C0525 (PIE) - The Provision of Training on Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) - AWARD

On behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham City Council is commissioning the provision of Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) Training, including 12 months reflective practice, for frontline staff working on the West Midlands Housing First Pilot. This contract will be for circa £150k with the opportunity to for additional provision during the term of the project delivery which potentially runs to 2023, subject to funding. The total value of this contract will not exceed £180k.

Housing First is a specific approach to ending homelessness for those with multiple and complex needs. It is aimed at people who are homeless/ at risk of being homeless, providing sustainable tenancies and providing choice-led support and access to services in order to sustain the tenancy. For more information see https://hfe.homeless.org.uk/

Along with Liverpool and Greater Manchester the West Midlands is receiving government funding to pilot the Housing First approach to supporting vulnerable homeless people with multiple and complex needs. The West Midlands allocation is providing funding for Housing First to be delivered across the 7 Constituent Authorities within the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) areas: Birmingham City Council, Coventry City Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, Solihull Metropolitan Borough, Walsall Council, City of Wolverhampton Council.

Each of the 7 Local Authorities in the pilot has a delegated resource to put in place local arrangements for delivery but there will be close joint working with the providers across the region. There is a regional project board and there will be an independent evaluation team working across the region to capture outcomes and learning and report back to the MHCLG. The board has decided that the Support Worker service provider will operate within the principles of a Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) and have a PIE infrastructure in place.

Scope of the proposal

The frontline staff will be commissioned locally by the individual Local Authorities in the West Midlands. The PIE Training will be commissioned on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The main frontline provision is the Support Worker role which will be a mix of Navigator (Lead Worker) or Peer Mentor, for more information see the quotation documentation. All support workers in the West Midlands Housing First Pilot will need to be PIE trained and receive a programme of 'reflective sessions' for 12 months.

The Council will be using its free to use e-tendering system (in-tend) for the administration of this procurement process and potential suppliers must register with the system to be able to express an interest. If you wish to express an interest in this opportunity please click on the following link to access https://in-tendhost.co.uk/birminghamcc/ and submit your details to register. You will then be sent details on how to...