Prior information notice Islington Specialist Mental Health Employment Service

The London Borough Islington is considering tendering for Specialist Mental Health Employment Services. It is anticipated that the contract notice relating to this PIN will be published in October 2021. Description of the procurement Islington is committed to expanding and improving the support available for people to get, keep and enjoy their jobs and wishes to procure a specialist supported employment service for residents with mental health illness in Islington, including an element of Individual Placement Support (IPS). Providers will be expected to increase the number of people with moderate and serious mental illness accessing and retaining work by delivering a mixed-model approach. Providers should be able to offer a range of services and approaches to meet the needs of people with mental health challenges to seek and secure employment. The service should provide evidence-based interventions to support people with mental illness to gain and retain paid employment, or maximise their potential to work. Providers will be expected to work alongside professionals in primary and secondary care to enable people to return to work or retain their job following a period of mental ill health. Comparative contracts indicate that the service will be expected to support 100 people to begin paid employment, both full and part time; and that 100 people will be registered for the IAG element of the contract. The expectations for this service are that it will be comprised of three distinct components: • Information, advice and guidance (IAG). • Individual Placement Support (IPS). • An active volunteering component, to be developed by the provider. The service will be expected to be an integrated, personalised supported employment service targeted at people with mental health needs in Islington; and make best use of other Islington resources in the community, to provide as many opportunities and experiences as necessary, that address a person’s needs, beyond employment and training. To demonstrate our commitment to social value a weighting of 20% of the award criteria will be allocated to social value. It is essential that the council’s spending, both direct and with suppliers, has the maximum positive impact for Islington people, especially the most disadvantaged. We want to make sure as much as possible is spent within Islington, and that the council’s purchasing decisions support Islington people through creating employment, skills training and other opportunities. We also want to support and enable Islington businesses, particularly small businesses, successfully tender for council contracts. This is not an invitation to tender nor does it preclude or favour eligibility to participate in the formal procurement once it starts. Details in this PIN are subject to being updated or changed in the final contract notice. The contract notice will be published on the e-tendering system used by Islington Council, the London Tenders Portal (ProContract). We would advise you to register on the e-tendering system now in order that you receive an email alert when the contract notice is published. Register your company, free of charge, via the London Tenders Portal (ProContract): https://procontract.due-north.com/Login If you would like to respond to a short market engagement questionnaire, please go to the London Tenders Portal https://procontract.due-north.com/Login and express an interest in “Prior information notice Islington Specialist Mental Health Employment Service”