DWP – ESF
Expressions of Interest – North East Local Enterprise Partnership Area
Please return your completed Expression of Interest to: by Thursday 7th April 2016 - 5 pm
Introduction to Rehab
Rehab is an independent charity which works towards a world where every person has the opportunity to achieve their potential. We are a leading provider of world-class services and initiatives and fully committed to achieving equality, sustainability and value for money. We work in local communities to provide high-quality services and opportunities to people facing disadvantage and issues which impede their progression.
Rehab is part of the Rehab Group, an independent international group of charities and commercial companies which provides training, employment, health and social care, and commercial services for over 100,000 people each year in Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, and Saudi Arabia.
Rehab has been formed from members of the Rehab UK group of companies which includes Momentum Skills, TBG, and Acorn Training Consultants. We deliver health, employability and skills provision for major funding agencies including the Big Lottery Fund, the NHS, local authorities, Department for Work and Pensions, Skills Funding Agency, Education Funding Agency, European Social Fund and.
Rehab JobFit is a partnership between Rehab and Interserve and delivers Work Programme as prime contractor across Wales and the South West.
In the North East, Momentum Skills delivers employability and vocational rehabilitation support to people with acquired brain injuries and other neurological conditions. This activity is funded by Big Lottery Fund, CCGs and local authorities.
All members of the Rehab family have a strong track record of delivering welfare-to-work, skills, disability, health and mental health contracts across the country. As prime provider for the Work Programme in Wales since 2011 via Rehab Jobfit, we have developed an in-depth understanding of working with some of the most disadvantaged people in the most deprived local communities. We provide an inclusive delivery methodology which ensures our customers receive access to a wide range of interventions and activities to enable them to achieve a positive impact in to their lives.
To support us in achieving this for the DWP ESF programme for The North East LEP area we are keen to link with voluntary, public and private sector organisations in Northumberland, North Tyneside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland and County Durham that can demonstrate a track record in engaging successfully with people with a health condition or disability and supporting them into employment. This could be with a local focus or across multiple local authority areas.
We are looking for end-to-end providers who can deliver the full customer journey in line with a co-designed delivery framework and specialist “menu” partners who can offer a full range of complementary support services to meet participants’ needs and address their barriers.
Programme Overview
This Provision will help people with a health condition or disability and who have left the Work Programme (without achieving a job outcome) to enter and sustain employment. Using a ‘Work first’ approach and by providing flexible and personalised packages of support, it will focus on work readiness activities to help ensure sustained job outcomes for disadvantaged people who face multiple barriers to work.
A key feature of this Provision is the integration with local health and other relevant support services to ensure participants receive the support they need at the time they need it. Once the participant is in employment the aim is to provide in-work support to meet individual needs.
The target cohort is Work Programme leavers who remain unemployed or inactive (both new and ‘stock’) and with one or more of the following characteristics:
§ Unemployed after completing Work Programme
§ Health condition and/or disability lasting more than 12 months including physical, mental health and behavioural issues
§ Recovering from drug or alcohol misuse
It is expected that participants will mainly fall into one of the following groups:
§ ESA Claimants in the Work Related Activity Group
§ JSA Claimants with a health condition
§ JSA or ESA ex-Incapacity Benefit Claimants
§ Universal Credit Claimants who are ex JSA or ESA claimants and have completed Work Programme.
