Hampshire County Council Seeks Independent Fostering Agencies

Find a Tender - Latest Notices

Published March 10th, 2026

Detected March 11th, 2026

Summary

Hampshire County Council has published a contract notice seeking independent fostering agencies to support its looked-after children. The notice establishes a framework for various placement types and includes a contract value of £203,000,000, signed on January 9, 2026.

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What changed

Hampshire County Council has issued a contract notice to establish a framework for independent fostering agencies (IFAs) to support its looked-after children. The framework will cover standard placements, parent & child placements, and children with complex needs, with a priority on keeping children within Hampshire. A contract valued at £203,000,000 has been signed with Capstone Foster Care (South West) Limited, effective from January 9, 2026, to January 7, 2030, with a possible extension to 2034.

Independent fostering agencies interested in being part of this framework should review the procurement details and submit their applications. The framework allows for multiple call-offs, and all suppliers meeting the criteria will be awarded a call-off contract. While this notice itself does not impose direct compliance obligations on all agencies, it signals significant contracting opportunities and potential future service requirements within Hampshire's child welfare system. Interested parties should monitor the find-tender.service.gov.uk portal for further details and deadlines related to the call-off process.

What to do next

Review procurement notice for Hampshire County Council's independent fostering agency framework.
Assess eligibility criteria and prepare application for potential call-off contracts.
Monitor the find-tender.service.gov.uk portal for updates and deadlines related to the framework.

Source document (simplified)

Contract

Independent Fostering Agencies

Hampshire County Council UK7: Contract details notice - Procurement Act 2023 - view information about notice types

Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-021569

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04fe75 (view related notices)

Published 10 March 2026, 8:42pm

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Scope Framework Contract 3. Independent Fostering Agencies Other information Procedure Supplier Contracting authority

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Reference

CS26629

Description

Hampshire County Council's Children Services Directorate is seeking to commission a range of IFA (independent fostering agencies) to support our looked after children cohort.

The new service will need to cover fostering arrangements for;

Standard Foster Placements including Respite

Parent & Child Foster Placements

Children with Complex/Challenging Behaviours

Children with Disabilities/Complex Healthcare Needs

Separated Children

This list is not exhaustive and the register/framework/insert name here will be flexible to capture additional fostering requirements that may emerge.

The priority of any arrangements will be to secure Hampshire placements for Hampshire children and Young People to support with their education, training, contact, and in order to maintain other existing support networks such as friends and other family members.

Commercial tool

Establishes a framework

Framework

Maximum percentage fee charged to suppliers

Framework operation description

The Council will establish the framework as an overarching vehicle and will then run either multiple call offs or one lotted call off for the 5 service areas. All suppliers who meet the criteria will be awarded a call off contract, the numbers will not be limited.

Suppliers that are successful at call off will then be eligible to see referrals for the services which they have applied for. The criteria the Council will follow when making a placement will be included in the call off.