SCE0044 - Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation - Sanctuary Scheme - SOFT MARKET TEST

**THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION**

Leicester City Council (the Authority) are considering commissioning a Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation – Sanctuary Scheme service for Leicester City. It is anticipated that tenders for this service would be sought in January 2026, to enable a new contract to begin on 1st June 2026. The Authority is likely to use the Open Procedure in line with the Procurement Act 2023.

A Sanctuary Service is a survivor centred initiative which aims to make it possible for victim-survivors of domestic abuse to remain in their own homes, where it is safe for them to do so, where it is their choice, and where the perpetrator does not live in the accommodation. This is done by providing additional security – ‘installing a sanctuary’ – to the victims’ property or perimeter alongside the provision of specialist domestic abuse support.

The service is to be provided free of charge to applicants. The local authority will be looking for a provider to deliver a prompt and effective target hardening measures for domestic abuse victims in Leicester in collaboration with the specialist locality domestic abuse support service. The provider will need to work closely and efficiently with this service and robustly evidence clear impact of meeting local need.

This service will be provided within the boundaries of Leicester City.

As part of the commissioning process, the authority is undertaking a second Soft Market Test. The documentation published as part of this SMT now includes a draft specification highlighting in more detail the proposed key requirements for this service. This gives potential providers and other stakeholders the opportunity to express their interests and feed in their views about the potential service model and specification principles. The commissioners will use the information to appraise options and further develop the specification.

This process does not constitute a formal tender or other competitive bidding process and will not result in the letting of a Contract. The authority is using this process solely to test the market to gather information and ascertain the level of interest in this particular service. There are therefore no formal criteria which we will use to judge your responses, and it is not our intention to provide any feedback.