All Age Advocacy Services

Milton Keynes City Council are currently out to tender for the provision of All Age Advocacy Services. Advocacy services provide support which enables an individual, usually a vulnerable person, to understand and communicate their choice or express their views on issues and participate in making decisions which affect them. The procurement will be split into 3 separate lots:- Lot 1 – Advocacy Services for Children- Lot 2 – Advocacy Services for Adults- Lot 3 – Both Lot 1 and Lot 2 CombinedBidders may bid for any one or two or all three lots.

This procurement is being run via Open FTS under the Light Regime. The Council proposes to enter into a contract that will be for an initial term of 3 years with an option for the Council to extend for 2 years with the successful tenderer (Service Provider).

The Adults Advocacy Service will deliver statutory advocacy services, ensuring that the right support is provided at the right time, in the right place, to each individual using the full range of advocacy provision. The Council has a statutory duty under the Care Act 2014 to ensure that some form of independently led support is available for adults. Advocacy Services include: • Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy Service including Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (IMCA & IMCA DoLS)• Relevant Person's Paid Representative Service (RPPR)• Rule 1.2 (Court of Protection DoLS)• Independent Mental Health Advocacy Service (IMHA) – within hospital, secure hospital and community if under a Community Treatment Order (CTO)• NHS Independent Complaints Advocacy Service• Independent Care Act Advocacy Service (ICAA)The Provider will deliver specialist IMCA and IMCA DoLS, Relevant Person’s Paid Representative (RPPR) and Rule 1.2 services to those eligible under the Mental Health Act 2005 (lndependent Mental Capacity Advocates) (General) Regulations 2006, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (Independent Mental Capacity Advocates) (Expansion of Role) Regulations 2006: and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 makes it a legal requirement for people who lack mental capacity for certain decisions to have access to an independent advocate when there are no known relatives, or close friends appropriate to consult on their behalf. IMCA/IMCA DoLS services in Milton Keynes form an integral part of overall services provided to those who lack capacity and who are without an appropriate relative or friend to consult with.The Provider is required to deliver the following: • A fully accessible range of adult advocacy services that deliver consistent high-quality advocacy support to individuals no matter what type of advocacy they are being referred for. • Support that increases independence or recovery and promotes choice and control.• A service that reflects the principles, expert practice and quality standards as recommended by the Advocacy Charter and Code of Practice. Code-of-Practice-1.pdf (qualityadvocacy.org.uk) • A service that is physically accessible to all users, and where possible with an accessible office base. • A service that is flexibly delivered to ensure accessibility, which may include advocates visiting people in their home, if they are unable to access the service at an office. • A service that is delivered locally to where people reside as far as possible. • Evidence based outcomes which demonstrate the positive impact of the advocacy service received by the individual. • Co-productive approaches and engagement activities to include the involvement of staff, carers, and individuals in the delivery of outcomes and service design. • Appropriate tools that capture outcomes for individuals and their progress. This may mean more than one tool to cover different needs of the people accessing the adult advocacy services. • The Provider will be expected to report the number of referrals and issues based advocacy referrals have been received on a quarterly basis in arrears. • The Provider will be expected to report the number of referrals and issues received that have been carried over to the next quarter, on a quarterly basis in arrears • The Provider will be expected to report the number of referrals and issues based advocacy referrals declined, on a quarterly basis in arrears and the reason why the referral was declined. • The Provider will also be expected to report the number of referrals and issues, received within each advocacy field on a quarterly basis, in arrears.