Provision of Direct Payment Support Services

Reading Borough Council is seeking expressions of interest from organisations who can provide support for service users receiving Direct Payments.

Our uptake of Direct Payments currently stands at around 11% amongst eligible Social Care clients. We wish to achieve a 25% uptake, in order to promote greater levels of choice and independence amongst our service users, and in order to generate savings against our existing social care spend.

Support to enable a person to set up and manage their Direct Payment would be identified on an individual basis as part of the care planning process and built into the Personal Budget if required. Individuals would be supported to access the right support for them.

We anticipate we require support service in the following categories: 1) Employment Advice and Support a. Starting from scratch, including recruiting a PA b. PA already chosen, support with employment documentation

2) Issue Resolution

3) Financial solutions a. Payroll services b. Managed bank accounts

These categories will be priced according to the level of assistance required. We welcome suppliers who are able to offer support in more than one of the above categories. For inclusion on the support register, services would be expected to provide support with some or all of the following, either for a full range of clients or specific demographics:

Category 1(a): Employment support starting from scratch i. Review recruitment documents following preparation (including job description and advert) ii. Support with interview preparation (venue, questions, short-listing) iii. Review contract, following preparation by employer iv. Conducting DBS checks (in line with Reading Borough Council policy) v. Ensure understanding legal responsibilities as an employer are met (arranging suitable insurance and meeting employment law) vi. Signpost appointed PA to relevant training to meet identified training needs, including safeguarding vii. Review of risk assessments and signposting for follow up of identified issues viii. Support to deal with any issues during induction/probationary period (up to 3 months)

Category 1(b): Employment Support (no advertising or interviewing required) i. Review contract, following preparation by employer ii. Conducting DBS checks (in line with Reading Borough Council policy) iii. Ensure understanding legal responsibilities as an employer are met (arranging suitable insurance and meeting employment law) iv. Signpost appointed PA to relevant training to meet identified training needs, including safeguarding v. Review of risk assessments and signposting for follow up of identified issues vi. Support to deal with any issues during induction/probationary period (up to 3 months)

Category 2: Issue Resolution i. Support to find PA to cover short-term period ii. Support for existing service users who need support ...

Additional information: Organisations interested in expressing an interest should download the procurement document which is available on the Council`s e-tendering system at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc/aspx/Home (Project Reference No. RBC 00000209 ), and complete as instructed.

The Portal is free of charge - to register please follow the supplier registration guidance which is available on the Portal. Contractors wishing to be considered for this tendering opportunity must complete the tender documents and return them electronically via theCouncil`s e-tendering portal. The deadline for return of the expression of interest is 16th December at 17.00 hours.

Please note: you must register your interest via the Council`s e-tendering portal if you intend to submit a tender. Interested parties must log onto the Council`s e-tendering portal at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc, to express an interest and download the procurement document. All communications regarding this procurement exercise will be conducted through the Council`s e-tendering portal including requests for clarifications or general enquiries. The procurement documents will be available for download up until the closing time and date for tender submissions, it is the organisation`s responsibility to ensure that they download the documents in ample time to ensure that they can be completed and returned electronically, along with supporting documents, prior to the closing time and date stipulated. Before completing the tender, potential providers/suppliers should ensure that the e-mail address that has been used to register their organisation will be checked regularly as the Council`s e-tendering system will generate automatic notifications to this e-mail address when there are updates, changes or messages sent relating to the project. Potential bidders should also check that their organisation`s details are correct and kept up to date.

Technical questions and assistance regarding the use and operation of the Portal should be addressed to the In-Tend Help Desk - e-mail: [email protected], telephone number +44 8442728810.

Is a Recurrent Procurement Type? : No https://in-tendhost.co.uk/readingbc/aspx/