Adoption & Fostering Medical Advice Service

Location

Milton Keynes

Description

Milton Keynes City Council (MKCC) is a partner in the Adoption Connects Regional Adoption Agency (RAA), alongside Central Bedfordshire Council. As a statutory Adoption Agency and Fostering Service, the Council is required under the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 and the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 to appoint a registered medical practitioner to act as its Medical Adviser in respect of adoption and fostering. This role supports the health-related decision-making processes for children and prospective carers involved in adoption and fostering. The purpose of this service is to provide and ensure the availability of timely, high-quality medical advice for all MKCC Adoption and Fostering decisions. The service will support statutory compliance and best practice in health assessments, enabling panels and decision-makers to make informed recommendations, and contribute adequately to safeguarding and permanence planning. It will also ensure all health information is interpreted accurately and shared with prospective adopters and foster carers, empowering them to make informed decisions about the care of children.

Total Quantity or Scope

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice, under the Most Suitable Provider Process. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by 29th June 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. The Contracting Authorities intend to award a single contract to the most suitable provider. This is a new service with a new provider and the approximate lifetime value of this contract is £176,146.00. The dates which the services are intended to be provided are: Contract Start: 6th July 2026 Contract End: 5th July 2027 Optional Extension: 1 year to 5th July 2028 Milton Keynes City Council (MKCC) is a partner in the Adoption Connects Regional Adoption Agency (RAA), alongside Central Bedfordshire Council. As a statutory Adoption Agency and Fostering Service, the Council is required under the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 and the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 to appoint a registered medical practitioner to act as its Medical Adviser in respect of adoption and fostering. This role supports the health-related decision-making processes for children and prospective carers involved in adoption and fostering. The purpose of this service is to provide and ensure the availability of timely, high-quality medical advice for all MKCC Adoption and Fostering decisions. The service will support statutory compliance and best practice in health assessments, enabling panels and decision-makers to make informed recommendations, and contribute adequately to safeguarding and permanence planning. It will also ensure all health information is interpreted accurately and shared with prospective adopters and foster carers, empowering them to make informed decisions about the care of children. The Medical Adviser must be a registered medical practitioner and will provide clinical expertise and ensure compliance with statutory requirements. This will include liaising with Social Workers, Health Professionals, and Panel Members, attending training and contributing to court reports where required. Additionally, the Medical Adviser must: • Have undergone higher professional training in paediatrics. Alternatively, by virtue of experience and practice, have demonstrated appropriate competencies as advised by the ICB's Designated Doctor for looked after children. • Have relevant experience in the clinical management of children including those with neuro-developmental, emotional, behavioural and attachment difficulties, child protection, and adult health issues pertinent to parenting. • Have the ability to achieve other competencies as appropriate to the role of Medical Adviser. • Have experience of, and the ability to work in, a multi-agency setting. • Have good verbal and written communication skills, with an ability to express complex medical issues in lay terms. Administrative support will be provided to manage referrals, schedule meetings, and maintain accurate records. The Provider will be required to ensure that all staff involved in the service are appropriately trained and qualified, and the service has in place robust governance arrangements. The Medical Adviser will be consulted where the Council: • arranges for the child to be examined and obtains a report or reports on the child's health (AAR 15 and AAR Part 2 of Schedule 1); • arranges for health information to be obtained about the child's parents and siblings (AAR 16 and AAR Part 4 of Schedule 1); • prepares the child's permanence report which is to include a comprehensive summary written by the medical adviser on the child's health (AAR 17); • obtains a report about the health of the prospective adopter (AAR 26 and Part 2 of Schedule 4); • prepares the prospective adopter's report for the adoption panel, which is to include a comprehensive summary written by the medical adviser on the prospective adopter's health (AAR 30); • prepares the adoption placement report for an adoption panel (AAR 31); • prepares a report to the court where there has been an application for a placement order, as the agency is required to provide a summary written by the medical adviser on the health of the child; • reviews the child's case, including reviewing the arrangements for assessing and meeting the child's health care needs (AAR 36); • prepares a report to the court where there has been an application for an adoption order or an order under section 84 of the Act, as the agency is required to provide summaries written by the medical adviser on the health of the child and the prospective adopter. The Medical Adviser may also be required, on an ad hoc basis, to sign off initial and review health assessments, complete BAAF Forms, provide advice on adequacy of health information, and recommend additional specialist opinions.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85141220 - Advisory services provided by nurses
• 85141000 - Services provided by medical personnel

Indicators

• Award on basis of price and quality.

Legal Justification

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by 29th June 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.

Other Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by 29th June 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. Written representations should be sent to: corporateprocurement@milton-keynes.gov.uk, ensuring the following details are referenced: - Project reference: 2025-234 - Project title: Adoption & Fostering Medical Advice Service Details of the award decision-makers: - Toni Badnell - Deputy Head People's Commissioning - Mac Heath - Director of Children's Services No conflicts were identified - Conflict of interest agreements were signed by all the project group who declared no conflicts. Each of the 5 key criteria were prioritised based on there relative importance to the contract and the weightings used are demonstrated below. Providers were considered on this basis and consideration was given to the basic selection criteria. - Quality and Innovation: Priority 1 - This service is a statutory provision which must be delivered in line with national guidance; therefore limited innovation will apply. The service will be delivered according to the NHS Quality Standards, providing care that is: Safe - enabling effective decision-making around healthcare and permanency for looked after children. Effective - meeting the needs of prospective adopters, foster carers and adoptees through timely, high-quality assessments. Provides a positive experience (responsive & personalised and caring) - understanding the personal circumstances of service users in detail and facilitating a compassionate but objective response to their application. Well-led - regular monitoring and oversight of performance and quality of delivery; clear lines of accountability. Sustainably Resourced - delivering best value for the Council while meeting social value requirements for local recruitment, sustainable working patterns and Foundation Living Wage. Equitable - advancing equality of opportunity for looked after children by enabling them to live in stable, loving homes. - Value: Priority 3 - Delivering continuity of service which represents best value to the Local Authority. Transparency in breakdown of costs, delivery volumes and resources allocated to the contract. Extensive review has been undertaken on delivery trends to identify service volumes, the level of resource required to carry out each service element and associated unit costs. Costs have been benchmarked with comparator local authorities to inform the contractual arrangement. This ensures that the proposed approach represents best value in maintaining continuity of statutory service delivery. - Collaboration and Service Sustainability: Priority 2 - Delivering continuity of service while working in a collaborative way with the Local Authority, Regional Adoption Agency and other community health providers involved in the delivery of services (e.g. GPs, CCS). Improving the health outcomes of looked after children. - Improving Access, reducing health inequalities and facilitating choice: Priority 4 - Access to the service is restricted to the statutory basis for delivery - service users must be a prospective adopter for MKCC, a prospective foster carer or a child being placed for adoption. The service must ensure that service users are not unlawfully discriminated against in the provision of NHS services. The service must abide by the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty, and work to reduce health inequalities for looked after children and their carers by enabling safe-effective decision-making around matching based on relevant health information. - Social Value: Priority 5 - he service will ensure that the More for MK Social Value criteria are met: The Council has core commitments under More for MK of: being a real living wage employer and supporting smaller local suppliers. Additional outcomes under More for MK known as the 4 pillars that should be considered, included, and delivered with every procurement focus specifically on: - Local employment opportunities - Skilled and confident workforce - Healthier communities - Sustainability Following provider assessment and application of the key and basic criteria, it was agreed that Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust was the only provider capable of meeting the full service specifications and the full requirements of the contract. Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust was able to meet all the key criteria and basic selection criteria so was therefore selected as the most suitable provider.