Southwark Council's Cabinet has approved the award of eight contracts totalling £12.88 million for the provision of mental health supported housing, aiming to provide stable and supportive accommodation for individuals facing severe mental ill health and associated challenges.
The contracts, set to commence on July 6, 2026, will run for an initial period of four or five years, with an option to extend for a further two years. These services are designed to promote social inclusion, support recovery, and enable residents to develop the skills needed for greater independence. The people supported through these services are often living with severe mental ill health alongside other challenges such as homelessness, trauma, poverty or involvement with the criminal justice system. Without structured housing and consistent support, many would face hospital readmission or rough sleeping. This provision is therefore not only compassionate, it is preventative and cost effective.
The council currently funds 255 units of supported housing through contracts with eight providers delivered from 28 buildings. The new services will promote social inclusion by supporting residents with multiple needs to live as independently as possible, developing the skills necessary to move on from supported housing and into independent living. They will also support proactive recovery, in a way that accepts and manages risk, by co-defining and making progress toward positive aspirations. Plans for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the service, including key performance indicators and feedback mechanisms to ensure continuous improvement will be a key part of performance management of the new contracts.
Of the eight contracts, four will be for a four-year term, aligning with Integrated Care Board (ICB) contracts. Two of these contracts are to be contracted for an initial period of four-years with a two-year extension to align with the ICB contracts that commenced in 2024, with a view to conduct a joint collaborative procurement in the future. The remaining four will be for five-year terms. The total value for the four-year contracts is £4.62 million, and for the five-year contracts, it is £8.26 million, bringing the total to £12.88 million over the potential seven-year period.
However, one lot for short-term medium support could not be awarded due to a lack of quality bids. The council is currently reviewing options, including single supplier negotiations, to address this gap. The estimated maximum annual value for this unawarded lot is £193,000, with a whole life contract value of £1.35 million. Available options, including conducting single supplier negotiations to award the contract, are currently under review. Approval of any unawarded lot following the chosen procurement exercise will be approved by the Strategic Director for Children and Adult Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing.
Providers recommended for award include Turning Point Services Ltd, Hestia Housing and Support, Peabody Trust, Southside Partnership, St Mungo Community Housing Association. Several of these are new providers to Southwark, bringing a diverse range of expertise to the service.
The procurement process involved a rigorous evaluation of method statements, bidder presentations, and price. The evaluation of tenders was based on a price per quality criterion of 85% weighting and a bidder presentation criterion of 15% weighting. For the first calculation, bidders who met the quality minimum scores were given a baseline score of 60% and a weighting of 40% applied to their weighted method statement scores. The baseline score and total weighted method statement score were added together to form a total weighted quality score which was used in the PQP calculation to determine the presentation shortlist. For the second and final calculation, bidders were given a baseline score of 60% and a weighting of 25% applied to their weighted method statement score and 15% applied to their weighted presentation score. The baseline, method statement and presentation weighted scores were added together to form a total weighted score which was used in the PQP calculation to determine the successful bidder in each lot. The method statement questions covered key areas such as: Service delivery, Lot Specific responses, KPIs, Partnership working, Leadership and Workforce, Mobilisation, Social Value & Climate Change Commitments.
All successful providers have committed to the Council's 2030 Procurement Framework, including payment of at least the London Living Wage, and to supporting our climate commitments.
