Award

retender Greater Essex Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness (IPS for SMI)

ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

06 Mar 2026 at 14:36

Award

23 Jul 2025 at 15:33

Tender

17 Apr 2025 at 13:42

Planning

01 Apr 2025 at 12:00

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process led by Essex County Council involves the retendering of the Greater Essex Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness (IPS for SMI) service. This service aims to support individuals with severe mental health conditions in gaining employment, integrated with secondary care mental health services. The contract, valued at approximately £9,585,428, spans from 1st October 2025 to 30th September 2028, with a potential extension to 30th September 2030. The initial tender planning began with market engagement to address previous feedback on financial viability and performance targets. The procurement method follows an open procedure under a light-touch regime, targeting the health and social work industry within Essex, including the areas served by Mid and South Essex, Hertfordshire and West Essex, and Suffolk and North East Essex ICBs, excluding Hertfordshire and Suffolk.

This tender presents significant opportunities for SMEs and larger organisations dedicated to mental health services and employment facilitation. Businesses specialising in health and social work services are well-suited to compete for this contract. The focus on achieving employment integration for individuals with severe mental illness underlines the potential for growth in service delivery capacity and innovation in mental health support. Suppliers like GET SKILLS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING LTD have already been awarded, highlighting Essex County Council's commitment to partnering with capable organisations to fulfil the vital needs of the community, potentially setting benchmarks for future public procurement endeavours.

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Notice Title

retender Greater Essex Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness (IPS for SMI)

Notice Description

Essex County Council as lead commissioner is seeking to procure a service for Individual Placement and Support for Serious Mental Illness (IPS for SMI). The IPS for SMI is an employment support service integrated with secondary care mental health services to assist people who experience severe mental health conditions to find paid work. ECC is the lead commissioner for this service on behalf of the three ICBs in Essex, namely Mid and South Essex (MSE), Hertfordshire and West Essex (HWE ), and Suffolk and North East Essex (SNEE). Please note that this service will not cover Hertfordshire or Suffolk. For the purposes of this procurement, this service is an ALL Essex service, which includes the Unitary Authorities of Southend and Thurrock.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The Council may at its sole discretion extend the duration of this Agreement for a further maximum period of up to twenty-four (24) calendar months commencing on the third anniversary of the Service Commencement Date. The Council may serve such extension notice(s) on as many occasions as it shall think fit provided that the duration of such extensions shall not in total exceed twenty-four (24) calendar months from the fifth anniversary of the Service Commencement Date.

Planning Information

Essex County Council are now planning to release the tender for this service after the abandonment of the previous tender (Reference: DN741370) following market feedback on the viability of the financial envelope and the targets. In response, the Council and ICB partners sought to engage with the market and understand how the service could be delivered in a viable way. The key feedback we received was the target level was too high and the budget envelope was too low. In response, we have taken the feedback from providers around what would be deliverable and re-designed the contract ahead of re-releasing the tender. Essex County Council ("the Council") would like to invite prospective providers to attend a pre-tender market engagement event on Tuesday 8th April 2025. Please note that this event will be conducted online via MS Teams at 1300-1400. If your organisation would like to attend the event, please email elizabeth.willis@essex.gov.uk, confirming the name of your organisation and your representatives. Please ensure that you confirm your attendance by Monday 7th April 2025 by 1600. A link to the Teams meeting will be sent by close of play Monday 7th. Attendance or non-attendance does not bestow an advantage or disadvantage on any provider when the competitive tender process commences. YOU MAY RESPOND IN AN EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME, ORGANISATION, AND EMAIL • NAME • ORGANISATION • EMAIL

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020482-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85000000 - Health and social work services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£8,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£8,000,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£8,000,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£7,987,857 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
6 Mar 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
23 May 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
8 Apr 2025Expired
Award Date
22 Jul 20259 months ago
Contract Period
30 Sep 2025 - 30 Sep 2028 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CHELMSFORD
Postcode
CM1 1QH
Post Town
Chelmsford
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH36 Heart of Essex
Delivery Location
TLH East (England), TLH3 Essex

Local Authority
Chelmsford
Electoral Ward
Moulsham and Central
Westminster Constituency
Chelmsford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

GET SKILLS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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