Other community, social and personal services

Tender description

The provision of a service to prevent and minimise social exclusion. For the avoidance of doubt this is not a call for competition, this is to initiate a soft market testing process. Staffordshire County Council wishes to commission a new service aimed at preventing and minimising financial exclusion. A service that families who are at risk of, or are financially excluded can self-refer to, or be referred by professionals who have the authority to act on behalf of the family. For financial advice and guidance, via, face to face, telephone, website or out-reach. The service should be flexible, increasing access to local families, including weekends, evenings and home visits if the service user cannot easily access the service. The provider will offer a range of online opportunities for families to access information, including through access to a website and through email. The provider will offer an outreach service to families in areas of greatest need and deliver a regular drop in/appointments outreach service. The service will be specifically tailored towards local families meeting the Building Resilient Families and Communities (BRFC) criteria; • families experiencing or at risk of worklessness, homelessness or financial difficulties; • staying safe in the community: Parents or children or involved in crime or anti-social behaviour; • living well, improving physical and mental health and wellbeing: parents and children with a range of health problems; • improving children’s life chances: children of all ages who need additional support from the earliest years to adulthood. The provider will offer the service, and/or refer to other agencies where appropriate. The provider will also assist the family to contact other agencies. The service must be provided and physically accessible in each of the eight (8) Staffordshire Districts/Boroughs. The service will be delivered to meet the needs of Staffordshire families in accordance with the identified trends and demand based on the current demographics. It is anticipated that the service will be open to families (including outreach services) for a minimum of forty-five (45) hours per week (on average over any one month). An advice line will be open for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week. The specific service principles which underpin the delivery of the services are to: • respond to the needs of local BRFC families and tailor support appropriately; • have respect for the diversity of the local community and prevent any discriminatory practices; • increase local access to financial support and advice. The current contracts, which are in place for the delivery of some of these services come to an end in May 2021. There are two proposals that the Council is considering for the service delivery model and would wish to gain feedback on: • one countywide contract, with a lead provider/consortia who may wish to subcontract service delivery to other providers to ensure that each district is served appropriately; • one contract lot per district/borough, where providers may tender for one or more contract lot. The total estimated annual budget for the provision of this service is GBP 500 000. The budget allocation is subject to review on an annual basis. The Council would like to invite providers of these services to an online market engagement event, to gain your views on the future model and contracting arrangements. The online event will be held on 11 December 2020 at 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. To register for a place at the event and for joining details we would like to invite organisations interested in this opportunity to email ersuline.whittle@staffordshire.gov.uk We also recommend you register at on the Council's e-tendering system https://supplierlive.proactisp2p.com/Account/Login