Soft Market Testing - Emergency Accommodation for Young People (Children in Need, Looked After and Care Leavers)

Tender description

Durham County Council (DCC) has a range of statutory duties towards children and young people who are vulnerable and in need. Under the Children’s Act 1989 and the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, the Council are required to ensure that young people open to services have access to suitable accommodation. The Young People’s Service (YPS) is a service for young people aged 15+ and includes those considered to be Children in Need (16+) and those who are either Looked After or Care Leavers. The main responsibility of the service is to safeguard young people, offer appropriate support, improve life chances and support transitions to independence. Therefore, a key priority of the service is to ensure appropriate accommodation options are in place and are accessible in a timely manner. For the purpose of this soft market testing, the Young People’s Service is considering options around small scale accommodation units for young people age 16 (beyond school leaving age) – 21years. Keywords: Care Leavers, Looked After Children, Children in need, Emergency accommodation, Young People