Scope
Reference
C24517
Description
Modern Slavery is an umbrella term that encompasses human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. It cruelly destroys the lives of victims who are exploited by criminals for profit, often in seemingly legitimate businesses. The Modern Slavery Unit, within the Home Office's Modern Slavery Directorate, is responsible for leading the Government's response to modern slavery.
Modern slavery is a barbaric crime that dehumanises people for profit. The Government is committed to tackling it in all its forms and to giving survivors the support and certainty they need to recover. The UK is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking.
These obligations are currently met through the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) which provides specialist support to adult victims of exploitation and trafficking identified through the NRM in England and Wales, as well as support delivered through wider state services.
The new Support for Victims of Modern Slavery (SVMS) contract will replace the MSVCC. The SVMS service will lift modern slavery victims out of exploitation, keep them safe, and provide temporary tailored needs-based support to assist them in their recovery and reduce their risk of re-exploitation. It will be innovative, flexible, responsive to demand, and adaptive to the needs of service users. It will facilitate the smooth transition of Service Users out of the service when contracted support is no longer required, through alignment with other statutory services and productive partnerships with statutory and non-statutory organisations. It will harness new data and technology advancements to support Service Users and deliver contract efficiency.
The following key pillars and enablers will be required as part of SVMS service provision.
Support worker: each Service User is assigned a Support Worker who plays a central role in their recovery. Support Workers complete the assessment process, develop Support Plans and conduct monthly support meetings with Service Users to review progress and adjust support as needed. This includes providing referrals, advocacy and access to services across social, legal, psychological and health domains. Support Workers operate to defined minimum standards to ensure a high quality and consistent level of support across all cases, receive enhanced, trauma-informed training and have access to specialist resources for complex cases. Emphasis is placed on consistency of care, ensuring that Service Users experience reliable and coordinated support across geographical areas. Suppliers shall respond to the needs of staff, ensuring their safety and supporting their overall well-being.
Accommodation: Service Users at risk of re-exploitation or destitution can access safe accommodation that meets their needs and level of independence. A range of shared single sex, family and individual units will be available, which must meet minimum standards stipulated in the Authority's requirements and be regularly and well maintained. A transport service safely transports Service Users to the accommodation and on to alternative accommodation when they are required to exit. Most service users will not require accommodation from the service and will receive outreach support.
Financial support: Service Users will be paid means-tested financial
support payments to meet their essential living needs and recovery needs. A deposit grant and move-in funding is available to help eligible Service Users secure suitable long-term accommodation.
Psychological assistance: Service Users are entitled to psychological
assistance, including a Mental Health Assessment by a qualified healthcare professional. Should the assessor deem local NHS service wait times do not align to the urgency of the identified need, the Service User would be in scope to receive short-term therapeutic support. This support is documented in a Psychological Support Plan. Referrals are made by Support Workers, and therapy is primarily delivered remotely to increase accessibility.
Digital tools and technology: The service includes digital solutions to enhance accessibility and engagement, including streamlined data capture and sharing across the contract, automated translation and interpretation, a victim portal for Service Users to access personal information and track progress, and a resource hub with information on rights, entitlements, and external services. The Supplier will design, maintain, and report on these systems as part of monitoring and evaluation.
Partnership working across the supply chain and a range of external support providers and stakeholders such as local authorities, job centres, GPs and asylum support services will ensure Service Users can access longer-term support pathways and transition to independence outside the service.
Full details of the Authority's requirements are available by accessing the Home Office Jaggaer site signposted in this notice.
Total value (estimated)
- £800,000,000 excluding VAT
- £960,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 3 August 2026 to 2 August 2032
- Possible extension to 2 August 2035
- 9 years
Description of possible extension:
The period or periods of up to 3 years from the end of the Initial Term (the "Extension Period").
The Authority may elect to extend the Term by giving at least six (6) months' notice before the end of the Initial Term or any existing Extension Period for any period provided that in aggregate the Extension Period(s) shall not exceed a maximum of three (3) years from end of the Initial Term.
Please note the estimated contract value includes the optional extension period of up to 3 years. As such, it represents a maximum value should the extension period be exercised in full at the Authority's sole discretion.