Provision will:
§ Give personalised support to participants to help them move into and sustain employment
§ Identify and address each participant’s particular barriers
§ Provide or purchase access to a range of other services and specialist provision, e.g. literacy and numeracy, vocational and workplace skills training
§ Provide in work support which meets the needs of the participant to help them sustain employment
The framework of support must include the following elements as a minimum:
§ Understanding and influencing participants’ motivation and attitudes, in particular confidence and self-esteem through e.g. interactive group sessions that allow peer support
§ Financial management – budgeting and debt advice, better off calculations, help applying for Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credits or Council Tax Benefit
§ Assisting participants to explore employment options
§ Supporting participants to develop modern job search skills including using IT to search and apply for work, setting up a Universal Jobmatch account, completing online application forms and using social media to seek work
§ Employability training – communication skills, personal presentation, time keeping, attitudes/behaviours at work, team building, working relationships, work-related literacy and numeracy support
§ Effective interview techniques, including mock interview and feedback
§ IT skills - basic IT skills, to include setting up an e-mail account if participants do not already have one
§ Work skills specific to, and in partnership with, local employers;
§ Providing or sourcing vocational training as appropriate to employer requirements, such as Food Hygiene Certificate, Health and Safety, CSCS
§ Delivering or sourcing specialist provision to help participants overcome barriers, e.g. managing conditions in order to access employment, help with substance misuse or alcohol abuse, managing mental health issues
§ Group sessions to address language and cultural barriers
§ Brokering opportunities and providing advice and support to enable participants to access voluntary work, work trials and work experience
§ General life skills, e.g. assisting participants to become more independent in order to access employment
§ Discussing opportunities for self-employment and referral to enterprise start-up programmes if appropriate
§ Signposting participants to a range of provision where further support is required. This includes, but is not limited to:
o ESOL
o New Enterprise Allowance
o Prince’s Trust
o Sector based work academies
o Apprenticeships/Traineeships
o National Careers Service
o Basic Skills Support
o Specialist support suited to the needs of the Participant
o ESF provision provided by Skills Funding Agency and/or the Big Lottery Fund.
§ In work support and aftercare
These options are not exhaustive and will vary across locations according to participant needs.
Providers will be expected to build sustainable partnerships with existing local provision and organisations that are active in offering support to unemployed people, especially those with health conditions and disabilities. This will span the public (especially Local Authorities), private, health, voluntary and community sectors and further education institutions.
Provision can last for a maximum of 52 weeks.
Project outputs and results
Maximum budget and minimum volume levels are set at:
LEP / Maximum Contract Value / Minimum number of startsNorth East LEP
More Developed area (73.2%) / £3,952,800 / 1,830
North East LEP
Transitional area (County Durham) (26.8%) / £1,447,200 / 670
North East LEP (whole) / £5,400,000 / 2,500
We will be looking to achieve added value by considering realistic budget savings and an increase on minimum customer volumes.
Success will be measured by:
§ The number of participants achieving employment for a cumulative period of 13 weeks within a 26 week period (Short Job Outcome)
§ The number of participants sustaining employment for a cumulative period of 26 weeks within a 52 week period (Sustained Job Outcome)
We will pass down the same payment terms to end to end providers that we receive from DWP:
§ 25% of total subcontract value paid as a monthly Delivery Fee (for 24 months)
§ 40% of total subcontract value paid on achievement of a Short Job Outcome (40% of delivery partner’s total subcontract value / profiled short job outcomes = Short Job Outcome fee)
§ 35% of total subcontract value paid on achievement of a Sustained Job Outcome (35% of delivery partner’s total subcontract value / profiled sustained job outcomes = Sustained Job Outcome fee)
Partnership Opportunities across Tyne and Wear
Rehab is looking to work with high performing delivery partners who can help us to develop an innovative and effective supply chain to deliver DWP ESF provision. Applicants will ideally be able to demonstrate:
§ A successful track record of engaging and working with people with health conditions, mental health conditions and physical disabilities
§ Demonstrable understanding of the needs of local people with health conditions
§ Strong local links to key stakeholders and support agencies to address barriers and the ability to coordinate a joined up approach to supporting the cohort via local partner networks
§ An understanding of local, regional and national strategies around health and employability
§ Strong employer links to access a wide and varied bank of work placements
§ Strong VCS links to facilitate access to volunteering opportunities
§ Existing delivery infrastructure and an established local presence
Key Dates
Return EoIs to Rehab / 7th April 2016 / 5 pmPreferred partners shortlisted and informed / 14th April 2016
Financial and staffing information provided to Rehab / 22nd April 2016
Letters of intent returned to Rehab / 22nd April 2016
Submit ITT to DWP / 28th April 2016 / 10 am
Preferred bidder notified / w/c 25th July 2016
Contract start / 21st November 2016
This EoI is for those organisations who have not already submitted an EoI to Rehab in relation to ESIF opportunities (including BBO and SFA calls).
