Tender: Dorset Council Family Link Worker Service – Intensive In‑Home Support for Families

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Dorset Council is seeking a supplier to deliver the Family Link Worker Service, providing intensive, hands-on support to families in their homes for Lead Practitioners in Dorset Council’s Family Help teams and external Early Support partners who are supporting families in need in the community. This procurement follows an open procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 (section 20(1) and (2)(a)), with a Preliminary Market Engagement Event held on 09 July 2025; the procedure does not allow refinement of award criteria or negotiation, and the contract is not divided into lots. The contract term is an initial 12 months with three optional 12-month extensions (1+1+1) subject to satisfactory performance and funding, estimated at £220,500 per year and £882,000 in total if all extensions are taken (figures exclusive of VAT); the contracting authority also reserves the right to a subsequent procurement relying on the direct award justification in paragraph 8 of Schedule 5 to the Procurement Act 2023.