified of the tendering opportunity. Participation in the preliminary market engagement does not mean that you will automatically qualify for the tender opportunity and all prospective tenders, irrespective of previous participation, will be required to register and meet the conditions of participation of the tender at that time. Overview Manchester City Council / Manchester Local Care Organisation is undertaking a review of its Advocacy Services arrangements in advance of the current contract ending on 30th September 2027. Advocacy providers are invited to attend a Preliminary Market Engagement workshop via Teams (to be held at 3pm on Tuesday 20th October 2026) to discuss the matters outlined below. To help shape and inform the structure of the workshop, attendees are asked to complete a supplementary survey via The Chest e-procurement portal, which should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. This preliminary market engagement exercise will help us gain insight on current challenges, opportunities, future demand pressures, and considerations for the development of a future Advocacy services model. This engagement exercise is open to organisations that currently provide statutory and/or non-statutory Advocacy services - Providers do not need to currently deliver services within Manchester to participate. No decisions have been made regarding the future service delivery model at this stage, and feedback gathered through this engagement process will be considered alongside current Advocacy service performance, demand analysis, financial information, benchmarking activity, and statutory requirements before any future commissioning decisions are taken. The Council's key priority going forward is to ensure a sustainable, effective and responsive Advocacy provision, which enables positive outcomes for citizens.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is seeking a bespoke training programme that will equip its people with the core skills required to effectively conduct SFO investigations, based around the powers available to the SFO to exercise (including the Criminal Justice Act 1987/Section 2 and Proceeds of Crime Act 2002). The programme will cover the following areas: • The theory and process behind conducting an investigation • Interviewing witnesses and victims • Interviewing suspects The primary participants of the programme will be investigators involved in criminal financial investigations, as well as civil recovery and confiscation investigations. In turn, this will range from new entrant, trainee investigators, to experienced investigators/senior investigators, investigative lawyers and financial investigators. By completing the Investigator Training Programme, learners will gain an increased confidence in: • The theory and process that constitutes an investigation conducted by the SFO • Adopting a strategic, methodical and investigative mindset throughout all stages of an investigation • Their role and responsibility within an SFO investigation • Investigative decision making and risk management • Exercising the powers available to the SFO throughout an investigation • Interviewing, taking and structuring statements from witnesses, victims and suspects. To support learners in digesting and applying the programme content, whilst recognising the commitments from their day-to-day roles, we intend to split the course content into modules, comprising of up to three days per module. The modules will combine theory, along with interactive engagement and regular opportunities to practice the skills taught.
Rotherham Borough Council (RBC) are running a single procurement process that will result in the commissioning of an impartial SEND Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Service. 1The Children and Families Act 2014 (the "Act"), Chapter 6 sets out requirements regarding appeals, mediation and disagreement resolution for children and young people in England with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). The Act was followed by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2015: 0 to 25 years. This Statutory Code of Practice sets out the guidance for organisations who work with and support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities explaining their duties and responsibilities under Part 3 of the Act, details of the legal requirements that must be followed without exception and statutory guidance that must be followed by law (unless there is a legitimate reason not to). Both the Act and Code of Practice outline: • Early resolution of disagreements at a local level, • Independent disagreement resolution arrangements which local authorities must make available for disagreements across special educational provision, • Independent mediation arrangements which parents/carers and young people can use before deciding whether to appeal to the SEND First Tier Tribunal and for health and social care complaints in relation to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), • Conditions for appealing to the Tribunal or making disability discrimination claims. In addition, The Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 set out in detail what is required by Local Authorities (LAs) for assessing the Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs of children and young people and, where necessary, drawing up EHC plans including the requirements regarding mediation and appeal. In order to ensure strong quality standards the Service Provider must be a Registered Provider with the Civil Mediation Council and ensure that all Mediators are trained, qualified and experienced and must be included on the SEND Mediator Register. The Service Provider must also provide a commitment to comply with any additional professional standards developed as a result of the SEND reforms. The Service Provider will provide confidential, independent and impartial mediation advice and Mediation and Disagreement Resolution Service to Service Users within the Rotherham borough in order to assist the discharge of statutory obligations under the Act and the Code of Practice. The Service Provider will ensure that the Service is: • Independent, confidential and impartial to Service Users, • Flexible yet cost effective, enabling Service Users to access the Service they need, when they need it. This Service should be a hybrid model with online mediation as the default. In providing the Service the Service Provider must ensure that it, and its staff: • Adhere to the agreed timetable throughout the process, • Demonstrate trauma-informed, parent-centered practice, • Seek feedback from Service Users to inform and influence service development as well as providing evidence of user satisfaction improvements, • Tailor the Service to individual Service User needs and especially in reference to groups with protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010, • Is a Civil Mediation Council (CMC) registered Provider and • Use only Mediators registered with the CMC. The current SEND reform programme and associated DfE policy development present a known risk which may necessitate future modifications of the contract. Whilst the final legislative and operational requirements are not yet fully defined, the reforms may result in changes to statutory mediation requirements, dispute resolution pathways, Individual Support Plan (ISP) arrangements, referral volumes, eligibility criteria, performance measures, reporting requirements, multi-agency working arrangements, and the respective responsibilities of Local Authorities, schools and …
This work package is to be undertaken at Broadlea Primary School, Newport Road, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 9PE, for the schools pre-school (Berry Hill Childcare). The project works are to include the internal alteration and refurbishment of the internal floor space of the rear school (north) block, to include some fire door replacement works and other general builders works. In addition, the project works will include internal minor reconfiguration of the existing classrooms and internal refurbishment of the proposed baby / toddler class spaces which includes optional alterations to WC and washroom facilities, all as described on drawing numbers: - DWG.No; LAK/02/01 - P7 - 004 WC Refurbishment Works - OPTION 1 - DWG.No; LAK/02/01 - P7 - 005 WC Refurbishment Works - OPTION 2 These improvement works are a requirement to satisfy the functionality of the spatial concerns with the present design, but subject to available budget.
The Authority intends to procure approximately 200 closed-circuit mixed gas diving life support systems to replace and renew military diving capability for the Royal Navy and associated users undertaking underwater defence tasks. The capability is expected to remain in service for approximately 10 years and is intended to support worldwide operational deployments and training. The solution is expected to comprise a robust, low-maintenance, electronically monitored and controlled closed-circuit mixed-gas rebreather system with depth-appropriate bailout systems, low magnetic and acoustic signatures, and the ability to integrate with other life support systems. The solution is expected to support dry, wet and simulated training scenarios, including fault insertion for training purposes. It should be suitable for military diving operations across a wide range of operating environments whilst remaining operable in austere climatic conditions. The Authority is seeking improved dependability, employability and safety through enhanced human factors, reduced user burden, simplified maintenance and streamlined pre-dive preparation. The procurement is also expected to include associated training solutions, maintenance, technical documentation, spares and in-service support arrangements. This notice is provided for advance market awareness only and does not commit the Authority to undertake the procurement described. All aspects of the requirement, including scope, quantity, technical specification and timescales, remain subject to change.