Additional Reception Accommodation for newly arrived UASC

Description

Kent County Council (the Council) is the largest county council in England covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres with a population of approx. 1.6m. KCC spends in excess of £1 billion annually on works, goods, and services for the benefit of the communities and citizens of Kent. The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils. The Council’s Services for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (SUASC) has a statutory responsibility for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) under the Children Act 1989 and seeks to develop additional reception accommodation for newly arrived UASC, to provide humanitarian accommodation, assess their needs, including age, and prepare those assessed as under 18 for living in the community. Having identified facilities makes the risk assessment more robust and supports the Governments Prevent Agenda Lot 1: Service Requirements The services required to fulfill the offer of a Reception Centre is made up of: • Accommodation for UASC males; must be single bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms with some shared facilities i.e., kitchen and dining facilities and shared lounges. • Accommodation for staff such as offices, meeting rooms and communal areas to deliver the independence skills required, various assessments and administrative functions. • Housing support from the landlord including furniture, safety equipment such as CCTV and concierge services. • Support staff/Social Worker support. Ideally, the Reception Centre must be able to flex to an increasing need, potentially by having bedrooms and communal space of a size to fit more than one single male in one room. Physical Accommodation Requirements • A single building or grouped buildings on the same site of between 80-120 units. We will NOT be interested in small properties dispersed across the county. Page 5 to 8 • The building/grouped buildings must have the correct planning permission in place to be able to deliver this service to this specific cohort. • A location within the geographical boundary of the East Kent or South Kent. • Set in a discrete location to have minimal impact on the local community. • Catering facility able to accommodate the number of occupants. • Only male aged 16-17 occupancy. • Minimum capacity of 80 placements, ideally up to 120 placements. • Communal areas are available for socialising, lessons, and briefings. • Low maintenance costs. • Easy to repair given propensity for damage. • Space for office accommodation for the SUASC Operational Team (22 staff).