The service will ensure effective management and delivery of early intervention link worker support to children and young people within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

The service will contribute to the Borough's strategic priorities to: (1) Deliver an innovative early help model, working with partner agencies and schools, that combines universal and targeted services to deal with the disadvantage experienced by children and their families in the Borough; (2) Provide the appropriate intervention at the right time to reduce demand later on for high-cost specialist services; (3) Safeguard children and young people, enabling them to live safely and free from harm; (4) Improve the life chances and well-being of children in need; (5) Ensure that resources are deployed effectively and efficiently to achieve value for money whilst delivering improved outcomes.

A Prior Information Notice was published in May 2016 to publicise to the market a service delivery model of using experienced Link workers to identify disadvantaged children and young people, and signposting them to universal and targeted services within the Borough. This was followed by a Contract Notice which was published in June (2016) as a call to competition.

The ITT was published on 28.6.2016 and attracted fourteen (14) initial expressions of interest. An Open procedure was followed and Suppliers were also required to find additional financial resources through either social investment or match funding.

The Award Criterion was the Most Economically Advantageous Tender, with equal weighting (50 per cent) given to quality and price. Suppliers had eighteen (18) days to return their bids and a total of 2 complete tenders were received.