FW SK Sixteen Plus Accommodation Framework
Framework Description
Central Bedfordshire Council's Sixteen Plus Accommodation Framework (reference CBC-1985-FW-SK) will buy accommodation and support for care-experienced young people and unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people aged 16 to 18. It is being procured under the Light Touch regime, with an estimated value of £18 million excluding VAT. The Council's pipeline notice on Find a Tender gives estimated dates of 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2032.
Context & Use Case
The Council's children's services will use it to place 16 and 17-year-olds who are looked after or leaving care, and young people who arrived in the UK unaccompanied, in accommodation with support suited to their needs. Placements are made as individual young people are referred, so providers need to be able to respond quickly and match support to each young person.
Scope of Services
Supported accommodation for care-experienced young people aged 16 to 18 Accommodation and support for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people aged 16 to 18 A single lot covering accommodation and support together
Lots
Single lot
Who Can Apply
Providers of supported accommodation for 16 and 17-year-olds, including those already supplying neighbouring local authorities. Providers should check the Ofsted registration requirements for supported accommodation for this age group before bidding. The framework is still being procured, so the tender itself is the way in.
Buyer Benefits
The Council gets a vetted pool of providers ready to take referrals, rather than sourcing each placement under pressure. Agreed standards and prices make placement costs more predictable, and a single framework gives commissioners one set of quality expectations to monitor across every young person placed.
Next Steps
Watch Central Bedfordshire Council's In-Tend portal and Find a Tender for the tender notice, which will carry the deadline and documents. Check your Ofsted registration and the locations of your properties against the Council's needs. Prepare evidence of outcomes for young people, safeguarding arrangements and staffing, and work out pricing that is sustainable over a term that could run to 31 January 2032.
How Athena Can Help
Tenders for children's placements are usually decided on quality: safeguarding, outcomes and how well you understand young people's needs. Athena can write those quality responses for you, use real case examples, and run a compliance check before you submit. This is our bid writing and review service.
We can also build placement pricing that covers your costs over the whole term, which is part of our support for council tenders. If you want to join other local authorities' accommodation frameworks, our help getting onto frameworks covers spotting them and making the applications.
