ESCC et al Supported Housing Strategy - Pre-Market Engagement

Note to potential providers: Participation in this pre-market engagement does not commit any authority to commission the needs assessment. Decisions on how the authorities proceed will be made late March 2026.

Supported Housing Strategy - Pre-Market Engagement

Introduction and background

The local authorities in Sussex (Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Brighton & Hove City Council, Chichester District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, Hastings Borough Council, Horsham District Council, Lewes District Council, Mid-Sussex District Council, Rother District Council, Wealden District Council, West Sussex County Council and Worthing Borough Council) are working together to prepare for the new Support Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. The authorities are exploring the potential commissioning of a consultant to carry out a Pan-Sussex strategic needs assessment, which will inform local Supported Housing Strategies.

Under the new regulations local authorities are responsible for producing strategies setting out the current supply of supported housing in their area and plans to address any gaps in provision. The regulations apply to:

• older people's supported housing - for example, extra care and retirement or sheltered housing
• long-term supported housing - for example, supported living
• transitional supported housing - for example, transitional accommodation-based supported housing

Local authorities can also include other forms of housing with care and support which help to meet local needs, for example floating support, Housing First and supported lodgings.

The strategic needs assessment will help inform the strategy priorities and action plans by providing:

• net additional supported housing required over the next 5 years, for the region as a whole and by local housing authority area
• net additional supported housing required over the next 10 years - cumulative of the requirements over the next 5 years, for the region as a whole and by local housing authority area
• recommendations about the most effective use of supported housing, including opportunities to expand or re-purpose existing provision
• recommendations about opportunities for further collaboration, market development and partnership working to enable a sustainable market with adequate supply and capacity

The local authorities recognise significant financial and demographic pressures on housing, adult social care and health services. Supported housing strategies will be aligned with the principles of personalised care, independence, inclusion, and affordable, sustainable provision, and should support the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective accommodation that meets the future needs of the population.

The consultancy will support the local authorities by:

• Providing a consistent understanding of the current provision of supported housing in Sussex
• Identifying gaps and over-provision of different types of supported housing
• Making recommendations about opportunities for optimum use of supported housing
• Supporting the authorities to take an evidenced-based approach to developing principles and priorities for their new supported housing strategies

Strategic Drivers

• Meeting the requirements of the new Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023
• Developing a strategic approach to supported housing provision, making the best use of existing stock and addressing gaps in provision
• Identifying opportunities for collaboration and partnership working to support the ongoing development of the sector

The strategic needs assessment will need to meet the statutory guidance on the development of support housing strategies can be found at Local Supported Housing Strategies - GOV.UK

Scope of work and deliverables - Strategic Needs Assessment

Step 1: Map the current supply of supported housing - identify and categorise existing supported housing provision in the local area to establish a clear understanding of current stock and capacity. The consultancy will then need to give a baseline of current supported housing stock and pipeline across Sussex and by local housing authority area.

The consultancy should consider, housing benefit data on specified accommodation claims, commissioned services data and intelligence, voids and occupancy information, published information by the Regulator of Social Housing data and Care Quality Commission and Ofsted.

Step 2: Understand the potential wider housing with care and support population - assess population groups who may require housing with care and support, such as older and disabled people and other people who may have care or support needs. This step includes using demographic and strategic data to understand wider demand. The consultancy will then need to give an estimate of total population who may need housing with care and support across the region and by individual local housing authority area.

The consultancy should draw on ONS population projections, relevant strategies and assessments and wider research on social and economic trends.

Step 3: Identify supported housing need within the potential wider housing with care and support population - identify the subset of people within the wider housing with care and support population who require supported housing specifically. This step includes analysis of service data, referrals, waiting lists, risk indicators, and engagement with stakeholders. The consultancy will then need to provide an estimate of the number of people requiring supported housing, across Sussex and by local housing authority area.

The consultancy should consider evidence from commissioned data and intelligence, referrals and waiting lists, homelessness case level information collection (H-CLIC) and rough sleeping snapshots and engagement with residents and their family/carers, commissioners, providers and other local services.

Step 4: Estimate net additional supported housing need - quantify the gap between current supported housing supply (step 1) and identified supported housing need (step 3). The consultancy should provide an estimate of the net additional supported housing required over the next 5 years and the net additional supported housing need over the next 10 years for Sussex and by local housing authority area.

Final Deliverables

• Needs Assessment Report
• Presentation and reporting to Boards as required

Consultant Requirements

Essential Expertise

• Extensive and national knowledge of adult social care, housing with care, accessible housing, and relevant legislation.
• Evidenced expert experience in delivering strategies for local government or public sector clients.
• Strong project management, data analysis, and stakeholder engagement skills.

Desirable Expertise

• Experience working across multi-authority and two-tier regional partnerships.
• Experience analysing Housing Benefit specified accommodation datasets.
• Familiarity with ASC, homelessness, and housing commissioning systems.

Data and Resources

The consultant will have access to:

• Local demographic and service data (e.g., JSNA, ASC data returns, housing stats)
• Liquid Logic and ContrOCC
• Existing service reviews and needs assessments
• Relevant internal officers and stakeholder contacts
• Recent or concurrent homelessness work (to be aligned as necessary)
• Other systems on request

All data will be shared in accordance with data protection legislation. Consultants may be required to sign a data-sharing agreement.

Meeting / Liaison Arrangements

One authority (East Sussex Count Council) will act as the lead contracting authority on behalf of the partnership.

The consultant will need to provide monthly updates to the pan-Sussex Supported Housing Reference Group, including emerging findings and recommendations. The meetings are held via Microsoft Teams.

Timescales

• Needs Assessment Start Date: June 2026
• Draft Needs Assessment Submission: September 2026
• Final Assessment: October 2026