Award

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

ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

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

Essex County Council has undertaken the procurement process for the "Greater Essex Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness" (IPS for SMI) programme, aimed at integrating employment support with secondary mental health services. The Council, situated in Chelmsford, UK, serves as the lead commissioner on behalf of three Integrated Care Boards in Essex. The procurement process followed an open procedure under the light-touch regime of public procurement. The process transitioned through planning and tendering stages, leading up to the award stage as of 23 July 2025. The contract is set to commence on 1 September 2025 and will run for an initial period of three years with a possible two-year extension. The procurement focused on health and social work services, with a contract value capped at £8 million over five years. This project is exclusively for services in Essex, covering all regions including the unitary authorities of Southend and Thurrock.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses, particularly those offering health and social care services, to expand in the Essex region. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), alongside larger organisations, have shown interest in this tender, reflecting in the bids received. The procurement encourages SMEs and organisations with a social mission, as evident by the engagement of companies such as Quality Care Resourcing Limited, Get Skills Employment & Training Ltd, and Mental Health Matters. These opportunities are suited for businesses that specialise in mental health support services, employment assistance, and integrated healthcare solutions. Given the substantial contract value and the potential for contract extensions, participation in this tender can lead to sustainable business growth and a robust client portfolio within the public health sector.

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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/042502-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award 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
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Jul 20257 months ago
Submission Deadline
23 May 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
8 Apr 2025Expired
Award Date
22 Jul 20257 months ago
Contract Period
31 Aug 2025 - 31 Aug 2028 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
Contact Name
Jon Rockstad
Contact Email
procurementsanda@essex.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

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)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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