Social work and related services

Tender description

Lancashire County Council is exploring the use of social impact bond type solutions to enable the commissioning of new edge of care services aimed at both safely and appropriately reducing the number of days that children looked after spend in care and improving their education and EET trajectories. The council is seeking the input and views of service providers to this process. This is in the context of a Life Chances Fund grant application. Lancashire County Council is part of a successful Expression of Interest application to the DCMS Life Chances Fund (LCF) that is supporting the development of a business case for new edge of care services commissioned on an outcomes payment basis and utilising social investment. The social impact bond type solution aims to both safely and appropriately reduce the number of days that children looked after spend in care, and continue to improving their educational engagement and Education, Employment or Training (EET) trajectories when not in care. The business case is being developed based on the following principles: — the new services are targeted on areas of high demand and complement existing service provision, — the service solutions are developed to reflect and respond to any differing needs and cohorts across the targeted areas of high demand, — evidence based Interventions and promising practice are applied as much as possible in developing the local solutions, — equal emphasis is given to both diversion and reunification from care. The council is holding market events with service providers and social investors /SIB intermediary organisations to inform the full application to the LCF and the business case as a whole. At this stage there will be separate market events as this is not the commencement of a SIB procurement process. The market event for service providers is to: gain input and views on the emerging cohorts and needs; collaborate in identifying relevant interventions; and jointly explore potential outcomes frameworks. The market event for social investors /SIB intermediary organisations is to: share the analysis and thoughts to date; test the investment case for the emerging cohorts and interventions; discuss potential outcome payment mechanisms; and jointly address any key risk mitigations.