---
title: "VCMA project - Holistic app energy debt & Welfare advice"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0434b7"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0434b7"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0434b7.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0434b7.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NORTHERN GAS NETWORKS LIMITED"
published: "2024-02-23"
---

# VCMA project - Holistic app energy debt & Welfare advice

Buyer: NORTHERN GAS NETWORKS LIMITED  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0434b7

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## Summary

The public procurement process for the "VCMA project - Holistic app energy debt & Welfare advice" was successfully completed by Citizens Advice Northumberland. The buying organisation, NORTHERN GAS NETWORKS LIMITED, awarded the contract to Citizens Advice Northumberland for the provision of research and development services and related consultancy services in Northumberland. The procurement method used was a limited award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition. The contract was signed on 25th January 2024, with a value of £450,477.

This public procurement opportunity provides business growth potential for companies specializing in research and development services, particularly in the fields of energy advice, welfare benefits, and debt consultancy. Businesses with a focus on providing independent and impartial advice to vulnerable populations, such as those affected by fuel poverty, would be well-suited to compete for similar tenders in the future. The identified priority wards in Northumberland suffering from fuel poverty present an opportunity for businesses to contribute to addressing social challenges while securing valuable contracts from public sector buyers.

## Notice

A contract has been awarded to Citizens Advice Northumberland, a registered local charity which provides the people of Northumberland with free, confidential, independent and impartial information and advice on a wide range of subjects including welfare benefits, debt, financial capability, fuel poverty, housing, relationships and employment matters. Since 1st April this year we have helped more than 4,000 clients with more than 22,000 issues. Our help and support is delivered through face to face interview, telephone, digital and virtual conversations and includes end to end casework as required. We have been the foremost provider of energy advice in the County for more than 10 years and through our collaboration with Northumberland County Council we have identified priority wards in the county that suffer most from factors related to fuel poverty and therefore why these services are only able to be provided by Citizens Advice Northumberland.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

A contract has been awarded to Citizens Advice Northumberland, a registered local charity which provides the people of Northumberland with free, confidential, independent and impartial information and advice on a wide range of subjects including welfare benefits, debt, financial capability, fuel poverty, housing, relationships and employment matters. Since 1st April this year we have helped more than 4,000 clients with more than 22,000 issues. Our help and support is delivered through face to face interview, telephone, digital and virtual conversations and includes endtoend casework as required. We have been the foremost provider of energy advice in the County for more than 10 years and through our collaboration with Northumberland County Council we have identified priority wards in the county that suffer most from factors related to fuel poverty and therefore why these services are only able to be provided by Citizens Advice Nortumberland. We have Focused on wards with: * The highest proportion of households with income of below PS20k/annum * That have the highest levels of hospital admissions and excess winter deaths * Where more than 1/3 of homes are estimated to have EPC below band C. This approach has highlighted wards, for example Hirst, Newbiggin Central & East, Isabella, Croft, Ashington Central and Cowpen - all urban/coastal settlements and will target the delivery of advice directly into vulnerable households in these communities. We have an established track record of targeted support into these communities - our historic data shows that more than 30% of our general advice beneficiaries live in the 10 worst affected wards in the county. County-wide statistics for Northumberland can mask the extreme deprivation experienced in the poorest urban and rural settlements, however notwithstanding this anomaly, the data in the June 2022 report, Research on Vulnerable Customer Groups for Northern Gas Networks supports our view that the County has a strong claim on additional resources to combat the effects of fuel poverty on its vulnerable households.

### Procurement Information

Citizens Advice Northumberland is a registered local charity which provides the people of Northumberland with free, confidential, independent and impartial information and advice on a wide range of subjects including welfare benefits, debt, financial capability, fuel poverty, housing, relationships and employment matters. These specific services are only able to be delivered by this independent charity. They have been the foremost provider of energy advice in the County for more than 10 years and through our collaboration with Northumberland County Council they have identified priority wards in the county that suffer most from factors related to fuel poverty and therefore why these services are only able to be provided by Citizens Advice Northumberland.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005894-2024 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 23 Feb 2024 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 25 Jan 2024 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £450,477 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NORTHERN GAS NETWORKS LIMITED |
| Locality | LEEDS |
| Post town | Leeds |
| Postcode | LS15 8TU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE4 West Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE42 Leeds |
| Local authority | Leeds |
| Electoral ward | Garforth & Swillington |
| Westminster constituency | Leeds East |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CITIZENS ADVICE NORTHUMBERLAND |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 23 Feb 2024 at 09:15 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005894-2024
- 25 Jan 2024 at 22:09 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002655-2024

## Notice URLs

- http://www.northerngasnetworks.co.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-0434b7. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0434b7.json.