--- title: "ASC0267 - Soft Market Testing - Direct Payments Support Service" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL" published: "2021-10-01" --- # ASC0267 - Soft Market Testing - Direct Payments Support Service Buyer: LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098.json) ## Summary Leicester City Council is currently in the planning stage for the procurement of a 'Direct Payment Support Service' (DPSS), which aims to assist individuals and families within Leicester who receive direct payments for social care services. The soft market testing for this service is being conducted until 15 October 2021, with the intention to gather insights from potential providers to shape the service model. It is anticipated that the official tender will be issued in January 2022, leading to the awarding of new contracts by November 2022. This engagement process is purely exploratory and does not constitute a formal bidding opportunity. This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses in the health and social care sector, particularly those offering support services for individuals with personal budgets or health budgets. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) are particularly well-positioned to participate, as they can provide tailored solutions that enhance personal care autonomy. Interested organisations are encouraged to complete the Soft Market Test questionnaire by the 15 October deadline to influence the forthcoming procurement process and potentially position themselves as key service providers in this emerging market. ## Notice THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION Leicester City Council intends to commission a 'Direct Payment Support Service' (DPSS) for people and their families living within the boundary of the city of Leicester who receive a direct payment/personal budget to purchase adult's or children's social care services. The service should also be available to people who receive a personal health budget, via the NHS, across Leicester City, Leicestershire and Rutland. This service will support people to use their direct payment to purchase services or employ a personal assistant. It is anticipated that tenders for the DPSS arrangements will be sought in January 2022 to enable a new contract(s) to begin from November 2022. Commissioners would like to undertake a soft market test. This gives potential providers and other stakeholders the opportunity to express their interests and feed in their views about the potential service model and service definitions. The commissioners will use the information to appraise options and further develop the specification. This process does not constitute a formal tender or other competitive bidding process and will not result in the letting of a Contract. The commissioners are using this process solely to test the market to gather information and ascertain the level of interest in this DPSS service. There are therefore no formal criteria which we will use to judge your responses, and it is not our intention to provide any feedback. To participate in this Soft Market Testing, organisations that may be interested, must complete a Soft Market Test questionnaire. The questionnaire can be found by copying and pasting the following web link into your web browser: https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=e61b24a0-fa21-ec11-810e-005056b64545&fromAdvertEvent=True The completed questionnaire must be returned electronically by email before or no later than 14:00 hours on 15 October 2021 to the email address procurement-asc@leicester.gov.uk with the subject heading: 'Completed SMT Q - DPSS. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/5fcb7f66-41af-4467-9ab8-984d49542d88 | | Notice type | Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Not specified | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 1 Oct 2021 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 15 Oct 2021 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL | | Locality | LEICESTER | | Post town | Leicester | | Postcode | LE1 1FZ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLF East Midlands (England) | | ITL 2 | TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | | ITL 3 | TLF21 Leicester | | Local authority | Leicester | | Electoral ward | Castle | | Westminster constituency | Leicester South | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services - 98 - Other community, social and personal services ### Codes - 85000000 - Health and social work services - 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services ## Release History - 1 Oct 2021 at 07:07 - Planning - Market Engagement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/5fcb7f66-41af-4467-9ab8-984d49542d88 - 1 Oct 2021 at 06:19 - Planning - Market Engagement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/0bf5f57e-15e0-4477-97fa-21abda26de36 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/5fcb7f66-41af-4467-9ab8-984d49542d88 1st October 2021 - Early engagement notice on Contracts Finder - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/0bf5f57e-15e0-4477-97fa-21abda26de36 1st October 2021 - Early engagement notice on Contracts Finder ## Notice URLs - http://www.leicester.gov.uk - https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=e61b24a0-fa21-ec11-810e-005056b64545&fromAdvertEvent=True ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-07376312-d95b-40fc-9378-18ca0c900098.json.