Decision details

Bristol City Council has a statutory duty under Section 22 (4) of The Children Act 1989 to provide Independent Advocacy to Children and Young People who are Children in Care / Care Leavers or undergoing child protection processes. The role of an advocate is to help children and young people feel empowered to raise issues and concerns about things they are unhappy with. The Council’s vision is that all children and young people in Bristol feel listened to and empowered, have choice and control over their support, and have their rights upheld . The current Children in Care Advocacy Contract expired on 31st August 2020. The award of the new contract will ensure that children and young people can understand what is happening to them, can make their views known and, where possible, exercise choice when decisions about them are being made. Furthermore, the views put forward by children and young people accessing the service will inform the development of the Council’s services.

The council has run a compliant open tender process to commission a provider for the provision of an advocacy service for children in care, care leavers and children subject to child protection conferences. The decision is to award the contract to the successful tenderer for an initial term of two years, with the option to extend for a further three years, in yearly increments.

No other options considered - there are no other contracts in place and Bristol City Council has a statutory duty to provide the service.