---
title: "Direct Payment Support Services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-036359"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-036359"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-036359.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-036359.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2023-02-13"
---

# Direct Payment Support Services

Buyer: ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-036359

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## Summary

Essex County Council has recently completed the procurement process for Direct Payment Support Services. The Council launched an open tender to commission services to enable residents in Essex to manage their direct payments. The procurement process involved two lots: Independent Information and Advice Service and Personal Assistant (PA) Support Hub, and Payment/Payroll/Account Management services. It is a services procurement in the health and social work services category. The contract duration is initially set for three years with a possible two-year extension, totalling five years. The Council acted as a central purchasing body alongside Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust for this opportunity.

This procurement opportunity by Essex County Council offers great potential for businesses interested in providing support services in the health and social work sector. Businesses offering advice services, payroll management, and account services for social care and mental health needs are well-suited to compete for this opportunity. The open procedure allows for fair competition, with the procurement finalised through an electronic submission process. Prospective bidders should note key dates, such as the end of the tender period on December 2, 2022, and the bid opening on December 1, 2022, which will be an electronic process conducted through the Council's e-sourcing portal.

## Notice

Essex County Council ("the Council") conducted an open, single stage procurement to commission a new Direct Payments Support Service (DPSS) to enable people who are ordinarily resident within the administrative boundaries of Essex (excluding the unitary authority areas of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea) to manage their direct payment. This procurement incorporated the following lots: Lot 1: Independent Information and Advice Service and Personal Assistant (PA) Support Hub Lot 2: Payment/Payroll/Account Management services Please be advised that the Council acted akin to a central purchasing body in relation to this procurement opportunity in conjunction with Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) who will access but not formally be a party to the ensuing contract. In addition, please note that whilst the ensuing DPSS contracts will primarily be used to support people with either social care and/or mental health needs to manage their personal budgets via a Direct Payment; it will also be open for the following classification of users within the administrative area of Essex: NHS Healthcare (including local Integrated Care Systems). In addition, please be advised that this service is being commissioned under an initial three (3) year term with the option to extend for a further two (2) years at the Council's sole discretion; thereby resulting in a maximum possible contract duration of five (5) years. Please note that the total value of the procurement as stated in section II 1.7 below reflects the cumulative effect of the pricing submissions for both lots across the maximum contractual duration of five (5) years, net of the Council's Accelerated Payment Rebate Scheme (APRS) which the successful bidder opted into as part of their tender submission.

### Lot Information

Independent Information and Advice Service and Personal Assistant (PA) Support Hub

This lot is designed to secure suitable provision of an advice and information service relating to direct payments, which will also include Employer Advice and Guidance Services and a Personal Assistant support hub delivered to individuals who may be considering taking a Direct Payment or already have one in place, and who are ordinarily resident in Essex.

Renewal: Bidders are advised that this service will be commissioned under an initial three (3) year term with the option to extend for a further two (2) years at the Council's discretion; thereby resulting in a maximum possible contract duration of five (5) years.

Payment/Payroll/Account Management services

This lot was designed to secure suitable provision of Payment Services and Account Management to support people with either social care and/or mental health needs (across both adults and children's services) to manage their personal budgets via a Direct Payment (DP). Please note that the successful bidder for this lot will be required to deliver all the following specified requirements (noting that not every DP recipient will require support from all of the constituent elements of this provision): * Payroll - to support DP recipients who employ their own Personal Assistant(s) * Bought Ledger - to support individuals to pay for social care services using their Direct Payment; and * Account Management - to ensure that Direct Payment money for each DP recipient is received in an identifiable, named account from which all relevant payments can be made.

Renewal: Bidders are advised that this service will be commissioned under an initial three (3) year term with the option to extend for a further two (2) years at the Council's discretion; thereby resulting in a maximum possible contract duration of five (5) years.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004384-2023 |
| Notice type | Planning Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 13 Feb 2023 |
| Submission deadline | 2 Dec 2022 |
| Future notice date | 28 Sep 2022 |
| Award date | 31 Jan 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £4,650,000 |
| Lots value | £4,650,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £4,081,326 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Additional buyers | ESSEX PARTNERSHIP UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |
| Locality | CHELMSFORD |
| Post town | Chelmsford |
| Postcode | CM1 1QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex |
| ITL 3 | TLH32 Thurrock |
| Local authority | Thurrock |
| Electoral ward | Stifford Clays |
| Westminster constituency | Thurrock |
| Delivery location | TLH3 Essex |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | THE PENDERELS TRUST |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- 85312310 - Guidance services
- 85321000 - Administrative social services

## Release History

- 13 Feb 2023 at 15:29 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004384-2023
- 20 Oct 2022 at 12:00 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/029590-2022
- 26 Aug 2022 at 11:14 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/023941-2022

## Notice URLs

- https://eput.nhs.uk/
- https://procontract.due-north.com/Login
- https://www.essex.gov.uk/

## 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-h6vhtk-036359. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-036359.json.