Children’s commissioning and business opportunities
What is commissioning?
Commissioning is the process of planning, buying, delivering and monitoring public services. Good commissioning is about improving people’s lives and providing high-quality services that are designed around the individual.
It's more than simply just buying goods or services, it is about understanding local need and designing services that meet those needs whilst providing value for money for council taxpayers.
The children’s commissioning and placements group
The group has responsibility for the commissioning of placements for looked after children, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), specialist educational placements and short breaks, homelessness and supported accommodation.
The following sections describe how we intend to commission services for children and young people in Nottinghamshire and how children’s commissioning works together with people to deliver services. There are also opportunities for businesses to work with the council to meet local needs and statutory obligations for children, young people and their families.
Strategic commissioning framework
The framework sets out the way we will work to ensure there is a clear focus on improving outcomes for residents for the lowest possible cost, whilst maximising social value for the resources that we and and our partners have available:
You can learn more about the strategic commissioning framework by visiting the link below:
Sufficiency and commissioning strategy for children in Nottinghamshire
The sufficiency and commissioning strategy sets out how we intend to meet the sufficiency duty placed on local authorities to secure sufficient accommodation for looked after children.
You can read the sufficiency strategy for 2023 to 2025 below:
Engaging in business with the council
Tenders and procurement
When purchasing services, as a ‘best value’ authority we are under a duty to 'make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness'.
When undertaking a procurement this involves challenging how services are provided, consulting with service users, comparing the performance of suppliers, and using fair and open competition wherever possible to secure efficient and effective services. We run tender processes through ProContract, which can be found at www.eastmidstenders.org where organisations apply for contract opportunities.
Read our supplier system user guide, which provides instructions on registering an interest and completing a tender response:
