Direct Payment Support Service - Market Engagement

Descriptions

*This advert is for market awareness, engagement and request for information only* Direct payments are intended to give individuals greater choice and flexibility to arrange and manage their care and support needs, through the receipt of regular funds from the Local Authority. For some people, choosing a Direct Payment may not be an option without support. The Council has engaged with Personal Assistants (PA’s), Social Workers, Providers and Service Users. Key findings from this engagement included: • The need for an advertising platform/local support office for support providers including PA’s (employed and self-employed) and micro enterprises. • Social Workers also told us that an advertising or brokerage platform, which helped to source PA’s, would be useful for the people they support • Direct payment recipients identified barriers such as having a physical office that they could visit, or someone with local knowledge of what services are available to them • To have two distinct contracts, one that concentrates on financial elements and one that concentrates on the support element. It is therefore proposed that the service will be split into two Lots for two distinct service elements: • Lot 1: Direct Payments Strategic Support Partner - The Direct Payments Strategic Support Partner will deliver strategic support to promote the growth of direct payments across Worcestershire and finding suitable services to meet the needs of direct payment recipients. It is anticipated that this Lot will be suitable for VCSE’s and SME’s within Worcestershire. Estimated value over possible 7 year term: £674,254.00 (excl. VAT) • Lot 2: - Direct Payments Finance Partner - The Direct Payment Finance Partner will deliver a financial management service, covering support of the payments, including managed accounts and payroll for personal assistants. The finance partner would also be operating managed accounts on the Councils’ behalf. Estimated value over possible 7 year term: £1,379,000.00 (excl. VAT) At this stage in the development of proposals, and prior to formulating any formal opportunities, Worcestershire County Council would now like to invite interested organisations to attend a virtual engagement session around the future delivery of Direct Payment Support across the County. This session will inform the market of the procurement process, give further detail of our commissioning intentions, and consult on the content of the service specification. The Council intends to hold a virtual open information and feedback session for all interested organisations on: Thursday 7th August 2025 1pm – 2pm Virtual Meeting via Microsoft Teams The PowerPoint Slides and any supporting documents will be made available after the event. Booking a place: • To book a place on this pre-market engagement session, please email procurement@worcestershire.gov.uk with your name, email address and organisation • Your details will remain confidential, be stored securely and be used for the purposes of disseminating information about this opportunity only • Please register your interest for the market engagement event by close of business on 6th August 2025 • Following registration, you will be sent a link to a Microsoft Teams Meeting Invite, which you will need to join on the day • Should you not be able to attend this event but would like to receive the resources from the pre-market engagement, or should you have any questions about the event, please email procurement@worcestershire.gov.uk Details of this event can also be found on Worcestershire County Council's Electronic Tendering Site, In-Tend. If you are not already registered with In-tend, you will need to register your organisation to view and apply for any opportunities in Worcestershire. To complete your registration, go to https://www.in-tendhost.co.uk/worcestershire/aspx/Home Please note: If you are not already registered with In-tend, you will need to register your organisation to view and apply for any opportunities in Worcestershire. To complete your registration, go to Worcestershire County Council Electronic Tendering Site: Register