Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme (SVPRS) ‘Integration Support Service’

On 5 January 2016, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council (the Council) committed to settle 10-12 refugees. In 2016, two families, comprising of three and six individuals arrived in Southend-on-Sea. Casework support was provided by both Council Officers and through an existing Floating Support contract.
Due to the success of the Council’s first casework support project, a further commitment was made by Councillors on 19 June 2018 to extend the programme and bring an additional 30 refugees into the Borough . This was on the basis that each family could be housed in appropriate accommodation acquired by the Council in the private rented sector.
The make-up of these households and their specific needs will not be known until the Home Office provides the Council with their assessments during the ‘matching’ process in early 2020. Therefore as funding is awarded per individual the exact contract value will not be known until this time.
The Council has sourced and secured the accommodation and intends to procure a specialist provider to deliver a Support Service (the Service). This will consist of 12 months of intensive casework for each new family and a further programme of stepped down support up to a period of five years for settled households. This support will include the families that previously settled in 2016 and will require support at a less intensive level up to 2021.