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Portsmouth City Council Core Homeless Service Consultation

Portsmouth City Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

14 Aug 2026 at 14:35

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Portsmouth City Council is consulting the market on a future housing-related support service for single adults and couples without children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, based in the City of Portsmouth. The service is intended to provide emergency accommodation and support that helps people maximise their physical, intellectual, emotional and social potential, make decisions about their lives and live more independently. The proposed scope has three elements: accommodation-based intensive support for at least 35 people; accommodation-based support for at least 25 people who need daytime support; and short-term dispersed floating tenancy support in the community for people with varying support needs. The work covers housing services, social work with and without accommodation, and wider community and social services.

This is a preliminary market engagement exercise at the planning stage, not an invitation to tender. The Council expects to use an open procedure under the Procurement Act 2023, or possibly a single-stage competitive flexible procedure, and intends to award one contract to the most economically advantageous tender. The proposed contract would run from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030, with renewal or extension options potentially lasting to 31 March 2032. Its estimated value is £2.5 million excluding VAT, or £3 million including VAT. The Council expects to issue a tender notice on 1 October 2026, with tender responses due by 5 November 2026 at 12:00 and award confirmation on 17 December 2026. Market-engagement questionnaire responses are requested by 8 September 2026 at 17:00 via In-Tend.

The consultation will suit housing support providers, homelessness charities, social-care organisations and larger or regional SMEs able to deliver several linked services through one contract. Potential providers should be able to arrange and make available their own accommodation for both accommodation-based elements, supporting at least 35 people needing intensive support and at least 25 people needing daytime support. They should also be capable of delivering dispersed floating tenancy support that helps single adults and couples sustain independent living and reduces homelessness risk. The Council is testing market capacity, delivery models, pricing, compliance, industry accreditations and best practice, so suppliers with established housing, wellbeing and community-support services should be well placed to contribute. Experience supporting people with varied needs and operating across accommodation and community settings will be relevant.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Portsmouth City Council Core Homeless Service Consultation

Notice Description

Portsmouth City Council (the Council) is undertaking a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise to inform the future procurement strategy for a new contract for the provision of housing supported services for single adults and couples without children, based within the City of Portsmouth. The Contract agreement will last for three years, plus extensions to be determined, and is intended to be used for the provision of housing related support to eligible homeless adults, funded by Portsmouth City Council. To ensure effective engagement with organisations, and in the interests of transparency and fair and equal treatment set out within the Procurement Act 23, the Council has instigated this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) process via issue of a PME Notice on the Central Government Find a Tender Service / Central Digital Platform. The Council would like to consult organisations on the proposed scope, content of the contract, and specification. Consequently, we have produced this short consultation document and would welcome input into this process from interested parties. The deadline for receipt of responses is 17:00 on Tuesday 8th September 2026. Responses should be returned using the correspondence function on In-Tend. Portsmouth City Council Electronic Tendering Site - Home Views of perspective tenderers are very important to us, will be taken into consideration, and may have a direct bearing on the final service model and tender documentation. The purpose of the consultation is to confirm that the facilities exist within the City to be able to deliver the required services. Background The Housing (Homeless Persons) Act (1977), Housing Act (1996), and the Homelessness Act (2002), placed statutory duties on local housing authorities to ensure that advice and assistance to individuals who are homeless or threatened with homelessness is available free of charge. More recently, the Homeless Reduction Act (2017) placed further emphasis on the need for housing authorities to focus on the prevention of homelessness by providing more client- focussed and personalised support. The Act introduced two further statutory duties to prevent and to relieve homelessness. This Service forms part of the fulfilling of those duties by Portsmouth City Council's Housing Needs, Advice and Support service (HNAS). The specific aim of the Service is to provide emergency accommodation to those in need and to help maximise physical, intellectual, emotional and social potential and promote freedom of decision making for individuals consistent with their wellbeing, wishes and abilities. The Council are conducting the PME exercise to: * Provide a platform to share information on: o Current scope & potential future demand o Envisaged contracting strategy options o Changing financial climate and associated pressures o Key Council policies and future decision-making processes * Review and understand: o Market capacity and capability to deliver service requirements o Suppliers current market presence o Current contracting model market norms o Market interest and preference in respect of potential delivery model options o Existing pricing models o Developments of industry accreditations, compliance and best practice * To gauge interest from different types of suppliers, including both regional Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large providers * Inform the further development of the procurement strategy, process and programme * Manage potential conflicts of interest early in the process * Ensure compliance of any subsequent procurement process with the increased transparency obligations, risk assessment and conflict assessment requirements of the Procurement Act 2023 Proposed Scope The Council proposes that the scope and detail of the Service will consist of three distinct service elements. At this stage, the Council's intention is that these elements will be combined into a single contract opportunity rather than being offered as separate lots. The three service elements are: Service Element 1 - Accommodation-based support for service users presenting with a need for intensive support Provision of intensive support to at least 35 single adults or couples without children, working with service users that may present with a wide range of support needs. The Council is not making available any accommodation to the provider for the provision of this area of the Service. Instead, the provider must make its own direct arrangements for such accommodation to be available to the provider for the purpose of providing the services. Service Element 2 - Accommodation-based support for service users presenting with a need for daytime support Provision of housing-related support to at least 25 single adults or couples without children, working with service users that may present with a wide range of support needs. The Council is not making available any accommodation to the provider for the provision of this area of the Service. Instead, the provider must make its own direct arrangements for such accommodation to be available to the provider for the purpose of providing the services. Service Element 3 - Dispersed "floating" tenancy support for service users presenting with varying support needs Provision of community floating support designed to help improve service users' abilities to live independently in the community; this is a short-term service comprising of floating housing and wellbeing related support provided to single adults and couples without children who may be at risk of homelessness.

