Purpose

The County Council’s
Young People’s Supported Housing Pathway service provides a
safe accommodation option for 16/17-year-olds and young people aged
18-25 who are in and on the edge of care and homeless young people.
It enables the local authority to meet its statutory
responsibilities and also satisfies the housing duties held by the
District & Borough Councils 
 
An in-depth review and analysis
have evidenced that current service provision does not fully meet
need or provide the conditions for sustainable change, meaning
young people are vulnerable to becoming homeless and less
economically active in later life. Historically the County Council
has commissioned and funded these services. However, reviewing the
service provided the opportunity to undertake collaborative design
with key stakeholders.  This has
resulted in the proposal for a new co-produced service to be
procured, jointly commissioned and funded with the District and
Borough Councils.
 
The intention for the new
service is that multiple providers will be awarded contracts to
offer supported accommodation for young people at a range of
locations.  As well has having a place
to live there will a package of support services, delivered by the
County Council and key partners to support young people to find
meaningful employment and develop the life skills to move to
independent adulthood.
 
Authority is therefore sought
to launch a procurement process to commission a new supported
accommodation service to provide an effective housing pathway which
prevents future homelessness and addresses health, wellbeing and
economic inequalities. The new services will deliver a West Sussex
wide offer to support children we care for, care leavers and those
young people who are homeless or at risk of immediate or future
homelessness.

Decision

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People
and Learning has approved:
 

(1)    
The commencement of a procurement process to secure multiple
providers to deliver a Supported Accommodation and Housing Pathway
service using the light-touch procurement regime.  The services are expected to start mobilising from
May 2026 with the contracts expected to commence 1st October
2026.The contracts are due to run for a period of 5 years with the
potential to extend for up to a maximum of 4 years.

(2)    
The delegation of authority to the Assistant Director (Acting)
Transformation, Data & Commissioning, to award contracts to
successful bidders on conclusion of the procurement process, in
accordance with the evaluation and tender requirements and within
the financial parameters set out in this report and to extend the
contracts subject to satisfactory performance and delivery.