Essex County Council is introducing a new contract for Supported Living. The contract will follow a framework model.
What is the new Supported Living Framework Contract - and what has changed?
The Supported Living Framework is the new contract to be procured and operated by Essex County Council for all new referrals of adults into supported living services within Essex.
Placements have previously been made on a spot contract basis, and the framework will embed a new referral process as well as an updated service specification and contract to better reflect the requirements of support services for adults with disabilities.
What benefits are there to entering the Framework?
- Providers on the framework will be the first to be considered for new Supported Living referrals. They will have priority when ECC is looking for suitable schemes for adults. Adults will be asked initially to choose from providers on the framework
- Mini competitions: where specific accommodation is needed for an adult or group of compatible adults (e.g. hospital discharge or move from other accommodation) providers on the framework will be automatically able to bid for such provision if they have the right schemes or are willing to put such schemes in place. Additionally, mini-competitions may be used where a new provider is required for a pre-existing scheme or a newly developed service.
- A new, modern contract and service specification as well as a clearer referral process and expected outcomes.
- Providers on the framework introducing new schemes for onboarding will have priority at ECC's Accommodation Planning Board.
Amending Existing Accommodation on the Framework
Providers are able to make changes to existing schemes on the framework at any time, which we call the 'Permitted Variations Process' and which covers:
- 'General Home Information' - contact details, number of available tenancies, shared hours, accessibility changes etc
- 'Current Vacancies' - to be notified to the Council by the Provider throughout the term of the Framework,
Where a change covered by the above is proposed the provider will need to complete the 'Existing Scheme Variation Form' and email it to the specialist.accomm@essex.gov.uk
Once received the changes can be made to the specific record on the High Level Matching Tool. This must be done within 30 days of receipt of the form and an email will be sent to the provider confirming that the changes had been processed.
Current Framework rates
- Non-complex hourly rate: £19.16
- Complex hourly rate: £21.04
- Night sleeping rate: £12.68
Adding New Schemes to the Framework
Providers that have a place on our framework are able to bring forward new accommodation at any time. This is however still subject to the Accommodation Planning Board (APB) process.
New schemes are also distinct from those where we already have placements but a provider has maybe not onboarded to the framework for whatever reason. Any schemes where we already have placements will not need to go through the APB process to come on to the framework but would need to have been onboarded in order for us to make new placements.
Where a new scheme is onboarded through APB and is to be put on the framework the provider has to complete the 'Additional Scheme Form' with all of the details of the scheme. This must then be emailed to specialist.accomm@essex.gov.uk
Once the provider submits an 'Additional Scheme Form' the scheme will be added to the High Level Matching Tool within 30 days of receipt of the form and an email will be sent to the provider confirming that the addition has been processed.
Full details of both processes can be found within the contract schedules, a copy of which can be found here: Contract Schedule (Zip file)
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The current list of providers on the Supported Living Framework can be found here:
Full Provider List - Supported Living Framework
Frequently asked questions:
For more details information on the procurement process please view the FAQ document on the procurement.