Provision of Direct Payment Support Services

Tender description

Reading Borough Council is seeking expressions of interest from organisations who can provide support for service users receiving Direct Payments. Our uptake of Direct Payments currently stands at around 11% amongst eligible Social Care clients. We wish to achieve a 25% uptake, in order to promote greater levels of choice and independence amongst our service users, and in order to generate savings against our existing social care spend. Support to enable a person to set up and manage their Direct Payment would be identified on an individual basis as part of the care planning process and built into the Personal Budget if required. Individuals would be supported to access the right support for them. We anticipate we require support service in the following categories: 1) Employment Advice and Support a. Starting from scratch, including recruiting a PA b. PA already chosen, support with employment documentation 2) Issue Resolution 3) Financial solutions a. Payroll services b. Managed bank accounts These categories will be priced according to the level of assistance required. We welcome suppliers who are able to offer support in more than one of the above categories. For inclusion on the support register, services would be expected to provide support with some or all of the following, either for a full range of clients or specific demographics: Category 1(a): Employment support starting from scratch i. Review recruitment documents following preparation (including job description and advert) ii. Support with interview preparation (venue, questions, short-listing) iii. Review contract, following preparation by employer iv. Conducting DBS checks (in line with Reading Borough Council policy) v. Ensure understanding legal responsibilities as an employer are met (arranging suitable insurance and meeting employment law) vi. Signpost appointed PA to relevant training to meet identified training needs, including safeguarding vii. Review of risk assessments and signposting for follow up of identified issues viii. Support to deal with any issues during induction/probationary period (up to 3 months) Category 1(b): Employment Support (no advertising or interviewing required) i. Review contract, following preparation by employer ii. Conducting DBS checks (in line with Reading Borough Council policy) iii. Ensure understanding legal responsibilities as an employer are met (arranging suitable insurance and meeting employment law) iv. Signpost appointed PA to relevant training to meet identified training needs, including safeguarding v. Review of risk assessments and signposting for follow up of identified issues vi. Support to deal with any issues during induction/probationary period (up to 3 months) Category 2: Issue Resolution i. Support to find PA to cover short-term period ii. Support for existing service users who need support ...