GMCA 2201: NW Regional Children's Services Contract

What the buyer says

There are four regional purchasing systems operated by NWADCS on behalf of the 24 North West authorities, these date back to 2009 for the first regional residential contract. These arrangements now include over 500 providers and at any one time over 3000 children are living in homes sourced via a regional contract. The planned contract end dates were January 2028 for Residential, March 2028 for Fostering, February 2031 for SENDAP and October 2031 for Supported Accommodation. As a result of changes in the operating context, including the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 we are reviewing all four arrangements at the same time. Through this work we are aiming for: Reduced duplication in procurement activity across the region. Improved transparency and oversight. Better understanding of sufficiency. Improved approach to pricing and uplifts. Local and sub regional collaboration. The new contracts will replace the current arrangements. We cannot transfer providers onto any new contracts so you will need to apply to join. Currently there are three 'lead authorities', Bolton, Cheshire East and Trafford. Current suppliers will have dealt with these authorities when they applied to join the purchasing system. All new arrangements will have Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) as the lead authority. There is a significant amount of work involved in developing the new arrangements. We want to ensure we have addressed as many of the challenges providers have already raised during consultation as possible. As soon as we have a timeline in place this will be shared, and we are working towards a contract award in August 2026. The GMCA will be hosting a series of engagement sessions throughout November 2026. These engagement opportunities are in place to support provid…