MEIC - Info, Assistance and Advice Service

Concepts

• advice service
• cardiff
• guidance and counselling
• wales
• assistance and advice service
• service meic
• meic service
• helpline service
• meic
• bilingual service

Location

Wales:

Description

The service MEIC provides enables children and young people to get help quickly with any issues they may have / need to talk about. It is a leading pan-Wales resource to provide a helpline for children and young people (CYP) in Wales between the ages of 0-25 years. It functions 7 days a week from 8am and 12 midnight, providing information, advice and advocacy to children and young people.

Total Quantity or Scope

The MEIC service has been in place since June 2010 as a pan Wales resource to provide a bi-lingual (English and Welsh) helpline service for children and young people in Wales between the ages of 0 – 25 years. This provision is available 7 days a week from 08 a.m. to midnight providing information, advice and advocacy to children and young people in Wales. The MEIC service provides children and young people to quickly access help and support with any issues. MEIC is a fully bilingual service which offers support on line, by phone and by text. Throughout the pandemic, this service has proven to be of even greater importance to provide support to young people who, due to the lockdown measures, have been unable to access their normal means of support and advice (e.g. via school, youth groups, access to peers, trusted adults and in some cases, family members). The full impact of the pandemic upon children and young people in Wales is yet to be determined, however, it is undoubtable that consistency of support will be required in the coming months. In addition it is important to ensure that the existing provision is appropriately evaluated to ensure that the next contract is developed to enable the service to respond to the demands generated as a result of the pandemic.

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services

Legal Justification

To ensure that the next iteration of the bi-lingual MEIC service, it is important to understand the consequences of lockdown on children and young people, many of which are yet to be determined. It is appropriate, therefore, to ensure that sufficient time is available to assess this and ensure that the next contract specification ensures the provision of the right types of support, delivered in the most impactful way. To that end, it is deemed appropriate to continue with the current provision to ensure consistency of service to enable full evaluation and continuity of support at a time when children and young people in Wales need this support the most.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** These services have to be provided in both English and Welsh. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=108158. (WA Ref:108158)