--- title: "Portsmouth Advice Service" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL" published: "2026-05-27" --- # Portsmouth Advice Service Buyer: PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a.json) ## Summary Portsmouth City Council is actively engaged in procuring the Portsmouth Advice Service, aiming to provide a comprehensive social welfare advice service for adults in the Portsmouth area. This tender, which is currently in the tender stage, involves the re-procurement of an existing service managed by the council. The service focuses on providing specialist and generalist advice encompassing housing, welfare benefits, debt, employment rights, and more, accessible to residents of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Homes tenants living outside the city. The contract, valued at £1,716,666, will run from 1 December 2026 and could extend up to a maximum of five years. Key procurement dates include the deadline for tender submission on 3 July 2026, with the contract award expected on 1 September 2026. The procurement process is open, inviting diverse participation, and is guided by the open procedure protocol. This tender offers significant business opportunities for service providers specialising in social welfare advice, especially those familiar with providing comprehensive support in financial, housing, and social issues. Organisations that are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority for specialist debt counselling or those employing approved intermediaries for Debt Relief Orders are particularly well-suited to compete. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) are encouraged to apply, with the procurement process welcoming bids from a wide array of providers. The project seeks to expand accessibility through outreach and community-based services, funded by additional external sources, presenting a robust growth opportunity for businesses capable of delivering innovative, scalable advice services that meet the diverse needs of Portsmouth's community. ## Notice Portsmouth City Council ('the council') is inviting tenders from suitably qualified suppliers to provide an open access social welfare advice service for adults in Portsmouth. The service will provide specialist and generalist advice to residents and improve outcomes for anyone living or working within the boundaries of the city and also be accessible by Portsmouth City Council (Portsmouth Homes) tenants accommodated outside of the city. Service background The purpose of the Service is to: "Provide the right advice and appropriate support to help me solve my problem". The Service will provide expert advice on housing, welfare benefits, debt, income maximisation, employment rights, general family issues, and consumer issues, and general advice on other queries, such as access to services and support. The service will hold registration with the Financial Conduct Authority for specialist debt counselling, and employ or have volunteers that are approved intermediaries for Debt Relief Orders. All advice provided must be completely free of charge, confidential and impartial. The Service will be accessible in-person from a central location(s) within Portsmouth, as well as by telephone, email, and other channels that meet customers' needs. Home visits will also be offered where deemed necessary and appropriate. The key outcomes for the service are centred around; financial wellbeing, housing stability, access to rights and entitlements, family and social stability, health and wellbeing, digital and self-advocacy, and service/system level outcomes. The service will aim to provide early help to prevent customers reaching crisis point, and for those customers in crisis, it will help them to find solutions and address the underlying root causes to reduce the risk of future crisis. This tender is for the re-procurement of an existing service. The current provider, You Trust, were awarded the contract following an advertised tender process undertaken in 2022. TUPE will apply to this service. In 2024/25, 14,288 people accessed the service with 13,666 receiving direct support. The service assists approximately 1,150 people per month and around 265 per week. The highest areas of demand currently are: welfare benefits, debt, housing, consumer issues, and other issues including family and employment rights. Contract value The contract is being funded via two sources. The council's internal department budget will be used to fund the core contract at a value of PS295,000 per annum and PS1,475,000 over the maximum 5-year term. External funding via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (which runs for 3-years, 1 April 2026 - 31 March 2029) will be used to supplement the core contract for the purpose of providing outreach and community-based provision with the aim of increasing accessibility. This funding totals PS241,666 over the initial 3-year contract term. The procurement will be run in accordance with the following timetable, however the council may depart from this where needed. 1. Contract notice published on FTS 27 May 2026 2. Procurement documents available on In-tend 27 May 2026 3. Deadline for requests for clarification 17 June 2026 4. Tender return deadline 3 July 2026 5. Evaluation & Moderation 6 July - 24 July 2026 6. Interviews/Presentations w/c 27 July 2026 7. Final evaluation of tenders completed 31 July 2026 8. Notify suppliers 18 August 2026 9. Standstill period 19 - 28 August 2026 10. Contract award 1 September 2026 11. Start of Contract 1 December 2026 ### Lot Information Lot 1 Options: Following Local Government Reorganisation, the total opportunity value and volume of requirements may fluctuate. This may include an increase or decrease in the scale of Advice Services to accommodate integrating merging authorities, broader corporate estates, or adjusted geographical boundaries. Renewal: The contract term will be for 3 years with options to extend in increments to be agreed up to a maximum of 5 years. ### Planning Information Portsmouth City Council (the council) are looking to engage with providers who can deliver an open access social welfare advice service for adults in Portsmouth. This service will provide specialist and generalist advice to improve outcomes and maximise use of resources for all people living or working within the boundaries of the city, and for Portsmouth City Council tenants living in Havant. As part of this consultation document there is a questionnaire for providers to complete which will help us in deciding our future commissioning models. We welcome any feedback from interested parties. Providers are encouraged to complete as many of the questions within the questionnaire as possible. The questionnaire can be found via this link https://in-tendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home Interested providers should return the PME Questionnaire by 18th January 2026. Portsmouth City Council reserves the right to engage further with selected providers who indicate that they can meet the service as described within the questionnaire. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049909-2026 | | Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning, Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 27 May 2026 | | Submission deadline | 3 Jul 2026 | | Future notice date | 18 Jan 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 1 Nov 2026 - 31 Oct 2029 | | Recurrence | 2029-05-15 | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £1,716,666 | | Lots value | £1,716,666 | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Active | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL | | Locality | PORTSMOUTH | | Post town | Portsmouth | | Postcode | PO1 2AL | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight | | ITL 3 | TLJ31 Portsmouth | | Local authority | Portsmouth | | Electoral ward | Charles Dickens | | Westminster constituency | Portsmouth South | | Delivery location | TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight, TLJ31 Portsmouth | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services - 85312310 - Guidance services - 85312400 - Welfare services not delivered through residential institutions ## Release History - 27 May 2026 at 15:32 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049909-2026 - 5 Jan 2026 at 14:46 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000369-2026 - 17 Dec 2025 at 14:35 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083919-2025 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/049909-2026 27th May 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/000369-2026 5th January 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083919-2025 17th December 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender - https://in-tendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home ## Notice URLs - 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-05f80a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05f80a.json.