Planning

Connect to Work

  • Staffordshire County Council

F01: Prior information notice (prior information only)

Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-001462

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04d07f

Published 16 January 2025, 10:57am



Section one: Contracting authority

one.1) Name and addresses

Staffordshire County Council

Tipping Street

STAFFORD

ST162DH

Contact

Michelle Davies

Email

michelle.davies@staffordshire.gov.uk

Country

United Kingdom

Region code

UK - United Kingdom

Justification for not providing organisation identifier

Not on any register

Internet address(es)

Main address

https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Homepage.aspx

Buyer's address

https://supplierlive.proactisp2p.com/Account/Login

one.3) Communication

The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at

https://supplierlive.proactisp2p.com/Account/Login

Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address

one.4) Type of the contracting authority

Regional or local authority

one.5) Main activity

General public services


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

Connect to Work

Reference number

IA3437

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 80400000 - Adult and other education services

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

Staffordshire County Council is engaging with the market to better understand the interest and capacity the market has in providing the Services (in their entirety or specific elements or a proportion of specific elements). You are required to express your organisation's initial interest in the project by completing the Expression of Interest by no later than Friday 7th February 2025 if possible. The Expression of Interest form can be found by selecting the link below:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=TdGsJLuS1kS7qO2z0DgTzVCKa5ZYLYFCsGp-gov_n8VURDNQNEU3WjJCU0oyRVVEMlpGUTlDRjFDVi4u

The PIN notice informs relevant economic operators, that the Council is seeking to undertake market engagement to inform their procurement for the delivery of the Connect to Work programme in Staffordshire.

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.2) Description

two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)

  • 80000000 - Education and training services

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UK - United Kingdom
Main site or place of performance

Staffordshire

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is intended to alert providers to an opportunity to deliver the Connect to Work programme for Staffordshire County Council.

Connect to Work will be a dual-model high fidelity supported employment voluntary programme, delivered by clusters of Local Authorities. It will expand the use of the proven five stage Supported Employment model of 'place, train and maintain'. In 26/27, in England and Wales, Connect to Work funding will support around 100,000 disabled people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to employment to get into and on in work. In Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Connect to Work will support 1,900 programme starts per year, at its peak

Connect to Work will complement other existing provision including the Department for Work and Pensions' WorkWell programme, NHS England's Individual Placement and Support for People with Severe Mental Illness programme and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' Individual Placement and Support for Drug and Alcohol Dependency programme, and other locally led programmes.

Connect to Work will be targeted at Disabled people, those with health conditions and those with other complex barriers to employment. Within these groups the primary focus for this voluntary programme will be those of working age who are not required to seek work as a condition of benefit receipt (who have often been overlooked for employment support). We'd expect appropriate participants to have never worked or to have not worked for around 6 months or more. It will also be available for those same groups where someone is in precarious employment and needs additional support to sustain employment. And those who are required to seek work, but whose needs are best met by supported employment. There is no requirement to be in receipt of benefits.

A market engagement event will be held towards the end of March giving the Council the opportunity to present the service and what procurement process will be followed. The estimated procurement launch date is March/April 2025.

two.2.14) Additional information

The e-tendering system used by Staffordshire County Council is Proactis. Providers are encouraged to register now (link provided below) as this will save time when the tender goes live.

https://supplierlive.proactisp2p.com

two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice

4 April 2025


Section four. Procedure

four.1) Description

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes