Housing Related Support: Flexible Purchasing System

The Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is establishing a Flexible Purchasing System to procure Housing Related Support Services aimed at helping adults who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless maintain independent living in the community. The system is designed to streamline access to a single pathway of support, allowing resources to be mobilised rapidly and service capacity to be optimised across the council’s region. The procurement will be conducted over an initial five‑year period, with the possibility of extension subject to further cabinet approval.

The FPS will be divided into distinct lots, each specifying a particular type of Housing Related Support service. Lot 1 will cover Floating Support, which is a non‑accommodation based service providing flexible assistance and case management; Lot 2 will focus on Accommodation with Support, delivering supported housing placements to assist individuals in achieving long‑term stability; and Lot X will encompass miscellaneous or future Housing Related Support services that may be defined and added in subsequent rounds. Providers are required to demonstrate the capability and capacity to deliver these services within the County of Rotherham, and may also be considered by other permitted purchasers such as Barnsley, Doncaster, and Sheffield councils who may create their own contracts under the same system.

All applicants must be able to meet the council’s contractual and regulatory obligations, including compliance with TUPE requirements and health and social work service standards, and must be willing to work within the terms and conditions set by the lead authority, RMBC, while respecting the autonomy of any permitted purchaser engaging independently.

Housing Related Support Services are non-statutory services that support people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless to live independently in the community. It is designed to complement the Council's offer to alleviate and prevent homelessness.

The Council's aim is to implement a single pathway of support for adults who struggle to live independently and maintain a stable housing situation, where resource can be quickly accessed to meet needs, especially around complexity and where service capacity can be better utilised.

The Council is seeking applications from providers with the capability and capacity to deliver Housing Related Support services in Rotherham.
Applicants can read the Cabinet Paper dated 17 October 2022 (including the Equality Impact Assessment - part A and part B) titled Housing Related Support Pathway - proposal for future commissioning which sought the approval for the procurement process to establish this FPS and procure a range of Housing Related Support services.
The FPS will be established on the basis of an initial 5-year period; the system may continue beyond this date subject to further Cabinet approval.
The FPS will comprise of a number of separate Lots. Each Lot will specify a Housing Related Support service as follows:-
Lot 1 - Floating Support (Non-Accommodation Based)
Lot 2 - Accommodation with Support
Lot X - Miscellaneous/Future Housing Related Support

RMBC is acting as the lead authority to appoint providers for the provision of the services detailed in the application documentation. Applicants should also be aware that Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, City of Doncaster Council and Sheffield City Council are named as a Permitted Purchaser and may choose to access the Flexible Purchasing System and may create additional lots within the scope of Housing Related Support FPS, without creating any obligation on behalf of them to do so. The Permitted Purchaser will be independently responsible for the award of their own contract, which may incorporate the individual authorities Terms and Conditions.
RMBC shall have no responsibility for and shall not be liable whatsoever in relation to the conduct of the named authorities and have no liability related to the performance or non-performance of those contracts between the providers and the Permitted Purchaser.

Please note the IMPORTANT INFORMATION section of this notice and particularly the closing date for the 1st round of applications to join this FPS.
Contract is suitable for SMEs?: Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs?: Yes
Links

• https://uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=67652&B=UK
• Additional data

Additional Text

Duration
Value
TUPE
IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Further to the recent market engagement event.

For those providers who were unable to attend on the day please contact the commissioning team at phcommissioning@rotherham.gov.uk who will be able to share the slides presented.

As the contracts are well aligned and in scope for the Council's CYPS 16+ Accommodation and Support FPS , this has now been identified as the Council's preferred route to market.

The intention is therefore to run a further competition via this FPS to procure these contracts.

Organisations who are not appointed to the FPS may apply in line with the latest application round published on YORtender at https://yortender.eu-supply.com project reference 48050.

The application download date for next evaluation round is 16/08/2023.

It is the Council's intention to publish the further competition activity via the FPS in September following the completion of the latest application evaluation round.