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Portsmouth Advice Service

Portsmouth City Council

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Award

12 Oct 2026 at 14:23

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

27 May 2026 at 16:32

UK4 - Tender Notice
PlanningUpdate

05 Jan 2026 at 14:46

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

17 Dec 2025 at 14:35

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Portsmouth City Council is buying an open-access social welfare advice service for adults in Portsmouth, also serving people who work in the city and council housing tenants living in Havant. The service combines specialist and general advice on housing, welfare benefits, debt, income maximisation, employment rights, family and consumer issues, alongside help with access to services and support. Advice must be free, confidential and impartial. Delivery includes in-person support from central Portsmouth locations, telephone, email and other suitable channels, with home visits where appropriate. The service is intended to help people resolve problems early, improve financial and housing stability, access rights and entitlements, and address underlying causes of crisis. This is advice, guidance and welfare support (CPV 85312300).

The procurement is complete and the contract has been awarded to Citizens Advice Solent East. The award was made on 9 October 2026, at a gross value of £1,716,666. The awarded term runs from 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2030, with options to extend in agreed increments up to a maximum of five years, ending no later than 31 January 2032. The open procedure used one lot. Evaluation weighted quality at 95% and cost at 5%. The tender attracted two bids, both from SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises. The service has a stated annual core-contract value of £295,000, with a further £241,666 in external funding for outreach and community provision over the initial three years.

For a future supplier, this award shows demand for a substantial, multi-channel advice service with a broad remit and an established local user base. In 2024/25, 14,288 people accessed the service and 13,666 received direct support; activity averages about 1,150 people a month. The strongest current demand is for welfare benefits, debt, housing and consumer advice, as well as family and employment-rights support. A credible competitor would need to deliver both specialist and general advice, provide accessible in-person and remote support, and offer outreach and appropriate home visits. Specialist debt counselling requires Financial Conduct Authority registration, and the provider must employ or engage volunteers approved to act as Debt Relief Order intermediaries. The high quality weighting makes demonstrable service quality central to competing.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Portsmouth Advice Service

Notice Description

Portsmouth City Council ('the council') has selected a preferred bidder to provide an open access social welfare advice service for adults in Portsmouth. The service will provide specialist and generalist advice to residents and improve outcomes for anyone living or working within the boundaries of the city and also be accessible by Portsmouth City Council (Portsmouth Homes) tenants accommodated outside of the city. Service background The purpose of the Service is to: "Provide the right advice and appropriate support to help me solve my problem". The Service will provide expert advice on housing, welfare benefits, debt, income maximisation, employment rights, general family issues, and consumer issues, and general advice on other queries, such as access to services and support. The service will hold registration with the Financial Conduct Authority for specialist debt counselling, and employ or have volunteers that are approved intermediaries for Debt Relief Orders. All advice provided must be completely free of charge, confidential and impartial. The Service will be accessible in-person from a central location(s) within Portsmouth, as well as by telephone, email, and other channels that meet customers' needs. Home visits will also be offered where deemed necessary and appropriate. The key outcomes for the service are centred around; financial wellbeing, housing stability, access to rights and entitlements, family and social stability, health and wellbeing, digital and self-advocacy, and service/system level outcomes. The service will aim to provide early help to prevent customers reaching crisis point, and for those customers in crisis, it will help them to find solutions and address the underlying root causes to reduce the risk of future crisis. In 2024/25, 14,288 people accessed the service with 13,666 receiving direct support. The service assists approximately 1,150 people per month and around 265 per week. The highest areas of demand currently are: welfare benefits, debt, housing, consumer issues, and other issues including family and employment rights. Contract value The contract is being funded via two sources. The council's internal department budget will be used to fund the core contract at a value of PS295,000 per annum and PS1,475,000 over the maximum 5-year term. External funding via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (which runs for 3-years, 1 April 2026 31 March 2029) will be used to supplement the core contract for the purpose of providing outreach and community-based provision with the aim of increasing accessibility. This funding totals PS241,666 over the initial 3-year contract term.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: Following Local Government Reorganisation, the total opportunity value and volume of requirements may fluctuate. This may include an increase or decrease in the scale of Advice Services to accommodate integrating merging authorities, broader corporate estates, or adjusted geographical boundaries.

Renewal: The contract term will be for 3 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 5 years.

Planning Information

Portsmouth City Council (the council) are looking to engage with providers who can deliver an open access social welfare advice service for adults in Portsmouth. This service will provide specialist and generalist advice to improve outcomes and maximise use of resources for all people living or working within the boundaries of the city, and for Portsmouth City Council tenants living in Havant. As part of this consultation document there is a questionnaire for providers to complete which will help us in deciding our future commissioning models. We welcome any feedback from interested parties. Providers are encouraged to complete as many of the questions within the questionnaire as possible. The questionnaire can be found via this link https://in-tendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home Interested providers should return the PME Questionnaire by 18th January 2026. Portsmouth City Council reserves the right to engage further with selected providers who indicate that they can meet the service as described within the questionnaire.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/096127-2026
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
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85312300 - Guidance and counselling services

85312310 - Guidance services

85312400 - Welfare services not delivered through residential institutions

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,716,666 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£1,716,666 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£1,716,666 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
12 Oct 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
3 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
9 Oct 20262 weeks ago
Contract Period
1 Feb 2027 - 31 Jan 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
2029-05-15

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Portsmouth City 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
PORTSMOUTH
Postcode
PO1 2AL
Postcode Area
Portsmouth
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ31 Portsmouth
Delivery Location
TLJ31 Portsmouth
Local Authority
Portsmouth
Electoral Ward
Charles Dickens
Westminster Constituency
Portsmouth South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CITIZENS ADVICE SOLENT EAST

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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