EU Settlement Scheme Grant Funding Competition

EU citizens living in the UK and their family members will need to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to obtain their new UK immigration status as the UK exits the EU.

The Home Office has up to £9 million of grant funding to be awarded to successful organisations in the FY19/20 through open and fair competition. The funding is available to bidders from the voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations willing to support vulnerable EU citizens and their family members with making their EUSS applications. Bidders should note they may bid only once, and their submission must fall into the Funding category of;

• Projects between £5,000 up to £39,999 • Projects between £40,000 up to £750,000

Outcomes Ensuring that vulnerable or at-risk EU citizens and their families are supported to obtain a status is a critical objective. The Home Office is making funding available to mobilise services targeted at vulnerable EU citizens and their families, to ensure that those who require the most support to apply to the EUSS can access it.

The key outcome is for those funded to provide practical application support to vulnerable EU citizens and their family members; further details on this and indeed all aspects of this competition are outlined in the competition documentation, available to all those who register (details on 'how to apply' are within additional text other information).

The Home Office aims to ensure grants are awarded across the UK and to organisations that work with a diversity of at-risk groups, so that support is delivered to those that need it most. Funding will be for one year from 01 April 2019, and all funding must be spent within the 2019/20 financial year.

The Home Office will expect those funded organisations to report on the volumes of vulnerable applicants they have engaged, as well as the success of that engagement and the number of completed applications that have been submitted through their direct support. All successful organisations will be allocated funding centrally via a Grant Agreement from the Home Office. The process leading to the award of the grant will be administered using Crown Commercial Services eSourcing portal, and all submissions must be made online via this portal. To take part in this grant funding opportunity, please see the 'how to apply' guidance below which provides important instructions for registration on the portal, then gaining access to this opportunity. Traditional email or hard copy final submissions or proposals will not be accepted.

Bids will close at 12pm (noon) on 01 February 2019.

Additional information: This competition is an online process.

As outlined in earlier Contract Finder notices (relating to this provision), this competition is being managed electronically via the Crown Commercial Service's (CCS) eSourcing Suite. Bidders have been urged to register with CCS as a SUPPLIER as soon as possible to avoid delays in establishing your Supplier status, as it can take up to 10 working days to create an account.

Below is a guide on how to apply to register, then gain access to the competition;

1. Interested organisations must first be registered as a 'Supplier' on the eSourcing Suite to participate: If you have not already done so, please use the following link https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Be aware that registration can take up to 10 working days

2. Instructions on how to use the portal can be found in the attached 'e-Sourcing - Supplier Guidance' but Bidders should also do their own due diligence/investigations.

3. To register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so.

4. If you do not have a DUNS number, please contact D&B UK directly on 0870 243 2344 (option 3), or online at http://www.dnb.co.uk/duns-form.asp.

5. Once registered on the portal, please email the Authority mailbox '[email protected] ' and ask to be added to the event stating, "EUSS - portal access" in the subject title.

6. Please note the email address used to register on the portal must be the same you advise '[email protected]' inbox as it is this individual who will be provided with the access the event.

7. Once you are added to the portal, the '[email protected]' mailbox will acknowledge your inclusion to the event and Bidders must then accept this invitation(*) on the CCS e-Sourcing system. You will then be able to view the suite of documents and online application for this grant funding

*From this point all further communications including the submission of your online bid will be managed via the portal.

8. If you have any IT technical difficulties concerning the CCS eSourcing portal, neither the Home Office Commercial Grants Team nor those managing the '[email protected]' inbox will be able to offer any assistance. Please contact the CCS eSourcing Team for help.

9. It is imperative you test your portal connection and become familiar with how to submit your bid well in advance of the deadline date. It is conceivable that because the portal operates on the web, internet traffic may affect performance of the portal and this cannot be cited as reason to seek an extension to the submission deadline date.