2526-0567: Breastfeeding Peer Support Service

Islington Council invites suitable expressions of interest from suppliers for the Homeless Outreach Service. 

The requirement  

The Breastfeeding Peer Support Service will be a community based service of breastfeeding support offering both in person and virtual support to families within the borough. The primary aim of the proposed service will be to increase the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks after birth, and beyond. The service will consist of local volunteer and paid peer supporters that will be expected to deliver one-to-one support, group sessions, maternity ward visits and phone line support. The service will be expected to refer and signpost to local services and work within the early years system in Islington. The proposed Breastfeeding Peer Support Service makes a substantial contribution to a number of ambitions and priorities in the Islington Together 2030 plan, including ‘Child Friendly Islington, Greener Healthier Islington, Empowering People and Community Wealth Building’. The service will be expected to be delivered by one provider covering the whole borough.  

Lots

This service contract is not being divided in to lots.

Contract period  

The duration will be 36 months from an estimated start date of 1 April 2027. The contract has extension options dependent upon performance for two additional periods at 24 months each. This notes the agreement could run for a maximum of 84 months.  

Value of the contract  

The estimated total value of this contract is £1.4 million over the maximum 84 months. This is based on £200,000 per annum.  

The Authority may receive additional grant funding during the contract term which could support the delivery of additional services directly related to the contract subject matter. Any such funding is not guaranteed. 

Award criteria 

The contract(s) will be awarded to the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.  

Tenders for this contract will be assessed against the following award criteria:  

• Quality 60 % 
• Cost/price 20%
• Social value: 20%

Quality is made up of:

• 30% - proposed approach to the service provision
• 15% - proposed approach to tackling inequalities
• 7.5% - proposed approach to recruitment, training and continuous professional development
• 7.5% - proposed approach to service user data management and quality improvement

Total 100%

Further details will be provided in the invitation to tender.   

Procurement process  

This contract will be procured using the open procedure. All organisations who successfully express an interest will automatically be invited to tender and have access to the tender documents. Those who submit a tender and meet the minimum requirements will have their full tender evaluated.  

How to express an interest  

If you wish to apply for this contract opportunity please follow these steps:  

• register your organisation free of charge via the London Tenders Portal
• when you receive an email confirming your username and password use these to log on to the London Tenders Portal and express your interest in Breastfeeding Peer Support Service - CPV code 85323000 Community health services 
• shortly after you have expressed interest, you will receive a second email containing a link to access the procurement documents.  

Deadlines  

The deadline for expressions of interest is: 11.59am on Tuesday 22 September 2026

The deadline for submissions is: 12noon on Tuesday 22 September 2026

Late submissions may not be accepted.

Additional information  

• Islington Council and its partners are committed to work towards a more equal Islington, for more information see Islington Together 2030.   
• Islington Council aims to provide equality of opportunity and welcomes applicants who meet the qualitative selection criteria from black and minority ethnic communities and disabled groups.   
• The council encourages all types of organisation who meet the qualitative selection criteria including Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations, Social Enterprises or not for profit enterprises and small to medium enterprises (SME) to tender.
• All questions relating to this contract should be raised via the messages section of the relevant contract on the London Tenders Portal.  Please do not contact any officer of the council directly.  
• As part of a commitment to transparency the council is now publishing all spend over £500 each month. This includes spend on contracts, so the successful contractor should expect details of spend against the contract to appear on the council website under council spending. The council is also committed to publishing tender and contract documentation after contract award stage. Commercially sensitive information will be redacted from documentation. What constitutes commercially sensitive information is a matter for the council’s sole discretion. However, tenderers will be invited to identify information they consider to be commercially sensitive in their tender return and this will be taken into account in the council forming a view.
• In accordance with the Procurement Regulations 2024, please note that for contracts with an estimated value of more than £5 million, the council will publish in the Contract Award Notice the name of each supplier that submitted a tender which was assessed for the purposes of determining the most advantageous tender and was not awarded the contract. 
• A Market Engagement event for this procurement was held on the Wednesday 24 June 2026. The slides presented in this are included in the tender pack as item ITT 06.