Published date: 22 February 2018
Last edited date: 22 February 2018
Closed future opportunity - This means that a potential contract has passed its approach to market date. A buyer can choose to consider any supplier interest or convert this notice into an opportunity ready for live procurement.
Contract summary
Industry
Other community, social and personal services - 98000000
Location of contract
North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East, South West
Value of contract
£300,000
Procurement reference
IRM
Published date
22 February 2018
Approach to market date
29 March 2018
Contract start date
31 May 2018
Contract end date
30 March 2020
Procedure type
Open procedure (above threshold)
Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.
This procedure can be used for procurements above the relevant contract value threshold.
Contract is suitable for SMEs?
Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs?
No
Description
The Department for Education will soon be inviting organisations to tender for the provision of the independent review mechanism for fostering and adoption.
The IRM provides an objective, independent route for challenging or reviewing decision-making within children's social care, and is the only route for prospective adopters and foster carers to challenge decisions made about them by their agency. They can apply to the IRM to have their case heard by an independent panel of children's services experts.
More information
Spend profile
| Financial year | Budget |
|---|---|
| 2018/2019 | £163,636 |
| 2019/2020 | £136,364 |
Additional text
-
The contractor will:
• respond to applicants in a timely manner, requesting the appropriate evidence required from the applicant, their agency, and any other sources
• organise and run all review panels, recruiting panellists with the correct expertise, as detailed in Regulations
• provide applicants with the recommendations of the panels within the required timeframe, as stipulated in Regulations
• run the service in a modern, streamlined and legally robust way, making use of technology to achieve this
• make sure the IRM is accessible and that those who need it are aware of it
• actively try to improve the IRM's reputation within the sector, making this a key part of the overarching strategy for the service
• work closely with Department for Education staff in a collaborative manner, in order to ensure the service is of the highest quality possible, is run efficiently, and provides good value for money.
History of the IRM
The Independent Review Mechanism was first introduced in 2005 through secondary legislation, made under sections 9 and 12 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. The purpose of the 2005 Regulations was to offer prospective adopters an opportunity to have decisions (technically known as 'qualifying determinations') reviewed by an independent panel if they had not been approved to adopt by their local authority or agency and were unhappy with the decision.The 2009 Regulations expanded the original remit to provide a similar service to prospective and existing foster carers who are deemed ineligible to foster; and to adult adoptees wishing to review historic decisions made about accessing their birth records. Most of the applications to the IRM currently are foster carer cases. On average, between 2013 and 2016, 85% of cases were for foster carers; 13.8% were for adopters; and 1.2% were for adult adoptees.The Regulations broadly stipulate how the IRM should be carried out.
The IRM process
The applicant contacts the IRM if they are unhappy with their agency's decision about them - usually that they are ineligible to foster or adopt. The majority of applications come from foster carers who have been deemed as no longer eligible to foster.
An IRM caseworker looks at the applicant's case in detail, and requests further written evidence from their local authority/agency as necessary and from any other source. The IRM will then organise a panel of 3-10 people who are social workers or who have direct experience of children's social care and are independent of the parties concerned, to review the case. During the panel, the panellists hear from both the applicant and their local authority or agency. The IRM panellists decide whether they agree with the agency's original decision or not, and then make their recommendation to that agency.
About the buyer
Contact name
Lucy Doyle
Address
Sanctuary Buildings,
20 Great Smith St,
Westminster, London
SW1P 3BT
England
Telephone
020 7654 6398
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Approach to market date: 29 March 2018
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