2324-0076 Mental Health Employment Service

Islington Council invites suitable expressions of interest from suppliers for the 2324-0076 Mental Health Employment Support Service contract, to provide specialist support for adult residents in Islington who experience mental health problems to obtain and maintain paid employment.

Current status / Background
North Central London (NCL) Integrated Care System (ICS) has the highest prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI) compared to ICSs across London and England. Diagnosed SMI prevalence is particularly high in Camden and Islington. SMI prevalence has been increasing in recent years, and if the current trajectory continues, we expect to have just over 4,000 individuals with diagnosed SMI in Islington by 2030, an increase of over 100 individuals.

The NHS Long-Term Plan recognises that employment is a major factor in maintaining good mental health and is an important outcome of recovery for people who experience mental health problems. It stipulates the expansion of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) with the ambition to support an additional 35,000 people nationally with serious mental illnesses (SMI) by 2023/24, with a total of 55,000 people per year having access to?IPS services.?NHS England has provided significant additional investment to support implementation of the Long-Term Plan in meeting stretched IPS access targets by 2023/24 and beyond, across the five NCL boroughs.

Islington Council’s vision is that by 2030 there is a sustainable, inclusive, and locally rooted economy in the borough. The council’s commitment to promoting economic wellbeing for residents includes:

1. Empowering residents, particularly those who face the most disadvantage, to secure and retain good quality jobs that are well paid.
2. Providing targeted employment support through the Islington Working Partnership.
3. Actively promoting opportunities, such as volunteering, as a means of building skills and confidence for work.

An in-depth review of Islington mental health employment support provision was completed in March 2023. The review highlighted a number of opportunities to further develop and improve the employment support offer for residents who experience mental health problems, through redesign, collaboration and integration. Following this review, the council is now looking to commission a new contract for a mental health employment support service.

The requirement
Islington Council and North Central London Integrated Care Board are looking to procure a Mental Health Employment Support Service that will provide specialist support to residents who experience mental health problems in Islington to obtain and maintain paid employment.

The service will deliver tailored mental health support that is effective and provides a positive experience within an inclusive community-based setting. The service will work collaboratively with other mental health, community, and universal services to realise the vision.

The specialist Mental Health Employment Support Service will work closely in partnership with, and complement, the council’s in-house adult employment service iWork, and forms part of the wider Islington Working Partnership, a network of partners who support residents into employment.

The new contract will require a successful bidder to have access to premises, based in the borough, that provides an inclusive, welcoming community atmosphere. Further details on service requirements are outlined in the Service Specification.

Lots
The service will be procured without lots to ensure that the maximum interest in tendering for the service is achieved. Commissioners are confident that the service is best delivered by a single supplier rather than multiple ones.

TUPE [Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations]
Potential providers must be aware that TUPE may or may not apply to this service. Further details will be available in the invitation to tender.

Contract Period
The contract period will be for 36 months from an estimated start date 1 April 2024 with option to extend up to a further 36 months.

Contract Value
The estimated total value of this contract is £2,916,894 over the 72 months term of the contract. This is based on £486,149 per annum. However the Council is confident the bids received will be lower than the estimated value.

There is a maximum fixed budget for this service of £2,916,894 . Any bids over this amount will be disqualified.

Award criteria
The contract will be awarded to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations. MEAT for this contract is quality 80% and cost 20%. Further details will be provided in the invitation to tender.

Cost 20%
Quality 80%

Quality made up of:
Service delivery model 30%
Social Value 20%
Service user engagement and coproduction 15%
Partnerships 15%

Total 100%

Tenderers should be aware that we reserve the right to hold site visits during the tender process. Site visits and presentations will be for verification/clarification purposes of the written submission.

Procurement Process
This contract is over the threshold at which we are required to publish public procurement notices for new procurements to the UK e-notification service, Find a Tender (FTS).

This procurement will be conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, under Chapter 3 Section 7 Social and Other Specific Services (known as the “light touch” regime). Under Regulation 76 the council is free to establish a procedure, provided the procedure is sufficient to ensure compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment of economic operators (service providers).

The procedure the Council has designed is based on the open procedure. All economic operators (service providers) who successfully express an interest will automatically have access to the tender documents. Standard pre-selection questions will be part of the tender response and will need to be passed before evaluation of price and quality aspects. Further details will be available in the procurement documents.