Scope
Reference
CAF592-25
Description
Cafcass is seeking suppliers that are interested in delivering a service for families in Private Law family court proceedings. Cafcass requires suppliers to hold NACCC Enhanced accreditation and Cyber Essentials certification to be able to deliver this service.
Cafcass commissions the delivery of services for families in private family law proceedings in England on behalf of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). One of these services, the Improving Child and Family Arrangements (ICFA) service, is coming to an end in 2026 and being replaced with a new service which is likely to be called Enabling Family Time.
For every child in private law family court proceedings, whose current and future living arrangements are decided by the family courts, a Cafcass Family Court Adviser (FCA) or Guardian advises the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests. The FCA/Guardian focuses on the children's needs, wishes and feelings, making sure that children's voices are heard and are at the heart of the family court's thinking and decision making. FCAs/Guardians may refer to the Enabling Family Time service, following their suitability assessment.
Enabling Family Time is being designed to focus on establishing/re-establishing family time between children and their parents/carers by offering up to three (3) family time sessions, following an FCA's suitability assessment. The service is aligned to the Pathfinder project and will be guided by the Cafcass Child Impact Assessment Framework (CIAF) and the needs of children and families.
We would like to invite all interested providers to our online pre-market engagement session where we will provide more details on the service's timescales and engage with you about the commissioning and delivery model. We would welcome up to 3 people from one organisation.
Engagement process description
Cafcass would like potential partners to express their interest in premarket engagement before 1pm on 17 November 2025 by sending a confirmation message via our e-sourcing platform (Pro Contract) Opportunities
Please include the following detail in your message: -
• Company/organisation name.
Short introduction about your organisation (up to 2 paragraphs)
• Quoting Reference - Premarket engagement Cafcass reference CAF592-25
• Full name full name of attendee's (maximum of 3 per organisation)
• Contact details (E-mails and phone numbers).
If you do have an account with Pro Contract, please register on Pro Contract system to create an account. If you have problems registering, please contact.
Tel: +44 (0)1937 545 070
Email: info@proactis.com
Premarket engagement session
Date: Thursday 20 November 13:00-14:30 on Teams
Upon receipt of your email expressing interest in attending the pre-market event a team link will be sent to all attendees via the Pro Contract system.
Commercial tool
Establishes a framework
Total value (estimated)
- £2,000,000 excluding VAT
- £2,500,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2029
- Possible extension to 30 April 2031
- 5 years
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
Contract locations
- UKF - East Midlands (England)
- UKH - East of England
- UKI - London
- UKC - North East (England)
- UKD - North West (England)
- UKJ - South East (England)
- UKK - South West (England)
- UKG - West Midlands (England)
- UKE - Yorkshire and the Humber
Engagement
Engagement deadline
20 November 2025
Engagement process description
Engagement process description
Cafcass would like potential partners to express their interest in premarket engagement before 1pm on 17 November 2025 by sending a confirmation message via our e-sourcing platform (Pro Contract) Opportunities
Please include the following detail in your message: -
• Company/organisation name.
• Quoting Reference - Premarket engagement Cafcass reference CAF592-25
• Full name full name of attendee's (maximum of 3 per organisation)
• Contact details (E-mails and phone numbers).
If you do have an account with Pro Contract, please register on Pro Contract system to create an account. If you have problems registering, please contact;
Tel: +44 (0)1937 545 070
Email: info@proactis.com
Premarket engagement session
Date: Thursday 20 November 13:00-14:30 on Teams
Upon receipt of your email expressing interest in attending the pre-market event a team link will be sent to all attendees via the Pro Contract system
Participation
Particular suitability
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
- Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
Submission
Publication date of tender notice (estimated)
8 January 2026
Contracting authority
Cafcass
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVPR-3196-BNDP
Ground Floor, 70 Gray's Inn Road
London
WC1X 8NH
United Kingdom
Contact name: Jane Bate
Telephone: +443004564000
Email: Procurement@cafcass.gov.uk
Website: https://www.cafcass.gov.uk
Region: UKI31 - Camden and City of London
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government