Tender – Department of Health and Social Care

The Department of Health & Social Care is seeking quotations from suitably qualified and competent individuals or organisations to review and make recommendations regarding changes to Adoption legislation on the Isle of Man.

Current legislation is embodied in the Adoption Act 1984. In the intervening 30 years there have been significant changes in Society which has changed the profile of children for whom adoption is considered to be in their best interests as well as wider child care law and practice.  The Department therefore needs to modernise the legal framework for adoption to ensure that where adoption is the plan, the Courts can deal with each child’s case in a rigorous but expeditious manner.

The Department wishes to contract an individual or organisation with the professional expertise to examine the Island’s unique context in light of legal frameworks for adoption that exist in other jurisdictions both within the UK and further afield and make specific recommendations regarding the content of a future Adoption and Children Bill for the Island.   This Bill should deliver a framework for adoption which places children’s welfare at the centre of the adoption decision-making process and is consistent with the principles and provisions of the Children & Young Persons Act 2001 and international human rights requirements.  If amendments to the Children & Young Persons Act are considered necessary to achieve a consistent legal framework then these should also be recommended.  It is envisaged that the new Bill will replace the Adoption Act 1984 rather than amend it therefore provisions contained therein that need to be maintained will need to be specifically noted.

The expected product of this work is a comprehensive, detailed report with clear recommendations supported by evidence for the provisions of a new Bill that can be used, once approved, to develop detailed drafting instructions to enable a first draft of the Bill to be delivered.  The report should also highlight where recommendations have a service provision and therefore potential cost implication.

We would expect the following to be included:

• Detailed consideration and understanding of the current legal framework and service provision to include reading time and face to face interviews with relevant persons within the Department, Adoption Service Provider and the Judiciary on Island;
• Scoping and consideration of legal frameworks that exist elsewhere including relevant international human rights expectations;
• Review of material available evidencing best practice in adoption that should be supported by the legal framework and material evaluating the efficacy of legal frameworks in existence elsewhere;
• Production of a detailed report being clear about recommendations for provisions to be included in the Bill and the supporting evidence for such;
• Production of a detailed report clearly identifying any required amendments to the Children & Young Persons Act 2001 to produce a comprehensive, cohesive legal framework for children in the care of the Department;
• Presentation of report to Senior Managers within the Division with Q & A. 

Interested parties should send to the person named below:

• details of their credentials evidencing their ability to complete this undertaking to the required high standard;
• an Outline Project Plan which sets out their proposal to accomplish this piece of work including Milestones and the interim reporting arrangements for each Milestone leading up to the final report;
• Fixed priced for delivery of the work.  

For guidance an estimate of 20-30 days work is envisaged.

Please send quotations by 17 April 2015 to:

Adoption Legislation Review

Private & Confidential

Lisa Hall

Contracts & Business Operations Manager

2^nd Floor

Murray House

Mount Havelock

Douglas

Isle of Man

IM1 2SF