Portsmouth Advice Service

Portsmouth City Council is procuring an open‑access social welfare advice service for adults within the city’s boundaries and for local Housing tenants located outside Portsmouth. The service will deliver specialist and generalist guidance on housing, welfare benefits, debt and income maximisation, employment rights, consumer affairs and family issues, as well as broader queries regarding access to services and support networks. All advice will be delivered free of charge, confidentially and impartially, through a central in‑person site, telephone, e‑mail, and other customer‑appropriate communication channels; home visits will be offered when deemed necessary.

The contractual expectation is to support 1,150 people per month, preventing crisis and addressing root causes of financial, housing and social instability. The service must have Financial Conduct Authority registration for specialist debt counselling and employ or work through approved intermediaries for Debt Relief Orders. Early intervention, outcome measurement in financial wellbeing, housing stability, rights access, family and social stability, health and wellbeing, digital and self‑advocacy, and system‑level benefits are the key performance metrics.

All technical capabilities, including registration with the FCA, approval as a Debt Relief Order intermediary, and provision of confidential, free, accessible advice via multiple channels, are mandatory for procurement eligibility.

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. The service will provide specialist and generalist advice to residents and improve outcomes for anyone living or working within the boundaries of the city and also be accessible by Portsmouth City Council (Portsmouth Homes) tenants accommodated outside of the city.
Service background
The purpose of the Service is to: "Provide the right advice and appropriate support to help me solve my problem".
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 service will hold registration with the Financial Conduct Authority for specialist debt counselling, and employ or have volunteers that are approved intermediaries for Debt Relief Orders.
All advice provided must be completely free of charge, confidential and impartial. The Service will be accessible in-person from a central location(s) within Portsmouth, as well as by telephone, email, and other channels that meet customers' needs. Home visits will also be offered where deemed necessary and appropriate.
The key outcomes for the service are centred around; financial wellbeing, housing stability, access to rights and entitlements, family and social stability, health and wellbeing, digital and self-advocacy, and service/system level outcomes.
The service will aim to provide early help to prevent customers reaching crisis point, and for those customers in crisis, it will help them to find solutions and address the underlying root causes to reduce the risk of future crisis.
This tender is for the re-procurement of an existing service. The current provider, You Trust, were awarded the contract following an advertised tender process undertaken in 2022. TUPE will apply to this service.
In 2024/25, 14,288 people accessed the service with 13,666 receiving direct support. The service assists approximately 1,150 people per month and around 265 per week.
The highest areas of demand currently are: welfare benefits, debt, housing, consumer issues, and other issues including family and employment rights.
Contract value
The contract is being funded via two sources. The council's internal department budget will be used to fund the core contract at a value of £295,000 per annum and £1,475,000 over the maximum 5-year term.
External funding via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (which runs for 3-years, 1 April 2026 - 31 March 2029) will be used to supplement the core contract for the purpose of providing outreach and community-based provision with the aim of increasing accessibility. This funding totals £241,666 over the initial 3-year contract term.
The procurement will be run in accordance with the following timetable, however the council may depart from this where needed.
1. Contract notice published on FTS 27 May 2026
2. Procurement documents available on In-tend 27 May 2026
3. Deadline for requests for clarification 17 June 2026
4. Tender return deadline 3 July 2026
5. Evaluation & Moderation 6 July - 24 July 2026
6. Interviews/Presentations w/c 27 July 2026
7. Final evaluation of tenders completed 31 July 2026
8. Notify suppliers 18 August 2026
9. Standstill period 19 - 28 August 2026
10. Contract award 1 September 2026
11. Start of Contract 1 December 2026

Contract location: UKJ31
Communication: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home
Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: En
This is a recurrent procurement: Yes
Enquiry deadline: 2026-06-17T23:59:00+01:00
Submission address and any special instructions: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home
Tenders may be submitted electronically: allowed
Award decision date (estimated): 2026-08-18T23:59:59+01:00
Recurring procurement:
Publication date of next tender notice (estimated): 2029-05-15T23:59:59+01:00

Lot number: 1
Lot value (estimated)

1.716.666,00 GBP including VAT
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals: The contract term will be for 3 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 5 years.
Information about options. Options: Yes

Award criteria:

Name	Type	Weighting
Quality	quality	95%
Cost	cost	5%