---
title: "retender Greater Essex Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness (IPS for SMI)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-03-06"
---

# retender Greater Essex Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness (IPS for SMI)

Buyer: ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48.json)

## Summary

The procurement process led by Essex County Council involves the retendering of the Greater Essex Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness (IPS for SMI) service. This service aims to support individuals with severe mental health conditions in gaining employment, integrated with secondary care mental health services. The contract, valued at approximately £9,585,428, spans from 1st October 2025 to 30th September 2028, with a potential extension to 30th September 2030. The initial tender planning began with market engagement to address previous feedback on financial viability and performance targets. The procurement method follows an open procedure under a light-touch regime, targeting the health and social work industry within Essex, including the areas served by Mid and South Essex, Hertfordshire and West Essex, and Suffolk and North East Essex ICBs, excluding Hertfordshire and Suffolk.

This tender presents significant opportunities for SMEs and larger organisations dedicated to mental health services and employment facilitation. Businesses specialising in health and social work services are well-suited to compete for this contract. The focus on achieving employment integration for individuals with severe mental illness underlines the potential for growth in service delivery capacity and innovation in mental health support. Suppliers like GET SKILLS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING LTD have already been awarded, highlighting Essex County Council's commitment to partnering with capable organisations to fulfil the vital needs of the community, potentially setting benchmarks for future public procurement endeavours.

## Notice

Essex County Council as lead commissioner is seeking to procure a service for Individual Placement and Support for Serious Mental Illness (IPS for SMI). The IPS for SMI is an employment support service integrated with secondary care mental health services to assist people who experience severe mental health conditions to find paid work. ECC is the lead commissioner for this service on behalf of the three ICBs in Essex, namely Mid and South Essex (MSE), Hertfordshire and West Essex (HWE ), and Suffolk and North East Essex (SNEE). Please note that this service will not cover Hertfordshire or Suffolk. For the purposes of this procurement, this service is an ALL Essex service, which includes the Unitary Authorities of Southend and Thurrock.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The Council may at its sole discretion extend the duration of this Agreement for a further maximum period of up to twenty-four (24) calendar months commencing on the third anniversary of the Service Commencement Date. The Council may serve such extension notice(s) on as many occasions as it shall think fit provided that the duration of such extensions shall not in total exceed twenty-four (24) calendar months from the fifth anniversary of the Service Commencement Date.

### Planning Information

Essex County Council are now planning to release the tender for this service after the abandonment of the previous tender (Reference: DN741370) following market feedback on the viability of the financial envelope and the targets. In response, the Council and ICB partners sought to engage with the market and understand how the service could be delivered in a viable way.
The key feedback we received was the target level was too high and the budget envelope was too low. In response, we have taken the feedback from providers around what would be deliverable and re-designed the contract ahead of re-releasing the tender.
Essex County Council ("the Council") would like to invite prospective providers to attend a pre-tender market engagement event on Tuesday 8th April 2025. Please note that this event will be conducted online via MS Teams at 1300-1400. If your organisation would like to attend the event, please email elizabeth.willis@essex.gov.uk, confirming the name of your organisation and your representatives. Please ensure that you confirm your attendance by Monday 7th April 2025 by 1600.
A link to the Teams meeting will be sent by close of play Monday 7th. 
Attendance or non-attendance does not bestow an advantage or disadvantage on any provider when the competitive tender process commences.
YOU MAY RESPOND IN AN EMAIL WITH YOUR NAME, ORGANISATION, AND EMAIL
• NAME
• ORGANISATION
• EMAIL

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020482-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 6 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 23 May 2025 |
| Future notice date | 8 Apr 2025 |
| Award date | 22 Jul 2025 |
| Contract period | 30 Sep 2025 - 30 Sep 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £8,000,000 |
| Lots value | £8,000,000 |
| Awards value | £8,000,000 |
| Contracts value | £7,987,857 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | CHELMSFORD |
| Post town | Chelmsford |
| Postcode | CM1 1QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex |
| ITL 3 | TLH36 Heart of Essex |
| Local authority | Chelmsford |
| Electoral ward | Moulsham and Central |
| Westminster constituency | Chelmsford |
| Delivery location | TLH East (England), TLH3 Essex |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | GET SKILLS EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85000000 - Health and social work services

## Release History

- 6 Mar 2026 at 14:36 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020482-2026
- 23 Jul 2025 at 15:33 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/042502-2025
- 17 Apr 2025 at 13:42 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015954-2025
- 1 Apr 2025 at 12:00 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/012235-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020482-2026
  6th March 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/042502-2025
  23rd July 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015954-2025
  17th April 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/012235-2025
  1st April 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.mhm.org.uk
- http://www.qualitycareresourcing.co.uk
- https://brightideastaffing.co.uk/
- https://procontract.due-north.com/
- https://waterfieldshealthcare.co.uk/
- https://www.eput.nhs.uk/
- https://www.getsetuk.co.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-04fb48. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04fb48.json.