If you have already submitted an EoI to Rehab and wish to be included in this procurement exercise (and have not already contacted or been contacted by Rehab or Momentum Skills) please contact to confirm your interest and we will forward a Request for Information (RfI) to enable you to provide information relevant to this tender.
Organisations who are selected to partner with Rehab will be required to submit a Letter of Intent but this will not constitute a formal partnership agreement.
If you are interested in partnering with us, please complete the following questions and return to no later than 5 pm Thursday 7h April 2016. We will identify appropriate partner organisations based on information provided in response to the questions below, ensuring full geographical coverage by relevant, exemplar providers through a fair and open procurement process. All scores will be evaluated using the methodology outlined in Annex A. Please note that additional information may be requested as part of our due diligence procedures. We will enter into formal partnership agreements if we are successful with our application to DWP.
To complete, please try to stick to word limits where stated. Bullet point responses are fine.
1. About your organisation
1.1 Organisation detailsName of organisation
Name / job title of contact
Contact e-mail
Contact telephone number
Head office address
Website
Type of organisation (public, private, VCS)
Number of staff
Matrix Accredited?
Company / Charity Number
VAT number
Latest Ofsted Grade
Date of last Ofsted inspection
Legal status / Private Limited Company
Public Limited Company
Registered Charity
Public Sector
Other (please describe):
2. Services
2.1 Services offered: Please indicate which services you can offerEnd to End Services: engagement, assessment, induction, pre-employment, mentoring, IAG, sourcing / providing additional support to overcome barriers, in-work support, next steps support
Specialist support to overcome barriers
Ad hoc support including skills interventions via spot purchase
Specialist health-related provider
Organisation offering work placements or volunteering opportunities
2.2 If you intend to provide end to end support please confirm that you can
provide all the support and interventions below
Yes, we can deliver all the below
No, we can only deliver:
Engagement activities
Initial and diagnostic assessment
Action planning
Confidence building and motivation
Jobsearch (including online jobsearch)
Job brokering
CV writing
Help with application forms
Interview practice
Employability skills
Basic IT Skills
Financial inclusion (debt advice, setting up bank accounts)
Benefits IAG (including Better off in Work calculations)
ESOL
Life skills
Resilience skills
Functional skills
Vocational skills
Sector routeways
Progression routes (e.g. Apprenticeships)
Work experience / taster opportunities
Volunteering opportunities
Self-employment support
In-work support
Aftercare / next steps support
Mentoring (including peer mentoring)
Support to access child care options
Employer engagement
Employer support
Substance misuse support
Mental health support
Health management support
Disability management support
Signposting to additional support to overcome barriers
2.3 Additional areas of support – if there’s anything else you deliver which is not covered, please let us know here
2.4 Work Placements / volunteering opportunities – if you are offering to provide / broker work placements or volunteering opportunities please indicate the type of placements you intend to offer / source (e.g. vocational sector, type of role) and the volume of placements per year you can provide / access
2.5 Specialist health support – if you are offering to provide specialist health-related support please detail below. (200 words)
3. Geographical Coverage – please indicate your coverage below
Local Authority Area / Able to DeliverGateshead / Yes
City of Newcastle upon Tyne / Yes
North Tyneside / Yes
South Tyneside / Yes
City of Sunderland / Yes
Northumberland / Yes
County Durham / Yes
4. Premises and Delivery Locations
4.1 Please identify where your delivery locations areLocal authority area / Address
4.2 Please confirm that you have sufficient delivery infrastructure to cover the local authority areas you have indicated. If not, please explain how you will ensure full geographical coverage is achieved (100 words) [SCORED]
5. Experience and Track Record