The initial 6-year value is a range from £445m (ex VAT) to £525m (ex VAT) or a range of £535m (Inc VAT) to £630m (Inc VAT), which is also the estimated initial value of the contract that would be awarded to the successful supplier.
This estimated initial value is given as a range to encourage suppliers to consider potential efficiency savings to achieve good value for money while delivering positive outcomes for victims.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 85312400 - Welfare services not delivered through residential institutions
- 55250000 - Letting services of short-stay furnished accommodation
- 60140000 - Non-scheduled passenger transport
- 79111000 - Legal advisory services
- 79530000 - Translation services
- 79540000 - Interpretation services
- 85321000 - Administrative social services
- 98341100 - Accommodation management services
- 85312300 - Guidance and counselling services
- 72222300 - Information technology services
- 98330000 - Physical well-being services
Contract locations
- UKC - North East (England)
- UKD - North West (England)
- UKF - East Midlands (England)
- UKG - West Midlands (England)
- UKH - East of England
- UKJ - South East (England)
- UKK - South West (England)
- UKL - Wales
Justification for not using lots
Opportunities to divide the contract into lots were carefully considered at each stage of the options shortlisting process.
For example, the Authority considered contractual disaggregation based upon regions, each with their own supply chain managed by a regional prime supplier. This option was discounted following market feedback and internal analysis that indicated a regional model would not be optimal because many of the underlying services were best delivered nationally.
The Authority consider separately procuring an IT tech partner to provide the technology platform that the prime service integrator and core support providers would use to deliver and integrate the services. However, this option was discounted because analysis showed separating out tech would create unacceptable risks to the seamless integration of services and would create an excessive contract management overhead for the Home Office. This risk is particularly acute because of the sensitivity and the vulnerabilities of the cohort we are supporting.
While the contract is not being divided into lots, the Authority has ensured that SMEs get ample opportunities to participate - for example, we have facilitated networking between potential suppliers during early market engagement events.
Submission
Enquiry deadline
5 September 2025, 5:00pm
Submission type
Tenders
Tender submission deadline
26 September 2025, 5:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
20 July 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Price | 20% | |
| New User Journey including Service User Support Outcomes, Reach-In Support and Financial Support | Quality | 13.5% | |
| Technological Solutions | Quality | 12% | |
| Social Value | Quality | 10% | |
| Commercial and Contract | Quality | 7% | |
| Psychological Assistance Services including Short-Term Therepeutic Support, Clinical Assessment | Quality | 6.75% | |
| Acommodation and Transport Services | Quality | 6.75% | |
| Support Worker including Outreach, Training and Specialisms | Quality | 6.75% | |
| Quality and Performance Management including Partnership Working and Monitoring and Evaluation | Quality | 6.75% | |
| Mobilisation and Implementation | Quality | 6% | |
| Integrator | Integration of end-to-end support services and integration of new technology to underpin core support services. |
Quality | 4.5% |
Other information
Description of risks to contract performance
Volume forecast uncertainty: there is uncertainty in respect of forecast referrals into the SVMS contract. The Authority reserves the right to update its volume forecasts during the procurement or post-Contract Award, which may have an impact on the estimated value of the contract.
Legislative and policy changes: the Authority reserves the right to modify the contract to deal with any impact of future legislation and/or changes to policy that may impact volumes and/or the scope of services.
Leveraging the opportunities to reduce SVMS service provision where wider state provision can more reliably and consistently meet Service User needs in future. For example, if there is a sustained reduction in waiting times for NHS mental health services, more Service Users could be triaged expeditiously to NHS support thereby reducing the need for psychological assistance services within the contract.
Certain services envisaged in the SVMS contract are new such as psychological assistance and the move-on grant. If the Authority finds that these services are not delivering the outcomes for which they were designed, they could be changed or scaled down over time.
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Competitive flexible procedure
Competitive flexible procedure description
Competitive Flexible Procedure will comprise the following stages:
Stage 1a (Conditions of Participation): requires completion and submission of Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). Pass / Fail criteria applied. No down-selection to exclude potential suppliers. All potential suppliers that pass (i.e. satisfy the Conditions of Participation) will proceed to Stage 1b (Initial Tender). Suppliers will need to be registered on Find A Tender, Central Digital Platform (CDP) to participate.
