SCC NB Supported Accommodation DPS 2018

Tender description

Tender documents will be published in the first week of October 2017. Background In 2013 Surrey issued an invitation to tender for Supported Accommodation Services within and outside of Surrey for our children and young people from priority need groups and those we have a statutory duty towards. Following this, a 4 year framework was put in place and contracts awarded to 20 providers (a mixture of block and spot provision). The current framework runs 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2018. Consequently the local authority is required to re-procure these services. From 1st April a DPS will be in place using 'light touch' regulations. Introduction The purpose of this type of accommodation is either for young people to gain independence post-16 years of age or to support the young person as an interim measure with the aim of them returning to the parental home. It also ensures that the local authority meets their statutory responsibility in housing vulnerable young people. The following client groups (aged 16 to 21) will be in scope; o Looked After Children o Unaccompanied Asylum seekers o Young People Leaving Care and vulnerable as a result of having been in care (up to 25 years old) o Children in Need (CIN) o Young Parents (up to 25 years old) o Single homeless (Southwark judgement 16-17 year olds) o Young people remanded into Local Authority care The above client groups will include children and young people who have complex needs and substance misuse. Funding for Supported Accommodation comes from the Surrey Youth Support Services budget, Placements Budget and Care Leavers Service budget. The council also received funding from the Home Office for looked after unaccompanied asylum seeking children to provide support, so some of the funding goes towards accommodation. Funding from all of these budgets will be used for the purposes of this recommissioning project. A review of spend shows that over the past 3 years, annual spend on supported accommodation has increased from ?3.1m to ?3.7m, in children's services and youth support services combined. The 16+ accommodation strategic working group will be looking at previous levels of demand and spend, with a view to asking the CSF Leadership Team to agree the budget for this project. It is likely that savings will need to be made compared to previous years, however, demand for this service is rising. This project offers an opportunity to design Supported Accommodation for young people that is delivered in partnership to meet the needs of Surrey's young people in a holistic way enabling young people to move on and achieve independence. A project team has been formed and consists of representatives from Finance, Procurement, Children's commissioning, Youth support service and Social care teams (Children Looked After, Care leavers and Placements). The 16+ accommodation strategic working group is the project tea...