Portsmouth Advice Service

Concepts

• portsmouth
• guidance and counselling
• portsmouth city council
• social welfare advice service
• guidance services
• portsmouth advice service
• generalist advice
• expert advice
• statutory services
• delivery of this service

Location

Portsmouth

Description

Portsmouth City Council ('the council') is inviting tenders from suitably qualified suppliers to provide an open access social welfare advice service for adults in Portsmouth. This will provide an opportunity for specialist and generalist advice to improve outcomes and maximise use of resources for all people living or working within the boundaries of the city, and for Portsmouth City Council tenants living in Havant. The Service will provide expert advice on housing, welfare benefits, debt, income maximisation, employment rights, general family issues, and consumer issues, and general advice on other queries, such as access to services and support. The overarching aim of the provision is to help prevent further crisis and improve outcomes for the individual whilst helping reduce the need for healthcare, social care and other statutory services. The Service will offer advice in-person from an accessible location or locations in Portsmouth and by telephone, email and other channels that meet the needs of customers. Tenderers will be required to provide their own accommodation for the delivery of this service which must be centrally located and easily accessible. All advice provided must be completely free of charge, confidential and impartial. The awarded provider should expect to receive over 12,000 customer contacts a year. The council is targeting to have awarded the contract on 5 August 2022 to allow for service commencement on 1 November 2022. The contract will be let for an initial term of 3 years which may then run for a further 2 years in increments set by the Council to a total maximum term of 5 years, subject to performance and at the sole option of the Council. The estimated total contract value IRO £295,000 pa, £1,475,000 over maximum 5 year contract term. This is based on the current funding for the services. The contract value is expected to remain in the region of £295,000 per annum for the term of the contract, however it may increase or decrease throughout the contract term subject to any known or unknown changes to budget allocation, variation of services, or addition of further associated services in order to meet changes in demand or the service delivery. An accurate forecast cannot be made regarding the level of further funding, if any, that may become available, but it is not expected to equate to an increase of more than approx. 10% and therefore approx. £1,622,500 total value over the 5 year maximum term. However, these estimates are not guarantees and are non-binding in terms of any maximum total upper value that may be let via the contracts. The procurement process will be undertaken in line with the following programme: - Issue FTS Contract Notice - 20 May 2022 - Issue Invitation to Tender - 20 May 2022 - ITT Return Deadline - 30 June 2022 at midday - Standstill period - 26 July 2022 - 4 August 2022 - Contract Award - 5 August 2022 - Service Commencement - 1 November 2022

Total Quantity or Scope

The service will provide people who live or work in Portsmouth with a wide range of social welfare advice to help vulnerable people resolve a range of issues and problems such as: - Income and benefits maximisation - Debt reduction - Improving health and wellbeing - Accessing the right health and social care services - Prevention of homelessness and other housing related issues - Protection of employment rights and consumer rights The service is currently delivered in a central location, in the heart of the city, close to areas of deprivation where the need for advice and support is greatest. It is also on main bus routes and accessible from all areas of the city. People can access the service via walk in, email, or telephone and request advice without making an appointment. Prior to the pandemic, the walk-in service was well used, with an average of around 12-15,000 customer enquiries per year, most of them in-person. In the year April 2020 to March 2021, there was a significant reduction on previous demand, with a total of 4,593 customer enquiries. As the city recovers from the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, demand has increased towards pre-pandemic levels, with 2,351 customers contacting the service in the third quarter of 2021/22, and increasing numbers of customers receiving advice in-person. There is an ongoing need for good quality, timely and customer-focused advice, due to the levels of deprivation in the City. Pre-pandemic, Portsmouth was ranked 59th most deprived out of 326 council areas in England. But the areas of deprivation are highly concentrated, with 15 of the 125 small areas in Portsmouth being in the most deprived 10% of small areas in England, and 8 of those areas being in the Charles Dickens ward, with the others being in Paulsgrove, Nelson, Fratton and St Thomas. Although the advice service is free to all and is not means-tested, people experiencing deprivation are much more likely to require the service, due to issues such as: - Homelessness and poor housing conditions - Use of high cost credit and unmanageable debts - Insecure and low paid work - Need for welfare benefits, including health and disability related benefits As we move into the recovery phase from the pandemic, and face new challenges around higher levels of debt, homelessness, unemployment, cost of living and mental health needs, we need to ensure that the advice service we commission responds to these emerging challenges. The provision of advice is central to Portsmouth's tackling poverty strategy, which is one of five priorities in Portsmouth's Health and Wellbeing Strategy . Tackling poverty depends on the delivery of good quality, independent, free advice and support to people in financial hardship, and requires the service to have an empowering approach, and to consider the root causes of the problems faced by customers, as well as addressing the immediate need. To reach all residents in Portsmouth in need of advice, the service will be required to work in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies and community groups in the city, to promote the role of advice and increase uptake. The commissioned advice service will have a customer-focussed approach, built around what matters to the customer, and understanding the service from the customer's point of view. The service will use measures to understand customer demand and outcomes, but will not have targets for outputs or be required to undertake activity that has no value for the customer. The service will develop over time as the needs of customers change, through collaboration between the provider and the council.

CPV Codes

• 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services
• 85312310 - Guidance services
• 85312400 - Welfare services not delivered through residential institutions

Indicators

• Bids should cover the whole contract.

Other Information

Application is via completed tender submission by the deadline stated above via the Council's e-sourcing system InTend which will be used to administrate the procurement process, the system can be accessed free of charge via the web link below: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home The initial contract term will be for 36 months with possibility of extending the term by a further 24 months to a maximum total term of 60 months in increments to be agreed, subject to performance and at the sole option of the Council. The contract value may increase or decrease throughout the contract term subject to any known or unknown changes to budget allocation, variation of services, or addition of further associated services in order to meet changes in demand or service delivery in accordance with Regulations 72 1) a) to e) of the Public Contracts Regulations (2015).