Portsmouth City Council Core Homeless Service Consultation

{
  "id": "077737-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planning"
  ],
  "date": "2026-08-14T14:35:41+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-06e4c4",
  "buyer": {
    "id": "GB-PPON-PCNL-5714-PRZV",
    "name": "Portsmouth City Council"
  },
  "tender": {
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-06e4c4",
    "lots": [
      {
        "id": "1",
        "status": "planning",
        "hasRenewal": true,
        "suitability": {
          "sme": true
        },
        "contractPeriod": {
          "endDate": "2030-03-31T23:59:59+01:00",
          "startDate": "2027-04-01T00:00:00+01:00",
          "maxExtentDate": "2032-03-31T23:59:59+01:00"
        }
      }
    ],
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "1",
        "relatedLot": "1",
        "deliveryAddresses": [
          {
            "region": "UKJ31",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          },
          {
            "region": "UKJ35",
            "country": "GB",
            "countryName": "United Kingdom"
          }
        ],
        "additionalClassifications": [
          {
            "id": "70333000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Housing services"
          },
          {
            "id": "85311000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Social work services with accommodation"
          },
          {
            "id": "85312000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Social work services without accommodation"
          },
          {
            "id": "85320000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Social services"
          },
          {
            "id": "98000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Other community, social and personal services"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "Portsmouth City Council Core Homeless Service Consultation",
    "value": {
      "amount": 2500000,
      "currency": "GBP",
      "amountGross": 3000000
    },
    "status": "planning",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "Portsmouth City Council (the Council) is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise to inform the future procurement strategy for a new contract for the provision of housing supported services for single adults and couples without children, based within the City of Portsmouth. The Contract agreement will last for three years, plus extensions to be determined, and is intended to be used for the provision of housing related support to eligible homeless adults, funded by Portsmouth City Council.  \nTo ensure effective engagement with organisations, and in the interests of transparency and fair and equal treatment set out within the Procurement Act 23, the Council has instigated this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) process via issue of a PME Notice on the Central Government Find a Tender Service / Central Digital Platform.\nThe Council would like to consult organisations on the proposed scope, content of the contract, and specification.  Consequently, we have produced this short consultation document and would welcome input into this process from interested parties.  The deadline for receipt of responses is 17:00 on Tuesday 8th September 2026. Responses should be returned using the correspondence function on In-Tend. Portsmouth City Council Electronic Tendering Site - Home\nViews of perspective tenderers are very important to us, will be taken into consideration, and may have a direct bearing on the final service model and tender documentation.  The purpose of the consultation is to confirm that the facilities exist within the City to be able to deliver the required services.\nBackground \nThe Housing (Homeless Persons) Act (1977), Housing Act (1996), and the Homelessness Act (2002), placed statutory duties on local housing authorities to ensure that advice and assistance to individuals who are homeless or threatened with homelessness is available free of charge. More recently, the Homeless Reduction Act (2017) placed further emphasis on the need for housing authorities to focus on the prevention of homelessness by providing more client- focussed and personalised support. The Act introduced two further statutory duties to prevent and to relieve homelessness. \nThis Service forms part of the fulfilling of those duties by Portsmouth City Council's Housing Needs, Advice and Support service (HNAS).  The specific aim of the Service is to provide emergency accommodation to those in need and to help maximise physical, intellectual, emotional and social potential and promote freedom of decision making for individuals consistent with their wellbeing, wishes and abilities.\nThe Council are conducting the PME exercise to:\n•\tProvide a platform to share information on: \no\tCurrent scope & potential future demand\no\tEnvisaged contracting strategy options\no\tChanging financial climate and associated pressures\no\tKey Council policies and future decision-making processes\n•\tReview and understand:\no\tMarket capacity and capability to deliver service requirements \no\tSuppliers current market presence \no\tCurrent contracting model market norms \no\tMarket interest and preference in respect of potential delivery model options  \no\tExisting pricing models \no\tDevelopments of industry accreditations, compliance and best practice \n•\tTo gauge interest from different types of suppliers, including both regional Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large providers\n•\tInform the further development of the procurement strategy, process and programme \n•\tManage potential conflicts of interest early in the process \n•\tEnsure compliance of any subsequent procurement process with the increased transparency obligations, risk assessment and conflict assessment requirements of the Procurement Act 2023\nProposed Scope\nThe Council proposes that the scope and detail of the Service will consist of three distinct service elements. At this stage, the Council's intention is that these elements will be combined into a single contract opportunity rather than being offered as separate lots. The three service elements are:\nService Element 1 - Accommodation-based support for service users presenting with a need for intensive support\nProvision of intensive support to at least 35 single adults or couples without children, working with service users that may present with a wide range of support needs. \nThe Council is not making available any accommodation to the provider for the provision of this area of the Service.  Instead, the provider must make its own direct arrangements for such accommodation to be available to the provider for the purpose of providing the services.\nService Element 2 - Accommodation-based support for service users presenting with a need for daytime support\nProvision of housing-related support to at least 25 single adults or couples without children, working with service users that may present with a wide range of support needs. \nThe Council is not making available any accommodation to the provider for the provision of this area of the Service.  Instead, the provider must make its own direct arrangements for such accommodation to be available to the provider for the purpose of providing the services.\nService Element 3 - Dispersed \"floating\" tenancy support for service users presenting with varying support needs\nProvision of community floating support designed to help improve service users' abilities to live independently in the community; this is a short-term service comprising of floating housing and wellbeing related support provided to single adults and couples without children who may be at risk of homelessness.",
