Other community, social and personal services

Tender description

Accommodation and support services for defendants released from court and prison on bail and offenders released from custody who meet the necessary eligibility criteria including those released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) and an Additional Licence Cohort (ALC). The accommodation and support services allow both offenders and defendants to remain outside of the prison environment when they do not have an address to reside, providing them with accommodation and a range of support services to ensure they are safely managed within the community. The proposed delivery model is for a robust alternative to custody that is consistent with government direction to keep people out of prison wherever appropriate and possible. The Bail Accommodation and Support Service (BASS) model provides an opportunity for offenders to re-join the community and demonstrate their ability to rehabilitate into society with an aim for them to progress into settled accommodation after the BASS Service. The BASS Service consists of three parts; — sourcing and maintaining a contracted stock level of appropriate community based accommodation for the mixed cohort of offenders who would otherwise be in custody, to reside in for a period, currently of up to 12 weeks, — managing occupancy of the accommodation to meet contracted targets by coordinating HMPPS referrals for the service and allocating sufficient accommodation solutions that meet the needs of referred individuals, — provide community-based support to residents to address complex needs which are often underlying causing of offending. This can include, for example, support for drug or alcohol treatment requirements. This is an early call for market engagement. We would welcome contact from housing providers across the sector who are well experienced in working with offenders, delivering accommodation services, rehabilitation services, trauma-informed approaches etc. Whilst the service will be competed nationally, we are keen to work with providers of all sizes, the MoJ would encourage potential partnerships and consortiums that maximise its access to expertise across this market and accommodation stock across England and Wales. We are in the process of considering the most viable and effective ways of engaging with the market during this time and it may include virtual conferences and focus groups and eventually possibly more localised engagement sessions. To register early interest and ensure you are added to our mailing list, please notify us at BASS1@justice.gov.uk