Advocacy Services

Concepts

• health and social work
• oldbury
• community and personal services
• social work

Location

Please refer to the ITT Documentation for further information

Description

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council invites tenders for the delivery of Advocacy Services. The purpose of the Advocacy Services is to provide high-quality support to Service Users who are legally eligible to receive advocacy under existing legislation, and to provide non-statutory advocacy to inpatients who are voluntarily in hospital due to their mental health diagnosis and treatment. These Services will ensure that as many people as possible in Sandwell who are legally eligible to access these services do access them, have their legal rights upheld, and are effectively supported to engage with the processes and decisions in relation to their health and social care needs. The services will ensure that the Service User's voice (or best interests in the case of IMCA/IMCA DOLS) are at the heart of any decisions made and ensure maximum choice, safety and independence for service users. The services in this contract are: 1. Care Act Advocacy 2. Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy / Deprivation of Liberty (IMCA/ IMCA DoLS) and Relevant Paid Person Representatives (RPPR) 3. Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) and Inpatient Mental Health Advocacy 4. Independent Complaints Advocacy (ICAS) The successful contractor will be required to deliver Advocacy Services in compliance with legislation including the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Amendment Act 2005 and the Amendment Act 2019, Mental Health Act 1983 and NHS and Social Care Act 2012, and to ensure all services are flexible and responsive to developments in legislation, policy and guidance, and to any variations in demand for any of the services. The successful contractor will also be required to work to outcomes, including: • Improved awareness and take up of Statutory Advocacy • Improved services and service practices Tenderers should note that the Council has a maximum budget for all services which is £246,242 per contract year, and a maximum total contract value over the duration of the contract being £984,968. Further details can be found in the Invitation To Tender (ITT) documentation. The duration of the contract will be four (4) years from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2028.

Total Quantity or Scope

Please refer to the ITT Documentation for further information.

CPV Codes

• 85000000 - Health and social work services
• 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

Indicators

• Bids should cover the whole contract.

Other Information

The Tender Document(s) will be made available to suppliers who Express Interest on the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Tendering Portal. To access the portal please click the following link https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sandwellmbc You will be required to log into an existing account or register a new one. Once logged in, from the top menu bar click on "Tenders" to list all the current opportunities. Once you have found the relevant opportunity you should click on "View Details" in order to Express an Interest. Closing date for submission of Tenders is 7 November 2023 at 13:00 hours. Participants are advised that as the services sought pursuant to this notice are adult social services and therefore subject to the "light touch regime" as set out in regulations 74-77 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 it is not subject to the full obligations of the Procurement Directive but are nonetheless subject to the general obligations of transparency, equal treatment and non-discrimination. Participants should not infer from any references to the authority using a process or tender documents which are similar to one of the mandatory procedures that the authority is following one of those procedures. The authority is following its own tender process akin to the open procedure for this procurement. The authority reserves the right to award the contract in whole or part, to cancel or amend the tender process, not award the contract in whole or part, and does not bind itself to accept any tender. The authority reserves the right to makes any changes it sees fit to the content and structure of the procurement competition and shall not be liable in any circumstances for any costs, or expenses incurred by any economic organisation in responding to this notice or in tendering for the contract. The contract is for the term of 4 years (1.4.24 - 31.3.28). Potential suppliers should note that in accordance with UK Government's policies on transparency the authority may decide to publish the ITT and other tender documents and text from the contract awarded subject to possible redaction at the discretion of the authority. To comply with the public sector equality duties the successful contractor will be expected to comply with the equality and diversity legislation in executing this contract. As a minimum standard the authority utilises the common standard for equalities in public procurement. If you are not currently subject to UK legislation, documentary evidence of your compliance of equivalent legislation which is designed to eliminate discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity in the Country where you are registered will be required. Under this procurement, the contractor will be required to support the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. The contract mainly reflects services currently being provided by existing organisations, and therefore the EC Acquired Rights Directive 2001/23/EC as amended and/or the transfer of undertakings (protection of employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) may apply to this contract. This opportunity will not be split up into multiple lots. This decision was made because due to the close link between Care Act and IMCA advocacy, that the provider should be the same to avoid the need for clients to repeat their stories. The Council will also get better value for money by working with one provider for all four forms of advocacy through reduced contract management, monitoring and administration. One contract also allows flexibility to meet changes in demand between the different elements of advocacy. This will also provide a more joined up and simpler referral process for clients at the front end. To tender for this provision, please visit https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sandwellmbc to access the Sandwell MBC In-tend Supplier Portal; from the homepage click "Register" to complete the registration process. If you require any further help in respect of the supplier portal please contact the In-tend Support Team on 0844 272 8810.