---
title: "Domestic Abuse Support in Safe Accommodation (DASSA)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06d978"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06d978"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d978.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d978.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-08-03"
---

# Domestic Abuse Support in Safe Accommodation (DASSA)

Buyer: STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06d978

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06d978)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d978.json)

## Summary

Staffordshire County Council has recently completed the procurement process for the "Domestic Abuse Support in Safe Accommodation (DASSA)" contracts. The procurement fits within the social services industry category, specifically targeting domestic abuse support in safe housing. The contracts have been directly awarded as part of a comprehensive plan developed following a Strategic Insight needs assessment and local consultations. The procurement method was a direct award, taken to ensure continuity and stability of services, with an initial contract period of three years, starting on 1st April 2027, with options to extend up to a total of four years. These initiatives will support victims of domestic abuse in the UK region of Staffordshire (UKG24), benefiting from the ring-fenced annual funding by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This tender represents significant opportunities for growth, especially for businesses specialising in social services, NGOs, and charities that focus on domestic abuse support. Those with experience and expertise in managing safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims, offering advocacy, counselling, and housing-related support, will find these contracts align closely with their capabilities. Given the emphasis on specialist providers and experienced service delivery, the engagement is particularly suited to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sectors. The awarded contracts to Honeycomb Charitable Services Ltd, The Staffordshire Pathway Project, and Staffordshire Women’s Aid underscore the potential for firms that fill key gaps in domestic abuse service provision to establish or expand their footprint within this essential public service arena.

## Notice

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 places a Duty on Tier 1 Local Authorities to provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their families living in safe accommodation settings, defined as 'relevant accommodation' within The Domestic Abuse Support (Relevant Accommodation and Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Sanctuary Schemes) (Amendment) Regulations 2021. 'Support', in this context, can include the following (although this is not an exhaustive list): * Overall management of services within relevant safe accommodation - including capacity building, support and supervision of staff, payroll, financial and day to day management of services and maintaining relationships with the local authority (such functions will often be undertaken by a service manager) * Support with the day-to-day running of the service - for example scheduling times for counselling sessions, group activities (such functions may often be undertaken by administrative or office staff) * Advocacy support (e.g. development of personal safety plans, liaison with other services) * Domestic abuse prevention advice (support to assist victims to recognise the signs of abusive relationships, to help them remain safe and to prevent re-victimisation) * Specialist support for victims * Support designed specifically for victims with specific vulnerabilities (e.g. interpreters) * Support designed specifically for victims with additional complex needs (e.g. mental health, substance misuse) * Children's support (e.g. play therapy, child advocacy) * Housing-related support (e.g. advice about securing a permanent home, rights and benefits, how to live safely and independently) * Advice service (e.g. financial and legal support) * Counselling and therapy (for adults and children, including emotional support) The Statutory Guidance stipulates that the support should be delivered by knowledgeable and/or experienced specialist providers, charities, and other voluntary organisations whose purpose is to provide support to victims of domestic abuse. All support provided under the duties should meet the MHCLG Quality Standards Ring-fenced annual funding is allocated to each Local Authority area from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to enable the fulfilment of this duty. The terms and conditions of this funding are explicit in what the funding can be spent on. Support is provided to individuals and families who are residents of Staffordshire as well as those from outside of the area. This is the nature of this type of domestic abuse support, whereby a national platform 'Routes to Support' is utilised by safe accommodation providers to advertise their vacancies and domestic abuse professionals will use it to secure details of accommodation available to best meet the needs of the victim and any dependant family. It is intended to award three separate contracts for an initial period of three years at an estimated cost of around PS4,664,106 + VAT with an option to extend for a further year, bringing estimated total costs in the region of PS6,218,808 + VAT over the maximum four-year period. These estimated costing are based on current contract value and are subject to change with service specification development. The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement has been announced which maintains the current level of funding up to 2029. Should budgets significantly change then Staffordshire County Council would look to re-engage with the market and communicate the latest intentions for allocation of funding.

### Procurement Information

A Safe Accommodation Needs Assessment - 'Strategic Insight 2021' (alongside the wider Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment), was completed in September 2021 and has informed the refreshed Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Domestic Abuse Strategy 2021-2024, 'Breaking the Cycle'. The latter document was adopted by the established Domestic Abuse Commissioning Board on 1 October 2021. In addition to the pan-Staffordshire needs assessment, Staffordshire County Council commissioned a more localised piece of consultation and engagement work in late 2022 to gain a greater understanding of the local service provision, how it is funded and how the pathways work, as well as identifying any current gaps in provision. These three assessments indicated that there were only three organisations within Staffordshire that provided these types of services with appropriate safe accommodation. The three organisations were geographically independent of each other and were effectively the providers for their areas of Staffordshire. The market has been monitored through the life of the current contracts and provision has remained relatively static within the County with no known new entrants. To inform the decision making process a detailed desk top review was undertaken on the outcomes, from other Contracting Authorities, who have undertaken an open competition for similar services. This concluded that a large number of open competitions attracted only single submissions and service offers were very much geographically biased. The indications from the review were that there is little efficiency to be gained from a competitive tender situation. Upon introduction of the statutory duty and throughout its statutory guidance and subsequent evaluations, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have been clear that commissioning activity should seek to preserve stability in the sector, protect continuity of services, and avoid approaches that would weaken or displace current refuge providers. Staffordshire County Council intend to review provision during the term of this directly awarded contract to determine how provision capacity could be increased in the future and would welcome feedback from any interested parties with their thoughts around this. Should there be any individual new entrants to the market during the intended contract period then Staffordshire County Council may look to engage with them to maximise the availability of these services. However, should there be a sudden influx of available providers, then Staffordshire County Council will review their procurement approach in consideration of undertaking a competitive process.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072965-2026 |
| Notice type | UK5 - Transparency Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Large, SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 3 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 3 Aug 2026 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £6,218,808 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Pending |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL |
| Locality | STAFFORD |
| Post town | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Postcode | ST16 2DH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG2 Shropshire and Staffordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLG24 Staffordshire CC |
| Local authority | Stafford |
| Electoral ward | Forebridge |
| Westminster constituency | Stafford |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 3 |
| Supplier names | HONEYCOMB CHARITABLE SERVICES; STAFFORDSHIRE WOMEN'S AID; THE STAFFORDSHIRE PATHWAY PROJECT |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85311000 - Social work services with accommodation

## Release History

- 3 Aug 2026 at 06:26 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072965-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/072965-2026
  3rd August 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.staffordshirewomensaid.org
- https://www.honeycombgroup.org.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.pathway-project.co.uk/
- https://www.staffordshire.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-06d978. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d978.json.