Portsmouth Advice Service

Description

Portsmouth City Council (the council) are looking to engage with providers who can deliver an open access social welfare advice service for adults in Portsmouth. This service will provide specialist and generalist advice to improve outcomes and maximise use of resources for all people living or working within the boundaries of the city, and for Portsmouth City Council tenants living in Havant. As part of this consultation document there is a questionnaire for providers to complete which will help us in deciding our future commissioning models. We welcome any feedback from interested parties. Providers are encouraged to complete as many of the questions within the questionnaire as possible. The existing service provides expert advice on housing, welfare benefits, debt, income maximisation, employment rights, general family issues, and consumer issues, and general advice on other queries, such as access to services and support. The overarching aim of the provision is to help prevent further crisis and improve outcomes for the individual whilst helping reduce the need for healthcare, social care and other statutory services. All advice is completely free of charge, confidential and impartial. Residents are supported either in-person, by telephone, or via email. The service also has a standalone dedicated website. The council commission the existing advice service through a single provider contract and the service is delivered from one building based centrally within the city. The service receives additional funding via the Household Support Fund to deliver outreach services in eleven community locations including across the city, however, this outreach provision does not form part of the commissioned contract. The current contract commenced on the 1st November 2022 and has run for an initial period of three years. The council have extended this contract for one further year until 31st October 2026 to allow for the service to be retendered. The current value of the contract is £295,000 per annum. Interested providers should return the PME Questionnaire using the Intend Portal correspondence function by 11th January 2026, 23:59.