Stage 1b (Initial Tender): requires completion and submission of Initial Tender. Initial Tenders will not be evaluated or scored but reviewed to inform Stage 2 (Negotiation). No down-selection to exclude potential suppliers. All potential suppliers that submit compliant Initial Tenders will receive an invitation to Stage 2 (Negotiation).
Stages 1a and 1b will be run concurrently and have the same submission deadline. Therefore, this Tender Notice is both a Request to Participate (PSQ) and a Request to Tender (Initial Tender). After the submission deadline closes, the Authority will evaluate the PSQ responses first. Then, all suppliers that pass the PSQ stage will have their Initial Tenders opened and reviewed by the Authority to inform Stage 2 (Negotiation).
Stage 2 (Negotiation): to be conducted over a 6-week period based on key requirements / themes and drawing upon the learning from the review of Initial Tenders.
Stage 3 (Best and Final Offer (BAFO) Tender): Potential suppliers will be invited to submit their BAFO Tenders following Stage 2 (Negotiation). BAFO Tenders will be evaluated, scored and moderated to identify the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT). Preferred Bidder provisionally identified subject to any further checks at Stage 4 (Authority Due Diligence).
Stage 4 (Authority Due Diligence): optional stage at the sole discretion of the Authority prior to Stage 5 (Award). Due diligence is undertaken by the Authority to provide assurance that there are no material risks that could prevent contract signature i.e. if a Lead Supplier bidding for the contract is no longer meets the minimum standards required at Stage 1A, and their Tender is rejected as a result, the Authority reserves the right to award the Contract to the next highest scoring Lead Supplier.
After Stage 4, there will be a pause in the procurement process as the Authority completes its Full Business Case (FBC) governance processes.
Stage 5 (Award): Contract Award procedures implemented including publication of a Contract Award Notice and mandatory standstill period. Contract signed.
Implementation and Mobilisation begins.
Please note the Authority reserves the right at any stage of the procurement to abandon the competition and not award a contract; pause, change or re-plan the procurement process as needed; remove or amend the scope of requirements while maintaining minimum published requirements; or reject any supplier responses prior to Contract Award without being liable for any costs incurred by the supplier to participate in the procurement.
The Authority also reserves the right to use the following supplementary processes during the procurement although these have not been incorporated into the current design of the competitive flexible procedure: - - Site visits
- Interim assessment of tenders to narrow competition
- Assessment of tenders including option to award prior to negotiation or dialogue
- Supplier presentations
- Product demonstrations
(Please note a Prior Information Notice was published on 26 March 2024 Ref: ocds-h6vhtk-044cd7 and subsequent early market engagement was conducted.)
Documents
Documents to be provided after the tender notice
Suppliers who wish to participate in the procurement and have not previously completed an SVMS Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) will need to complete an NDA by visiting:
https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html
Please locate site "PQQ_451 Support for Victims of Modern Slavery (SVMS), Non-Disclosure Agreement". Download, complete and submit the NDA. Site PQQ_451 is open to all suppliers registered on Home Office's Jaggaer portal. Should you have any difficulties downloading or completing the SVMS NDA, please do not hesitate to send a message to:
SVMSProcurement@homeoffice.gov.uk
After you have submitted a completed and signed NDA, you will be invited to another Home Office Jaggaer site where you may download the following documents in order to participate in the SVMS procurement:
Instructions to Suppliers and Evaluation Guidance Document
Annex A: Conditions of Participation, Procurement Specific Questionnaire
Annex B: Commercial Negotiation Approach Guidance
Annex C: Evaluation Criteria, Weightings and Questions
Annex D: Draft Contract
Annex E: Financial Pricing Model (FPM) and accompanying guidance
Annex F: Carbon Reduction Plan Template
Annex G: Notified Key Sub-Contractors Document
Annex H: Non-Collusion Certificate and Bid Form
Annex I: Commercially Sensitive Information
Annex J: Business Rules
Contracting authority
Home Office
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PWGC-6513-PQLZ
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
United Kingdom
Contact name: Michael Stevens
Email: SVMSProcurement@homeoffice.gov.uk
Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office
Region: UKI32 - Westminster
Organisation type: Public authority - central government