Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) - Adult Advocacy Services

Swindon Borough Council invites you to contribute to preliminary market engagement in relation to Adult Advocacy Services and welcomes the views of providers on the questions set out in the accompanying questionnaire.

The purpose of this engagement is to gather feedback from the market to help shape the final service specification and commercial model, ensuring the procurement delivers high-quality, legally compliant, and person-centred advocacy services.

Service Overview

Swindon Borough Council is seeking to commission a single supplier to deliver a comprehensive Adult Advocacy Service for residents of Swindon.

The service will support adults to have their voice heard, rights upheld, and interests represented in line with statutory duties. The provider will be required to deliver a range of advocacy services across multiple legislative frameworks.

The commissioned service will include the following components:

Required Services

The provider may be required to deliver all the following services:

1. Independent Care Act Advocacy (ICAA)

Supporting individuals who have substantial difficulty in being involved in Care Act assessments, care planning, reviews, and safeguarding processes, where there is no appropriate person to support them.

2. Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA)

Supporting individuals who lack capacity to make specific decisions and have no appropriate representation, in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

3. Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA)

Supporting qualifying patients under the Mental Health Act 1983 to understand and exercise their rights.

4. Independent Health Complaints Advocacy (IHCA)

Supporting individuals to make complaints about NHS services and navigate the NHS complaints process.

5. Independent Social Care Complaints Advocacy

Supporting individuals to raise complaints regarding adult social care services.

6. Rule 1.2 (Rule 3A) Representative Advocacy

Providing representation within the Court of Protection where required.

7. Litigation Friend Advocacy

Supporting individuals in legal proceedings where a litigation friend is required.

8. Learning Disability Partnership Board

Facilitation of the quarterly, face-to-face board.