Children's Short Breaks Services: Follow-up Event

Description

Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) Follow-Up Event Following the Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) event held on 31 July 2026, Bury Council (the Authority) is hosting an additional engagement session in response to feedback received from participants and the wider market. This follow-up session has been designed to improve accessibility and reduce barriers to engagement, particularly for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), micro-providers, personal assistants, and locally based providers. No substantive changes have been made to the proposed service model, commissioning intentions, or procurement approach presented at the original event. The content remains materially the same, with adaptations focused solely on communication, presentation, and accessibility to ensure all organisations can participate meaningfully in the engagement process. While the session has been tailored to support participation from smaller and community-based providers, attendance is not restricted. The event is open to all organisations and individuals with an interest in the future delivery of SEND Short Breaks services in Bury, including those who attended the original session and those who were unable to attend. Bury Council is preparing to recommission its SEND Short Breaks Service and, in advance of any procurement activity, is seeking expressions of interest and market intelligence from suitably experienced and accredited providers through this preliminary market engagement process. The PME provides an opportunity to share the Council's emerging proposals, seek feedback from the market, and better understand provider capacity, appetite, local reach, innovation, and pricing considerations. We welcome participation from a diverse range of organisations, including existing providers, VCSE organisations, faith-based organisations, youth, play and activity providers, specialist care and overnight providers, Ofsted-registered children's homes, personal assistants, micro-providers, and locally based provision of all sizes across Bury's six townships: Bury, Prestwich, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, Tottington and Whitefield. This notice is issued pursuant to Section 16 of the Procurement Act 2023 to invite the market to participate in a structured pre-market engagement process ahead of a formal competitive procurement. The purpose of the engagement is to inform the Council's procurement strategy, service model and lot structure ahead of publication of the tender notice.