    "communication": {
      "futureNoticeDate": "2026-10-01T23:59:59+01:00"
    },
    "specialRegime": [
      "lightTouch"
    ],
    "aboveThreshold": true,
    "mainProcurementCategory": "services"
  },
  "parties": [
    {
      "id": "GB-PPON-PCNL-5714-PRZV",
      "name": "Portsmouth City Council",
      "roles": [
        "buyer"
      ],
      "address": {
        "region": "UKJ31",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Portsmouth",
        "postalCode": "PO1 2AL",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Civic Offices, Guildhall Square"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
          {
            "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
            "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
            "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
          }
        ]
      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "PCNL-5714-PRZV",
        "scheme": "GB-PPON"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "email": "procurement@portsmouthcc.gov.uk"
      }
    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
    "documents": [
      {
        "id": "077737-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077737-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-08-14T14:35:41+01:00"
      }
    ],
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "scheduled",
        "dueDate": "2026-09-08T23:59:59+01:00",
        "description": "PME & Procurement Administration\nThe Council will administrate the preliminary market engagement and future formal procurement process using its e-sourcing system In-Tend which will be used for:\n•\tAccess to and issue of information and documentation \n•\tClarification requests and response\n•\tExpression of interest submission \n•\tAllocation of 1-1 meeting slots\n•\tIssue of tender documentation\n•\tSubmission of tender responses\n•\tIssue of Award Decision notification\nAll communications, with the Council, must be conducted via In-Tend using the correspondence function which can be accessed for free using the following link: \nPortsmouth City Council Electronic Tendering Site - home\nAny queries or requests for clarification about this Preliminary Market Engagement Process must be submitted via the 'correspondence' function on In-Tend. It is the responsibility of Organisations to monitor the system, which will issue automated email notifications to registered emails, for clarification responses, meeting slot allocations etc.\nPME Supporting information\nThe following documents have been included as part of the PME Briefing pack via the e-tendering portal, Intend - \n•\tPME Brief \n•\tPME Questionnaire\n•\tConflict of Interest Statement\n•\tConflicts of Interest Declaration Form\n•\tIntend Guidance, Supporting Information & Clarification Process.\nAll documents issued in respect of this PME process are made available in good faith. Whilst the information in the PME documents is believed to be correct at the time of issue, neither the Council nor its advisors accept any liability for its accuracy, adequacy or completeness, nor is any warranty (express or implied) given as to its accuracy, adequacy or completeness.\nSuppliers should refer to the latest version of the PME Brief (this document) for an up-to-date list of PME documentation. For full details of the clarification process Suppliers should review the Intend Guidance, Supporting Information & Clarification Process.\nPME Questionnaire Return Requirements \nPlease submit your return by 17:00 on Tuesday 8th September 2026 via the In-Tend correspondence function.\nPortsmouth City Council Electronic Tendering Site - Home\nPlease note that responses should be submitted using the Correspondence function within In-Tend and not via the tender return submission function. \nParticipation in this PME exercise is entirely voluntary. Organisations are under no obligation to respond and any decision not to participate will not preclude an organisation from participating in any subsequent procurement process relating to these services.\nSuppliers engaging in this exercise will not receive any preferential treatment, advantage or additional consideration in any future procurement exercise. \nParticipation in the PME should not be regarded as an indication of selection, shortlisting, contract award, or a guarantee of future work. \nThe information received through this consultation will assist the Council in reviewing the proposed scope, specification, procurement strategy and commercial arrangements to help ensure that any subsequent procurement is designed in a way that promotes effective competition and enables participation from a diverse range of suppliers, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). \nWhilst the Council will endeavour to consider all responses received, suppliers should note that responses submitted after the stated deadline may not be taken into account when developing the procurement strategy, specification and tender documentation.\nEnvisaged Future Procurement Process & Programme\nThe Council are considering running the procurement process using an Open Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023, though the Council could use a single stage Competitive Flexible Procedure to incorporate additional flexibilities in respect of the approach to evaluating returns i.e. the inclusion of interviews, presentations etc. \nFollowing completion of the procurement process, the Council intends to award a single contract to the most economically advantageous tender.\nCentral Digital Platform\nIn readiness for issue of the tender, any interested Suppliers may register on the governments Central Digital Platform, as the Council is required to review information held there for any potential grounds for exclusion and undertake a debarment check.  Guidance on accessing the Central Digital Platform can be found here - \nSuppliers: How to register your organisation and first administrator on Find a Tender in three easy steps (HTML) - GOV.UK\nPME & Procurement Process timetable\nThe Council are intending to run the PME and the subsequent envisaged tender process under the following Procurement Programme:\nPublish PME Notice -Friday 14th August 2026\nPME Consultation Questionnaire return deadline\t- Tuesday 8th September 2026\nIssue of Tender Notice Invitation to Tender - Thursday 1st October 2026\nRequest for clarification deadline - Monday 26th October 2026 by 16:00\nTender Return Deadline - Thursday 5th November 2026 by 12:00\nTender Evaluation and Potential Interviews - Friday 6th November 2026 to Wednesday 2nd December 2026 \nNotification of award decision, issue of assessment summaries and publication of Contract Award Notice - Monday 7th December 2026\nStandstill Period - Monday 7th December 2026 to Wednesday 16th December 2026\nPreferred bidder secured and confirmation of contract award - Thursday 17th December 2026\nContract Start - Thursday 1st April 2027\nA final timetable will be issued as part of the tender documentation."
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}