The Healthy Child Programme

Norfolk County Council (NCC) has a statutory duty to improve and protect the health and wellbeing of children and young people, with the Healthy Child Programme (HCP) contributing to the national framework that underpins these responsibilities. As a core component of the public health system, the HCP focuses on prevention and early intervention, supporting children and families from pregnancy through to adulthood.

By offering help as early as possible, the programme aims to improve long-term health, wellbeing and developmental outcomes, reducing the likelihood of more complex needs arising later in childhood. To support the delivery of these services, NCC is undertaking a procurement exercise and is inviting suitably qualified and experienced applicants to submit offers.

The procurement is being conducted under regulation 11 of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations). However, it includes a small element-specifically the digital health provision-which falls outside the scope of the PSR and is therefore classified as a mixed procurement.

The Contract will have an initial term of 4.5 years, with options to extend, at the Council's discretion, for a further period of up to 60 months to a maximum overall term of 9.5 years. It is anticipated that the Contract will be awarded on 1 April 2027, with service delivery commencing on 1 October 2027.

The anticipated total value of the contract over its lifetime is approximately £164,350,000. The provision will be structured across two lots: Lot One: • 0-5 Health Visiting (including Experts at Hand Specialist Public Health Nursing Service)* • 0-5 Digital Health Offer • 0-19 Single Point of Access (SPOA) Lot Two: • 5-19 Public Health Service • 5-19 Digital Health Offer

The procurement route adopted is a competitive process with dialogue in accordance with regulation 11 PSR. Applicants must pass the Basic Selection Criteria (Form A) - before their Key Criteria (Form B) are considered.

Applicants who fail Form A will not be considered any further and will be notified at this stage if they are unsuccessful. Applicants that pass Form A undergo an initial review of their Form B responses and price to inform the dialogue process.

Applicants will then be invited to a Dialogue Session at which the Council will then provide feedback to those Applicants on their initial responses in Form B against the Key Criteria Questions. It remains the Applicant's responsibility to ensure its application is as complete and detailed as possible at every stage - the Council is not obliged to raise every weakness identified during its review of initial offers or during dialogue.

The Dialogue Sessions will be an opportunity for both parties to discuss and clarify requirements, explore potential solutions, identify risks, and address technical, contractual, operational, and commercial considerations prior to the Invitation to Submit Final Offers. Following Dialogue, the Council reserves the right to refine the evaluation criteria, and to amend the specification, pricing documents and terms and conditions prior to inviting applicants to submit their Final Offers.

Any amendments will be communicated to all Applicants. At the conclusion of the Dialogue Sessions, the Council will invite applicants to submit their Final Offers.

Evaluation of Final Offers and contract award will be based on the information set out within the procurement documents. The Council reserves the right to make adjustments to the structure of the Competitive Process, provided that any such adjustments do not alter the overall nature of the procurement, and are communicated transparently and applied equally to all applicants.

The procurement route adopted is a competitive process with dialogue in accordance with regulation 11 PSR. The procurement will be conducted in the following stages: Applicants must complete the Basic Selection Criteria (BSC) - Form A and the Key Criteria (which includes pricing) - Form B and submit them in accordance with the timetable set out in the procurement documents.

Applicants must pass the Basic Selection Criteria (Form A) - before their Key Criteria (Form B) are considered. Applicants who fail Form A will not be considered any further and will be notified at this stage if they are unsuccessful.

Applicants that pass Form A undergo an initial review of their Form B responses and price to inform the dialogue process. Applicants will then be invited to a Dialogue Session at which the Council will then provide feedback to those Applicants on their initial responses in Form B against the Key Criteria Questions.

It remains the Applicant's responsibility to ensure its application is as complete and detailed as possible at every stage - the Council is not obliged to raise every weakness identified during its review of initial offers or during dialogue. The Dialogue Sessions will be an opportunity for both parties to discuss and clarify requirements, explore potential solutions, identify risks, and address technical, contractual, operational, and commercial considerations prior to the Invitation to Submit Final Offers.

Following Dialogue, the Council reserves the right to refine the evaluation criteria, and to amend the specification, pricing documents and terms and conditions prior to inviting applicants to submit their Final Offers. Any amendments will be communicated to all Applicants.

At the conclusion of the Dialogue Sessions, the Council will invite applicants to submit their Final Offers. Applicants may refine their key criteria responses before submitting their final offer.

Evaluation of Final Offers and contract award will be based on the information set out within the procurement documents. The Council reserves the right to make adjustments to the structure of the Competitive Process, provided that any such adjustments do not alter the overall nature of the procurement, and are communicated transparently and applied equally to all applicants.