Planning Information

PME & Procurement Administration The Council will administrate the preliminary market engagement and future formal procurement process using its e-sourcing system In-Tend which will be used for: • Access to and issue of information and documentation • Clarification requests and response • Expression of interest submission • Allocation of 1-1 meeting slots • Issue of tender documentation • Submission of tender responses • Issue of Award Decision notification All communications, with the Council, must be conducted via In-Tend using the correspondence function which can be accessed for free using the following link: Portsmouth City Council Electronic Tendering Site - home Any queries or requests for clarification about this Preliminary Market Engagement Process must be submitted via the 'correspondence' function on In-Tend. It is the responsibility of Organisations to monitor the system, which will issue automated email notifications to registered emails, for clarification responses, meeting slot allocations etc. PME Supporting information The following documents have been included as part of the PME Briefing pack via the e-tendering portal, Intend - • PME Brief • PME Questionnaire • Conflict of Interest Statement • Conflicts of Interest Declaration Form • Intend Guidance, Supporting Information & Clarification Process. All documents issued in respect of this PME process are made available in good faith. Whilst the information in the PME documents is believed to be correct at the time of issue, neither the Council nor its advisors accept any liability for its accuracy, adequacy or completeness, nor is any warranty (express or implied) given as to its accuracy, adequacy or completeness. Suppliers should refer to the latest version of the PME Brief (this document) for an up-to-date list of PME documentation. For full details of the clarification process Suppliers should review the Intend Guidance, Supporting Information & Clarification Process. PME Questionnaire Return Requirements Please submit your return by 17:00 on Tuesday 8th September 2026 via the In-Tend correspondence function. Portsmouth City Council Electronic Tendering Site - Home Please note that responses should be submitted using the Correspondence function within In-Tend and not via the tender return submission function. Participation in this PME exercise is entirely voluntary. Organisations are under no obligation to respond and any decision not to participate will not preclude an organisation from participating in any subsequent procurement process relating to these services. Suppliers engaging in this exercise will not receive any preferential treatment, advantage or additional consideration in any future procurement exercise. Participation in the PME should not be regarded as an indication of selection, shortlisting, contract award, or a guarantee of future work. The information received through this consultation will assist the Council in reviewing the proposed scope, specification, procurement strategy and commercial arrangements to help ensure that any subsequent procurement is designed in a way that promotes effective competition and enables participation from a diverse range of suppliers, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Whilst the Council will endeavour to consider all responses received, suppliers should note that responses submitted after the stated deadline may not be taken into account when developing the procurement strategy, specification and tender documentation. Envisaged Future Procurement Process & Programme The Council are considering running the procurement process using an Open Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023, though the Council could use a single stage Competitive Flexible Procedure to incorporate additional flexibilities in respect of the approach to evaluating returns i.e. the inclusion of interviews, presentations etc. Following completion of the procurement process, the Council intends to award a single contract to the most economically advantageous tender. Central Digital Platform In readiness for issue of the tender, any interested Suppliers may register on the governments Central Digital Platform, as the Council is required to review information held there for any potential grounds for exclusion and undertake a debarment check. Guidance on accessing the Central Digital Platform can be found here - Suppliers: How to register your organisation and first administrator on Find a Tender in three easy steps (HTML) - GOV.UK PME & Procurement Process timetable The Council are intending to run the PME and the subsequent envisaged tender process under the following Procurement Programme: Publish PME Notice -Friday 14th August 2026 PME Consultation Questionnaire return deadline - Tuesday 8th September 2026 Issue of Tender Notice Invitation to Tender - Thursday 1st October 2026 Request for clarification deadline - Monday 26th October 2026 by 16:00 Tender Return Deadline - Thursday 5th November 2026 by 12:00 Tender Evaluation and Potential Interviews - Friday 6th November 2026 to Wednesday 2nd December 2026 Notification of award decision, issue of assessment summaries and publication of Contract Award Notice - Monday 7th December 2026 Standstill Period - Monday 7th December 2026 to Wednesday 16th December 2026 Preferred bidder secured and confirmation of contract award - Thursday 17th December 2026 Contract Start - Thursday 1st April 2027 A final timetable will be issued as part of the tender documentation.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e4c4
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077737-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

70 - Real estate services

85 - Health and social work services

98 - Other community, social and personal services

CPV Codes

70333000 - Housing services

85311000 - Social work services with accommodation

85312000 - Social work services without accommodation

85320000 - Social services

98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£2,500,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Oct 20262 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
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, TLJ35 South Hampshire
Local Authority
Portsmouth
Electoral Ward
Charles Dickens
Westminster Constituency
Portsmouth South

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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