Guidance services

Tender description

The provision of a free, impartial, non-judgemental and confidential advice service for Leeds citizens. The successful contractor must have the capacity to deal with upwards of 45 000 enquiries per year, predominantly via telephone and face to face contact but also have the ability to utilise other techniques such as (website, joint booking system, email, skype). All elements of the service must be delivered in line with nationally accredited quality standards where appropriate e.g. Advice Quality Standard(AQS) Citizens Advice Membership, Office of the Immigration Services Commission(OISC) levels 1, 2 and 3 for Immigration advice. The contractor must be able to demonstrate they have a minimum of 5 years' experience of providing a comprehensive advice service covering, as a minimum, welfare benefits, housing and debt, within a large Local Authority area. Any contractor who is unable to demonstrate this experience will not be considered further. The advice workers should not be totally reliant on packages such as ‘Turn to Us’ or ‘Entitled To’ to provide advice and must have the knowledge and expertise to provide accurate and relevant advice as required. The contractor must deliver a service that is flexible and able to adapt to changing demand caused by legislative and policy changes as well as demographics and level of need. The contractor must deliver an effective and efficient service to manage demand and to improve the customer experience, dealing with enquiries at the first point of contact wherever possible, ensuring the need to refer to other organisations is minimised. The contractor should have the capability to assist clients with digital inclusion — helping them to get on-line including applying for benefits. The contractor must ensure systems are in place to ensure the provision of the service during periods of staff absence due to sickness, holiday or other reasons. The service should be delivered by a team of experienced advice workers with 70 % of paid staff having at least 2 years' experience. The contractor will demonstrate how, alongside the awarding of this contract, they will be able to draw in additional funding into the city to support additional services to the citizens of Leeds. All elements of the service must be delivered in line with nationally accredited quality standards where appropriate e.g. Advice Quality Standard(AQS) Citizens Advice Membership, Office of the Immigration Services Commission(OISC) levels 1, 2 and 3 for Immigration advice.