Direct Payment Support Services

Essex County Council ("the Council") is seeking to commission a new Direct Payments Support Service (DPSS) to enable people who are ordinarily resident within the administrative boundaries of Essex (excluding the unitary authority areas of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea) to manage their direct payment.

This procurement will incorporate the following lots:

Lot 1: Independent Information and Advice Service and Personal Assistant (PA) Support Hub

Lot 2: Payment/Payroll/Account Management services

Further details regarding the Council's requirements for each of these lots can be found within the relevant service specification which will be published on the Council's e-tendering portal, ProContract and can be accessed via:

https://procontract.due-north.com/

Please register for a user account to gain access to the procurement documentation for this opportunity. The Council envisages that this procurement will be published on the aforementioned e-sourcing portal during the week commencing Monday 17th October 2022 with an estimated deadline for tender submissions of Friday 2nd December 2022 at 12:00 noon.

Prospective bidders are advised that the Council will act akin to a central purchasing body in relation to this procurement opportunity in conjunction with Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) who will access but not formally be a party to the ensuing contract. In addition, please note that whilst the ensuing DPSS contracts will primarily be used to support people with either social care and/or mental health needs to manage their personal budgets via a Direct Payment; it will also be open for the following classification of users within the administrative area of Essex: NHS Healthcare (including local Integrated Care Systems).

In addition, bidders are advised that this service will be commissioned under an initial three (3) year term with the option to extend for a further two (2) years at the Council's sole discretion; thereby resulting in a maximum possible contract duration of five (5) years.

Additional information:

The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement. Candidates are welcome to bid for either single or multiple lots of this procurement.

Candidates are advised this procurement will be conducted via the Council's e-tendering portal, ProContract, which can be accessed via the following website:

https://procontract.due-north.com/Login

Please register for a user account to gain access to the procurement documentation for this opportunity.

The Council envisages that this procurement will be published on the aforementioned e-sourcing portal on Wednesday 19th October 2022. However, the Council reserves the right to postpone the publication in order to ensure suitable assurance that the tender documents are fit for purpose. Once the procurement is published a corresponding advertisement will be available via the Council's e-tendering portal, ProContract to enable prospective bidders to access, view and respond to this opportunity.

In order to submit an effective expression of interest in this opportunity, candidates must utilise the functionality within the Council's e-tendering portal.