In this present instance, Leicestershire County Council, on behalf of Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council (hereafter referred to as "the Councils"), is undertaking a procurement exercise to appoint suitable providers to a Framework for the provision of the independent Best Interest Assessor (BIA) role under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (Mental Capacity Act 2005).

As a statutory requirement the role of the Best Interest Assessor is regulated by the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Code of Practice, and relevant case law.

Services will need to be delivered in line with the relevant guidance and legislation plus any local requirements outlined in the Service Specification.

The purpose of this Service is to complement the in-house DoLS Teams by providing increased flexibility to allow effective management of BIA demand, availability and prioritisation.

It is estimated that the framework will be used to source an estimated 10% of the total Best Interest Assessments across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland per year.

Due to the nature of the independent BIA role, local requirements dictate that the framework eligibility criteria is at an enhanced level to the statutory standards outlined in the DoLS Code of Practice.