Purpose of this notice The Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are inviting current and prospective suppliers of adults’ and children’s social care case management systems (CMSs) to participate in an information session. The session will outline the government’s plans to explore a Catalogue Agreement as the assurance mechanism for the data and interoperability standards being developed through the adults’ and children’s social care Data Standards Programme (https://standard.socialcaredata.io/). It will explain why this approach is being considered, how the Catalogue Agreement is expected to operate in practice, and how suppliers can engage as the model develops. About the Data Standards Programme DfE and DHSC recognise the critical role that CMSs play in supporting the delivery of adult and children’s social care across local authorities. Engagement with local authorities, suppliers, and wider sector partners, has identified opportunities to strengthen how information is structured, shared and used both within and across the relevant organisations. Building on existing work, including the Foundational Specification (https://www.bettergov.co.uk/blog/2025/09/foundational-specification) published last year, and through close alignment with other national data and information-sharing initiatives, DfE and DHSC are working to support local authorities and suppliers in realising these opportunities through a Data Standards Programme. DfE and DHSC are working with Social Finance (https://www.socialfinance.org.uk/impact/closing-the-digital-gaps-that-put-children-at-risk), the Open Data Institute and Coram to deliver the Data Standards programme. The programme aim is to develop a core set of data and interoperability standards for social care CMSs to support more joined-up ways of working, improve the flow of information between systems, and promote greater consistency across the whole sector. When implemented at scale, these standards are intended to: • Enable earlier intervention by helping practitioners access the right information at the right time, including where information is held across multiple systems. • Improve people’s experience of social care by supporting access to accurate and up-to-date information across organisations, improving the safety and quality of care, and reducing the need for people to repeat their stories. • Improve analytics and decision-making by enabling better use of data to support planning, insight and decision-making locally and nationally. About the Catalogue Agreement The Digital Services Integrated Care (DSIC) Catalogue Agreement is a formal agreement between government and suppliers that sets out the responsibilities and commitments of both parties. It provides a structured approach to implementing standards, assuring supplier solutions, and maintaining a roadmap for future requirements. For the Data Standards Programme, DfE and DHSC are exploring this approach as the assurance mechanism for data and interoperability standards. The Catalogue Agreement could provide a structured route for suppliers to demonstrate alignment with agreed requirements and support a consistent approach to standards adoption across the sector. This approach is already used across parts of the NHS and adult social care (including GP IT and Digital Social Care Records). As an established model, it provides a familiar and transparent framework for supplier engagement, standards assurance and ongoing management of future requirements.

Procurement Act 2023

Engagement process description This session provides an opportunity for suppliers to learn about and provide feedback on the departments' exploration of a Catalogue Agreement as the assurance mechanism for social care data standards. It will be delivered as an online webinar featuring presentations from representatives of DfE, DHSC, NHS England and Social Finance, followed by a live question-and-answer discussion. It is open to organisations that currently supply, or may be interested in supplying, case management systems for adults’ or children’s social care. We look forward to working collaboratively with suppliers as this work progresses. Registration Date: Tuesday 24th November Time: 10-11:30am Format: Online webinar Registration route: Please register via link: Supplier assurance information session: social care case management systems | techUK (https://www.techuk.org/events/supplier-assurance-information-session-social-care-case-management-systems) Participation suitability The session is open to organisations that currently supply, or may be interested in supplying, case management systems for adults' or children's social care. Participation or non-participation in this engagement will not advantage or disadvantage any supplier in relation to any future commercial process. DfE and DHSC may publish, or otherwise make available, relevant information arising from the engagement to support fair and transparent market access. Organisations wishing to participate are invited to register using the link provided above. Registration requests will only be accepted via the registration link; the email address below should not be used to register for the session. If you would like to submit a question for consideration by the department and its partners ahead of the session, we would welcome these by 17th November. Please send any questions to the following email address: [email protected]