2526-0531 Homeless Outreach Service

Islington Council invites suitable expressions of interest from suppliers for the Homeless Outreach Service. 

The requirement  

The Homeless Outreach Service is for anyone rough sleeping in the London Borough of Islington. The service will work at unsocial hours, undertaking shifts early in the morning and late at night to meet people when they are more likely to be bedded down. The team will be the first point of contact for those rough sleeping and will locate individuals by responding to street link referrals, partner notifications and intelligence led outreach. The council is looking for a support provider that is experienced in providing (rough sleeping) street outreach services in London.  

The objectives of the Homeless Outreach Service are to: 

• work towards a sustained reduction in rough sleeping in Islington  
• provide a rapid response service to meet people rough sleeping quickly to ensure rough sleeping episodes are brief  
• support individuals to access accommodation, making referrals to emergency housing and support to access longer term accommodation 
• support the Council meet the national target of halving long-term rough sleeping, as outlined in the national plan  
• conduct welfare checks on those known to be rough sleeping, who may be resistant to accept support/accommodation. Maintain regular contact to build rapport and trust, to form the basis needed, to allow more structured work to happen over time 
• provide case management – each individual to have an allocated ‘lead’ outreach worker responsible for overseeing their support, a contact point for service user and other agencies 
• to work closely with the Council’s specialist workers and wider rough sleeping intervention partners, to reduce the harm to people sleeping rough and achieve the above aims – this will include making referrals and undertaking joint shifts 
• to work collaboratively with other services to ensure that needs other than housing are met, to reduce a return to rough sleeping once in accommodation 
• work with the Street Population Manager and Community Safety Team to address rough sleeping encampments/hotspot areas and associated anti-social behaviour which can be caused by rough sleeping  
• to support Islington Council in its community engagement activities relating to rough sleeping  
• participate in bi-monthly and annual street counts 
• participate in all severe weather protocols and work to ensure that no one dies on the streets  
• ensure records on the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) are kept up to date 
• submit monthly and quarterly reports to support operational and contract monitoring meetings. 

The provision of this service meets a number of the Council’s key strategies: Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024 - 2029 and the Islington Together 2030 Plan. 

Additionally, this service will support the Council to fulfil the requirements related to rough sleeping set out in the Government’s national to end homelessness (GOV.UK)  

The Homelessness Prevention and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2024 – 2029 highlights the unique challenges faced by rough sleepers and those experiencing multiple disadvantage, including two or more of the following: poor physical or mental health, substance misuse, domestic abuse and experience of the criminal justice system. The strategy emphasizes the need for proactive outreach services, who can work in a relational and person-centered way, to support people access a suitable and sustainable route away from the streets.  

The Islington Together 2030 plan sets out a commitment to ensuring that by 2030, everyone in Islington has a safe, decent and genuinely affordable place to call home and that residents experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, will feel well cared for and supported throughout.  

Contract period  

The duration will be 24 months from an estimated start date of 1 October 2026, with options to extend for two (2) periods of up to 24 months each (maximum 72 months).  This will be dependent on funding being available and service performance.     

Value of the contract  

The estimated total value of this contract is £630,000 for 24 months and £1,890,000 over the maximum 72 months. This is based on £315,000 per annum.

Award criteria 

The contract(s) will be awarded to the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT) in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.  

Tenders for this contract will be assessed against the following award criteria:  

• Quality 60 % 
• Cost/price 40 %

Quality is made up of:

• 20% - proposed approach to social value
• 10% - proposed approach to casework in an outreach capacity, using a personalised and strengths-based method
• 5% - proposed approach to using data to effectively target resources according to need, to provide a responsive and flexible service
• 5% - proposed approach to balancing rapid engagement with new rough sleepers and delivering the intensive casework needed to reduce long-term rough sleeping
• 5% - proposed approach to managing rough sleeping hotspots
• 5% - proposed approach to supporting rough sleepers with no recourse to public funds to move away from street homelessness
• 5% - proposed approach to mobilisation  
• 5% - proposed approach to partnership working.

Total 100%

 Further details will be provided in the invitation to tender.   

Procurement process  

This contract will be procured using the open procedure. All organisations who successfully express an interest will automatically be invited to tender and have access to the tender documents. Those who submit a tender and meet the minimum requirements will have their full tender evaluated.  

How to express an interest  

If you wish to apply for this contract opportunity please follow these steps:  

• register your organisation free of charge via the London Tenders Portal
• when you receive an email confirming your username and password use these to log on to the London Tenders Portal and express your interest in 2526-0531 Homeless Outreach Service
• shortly after you have expressed interest, you will receive a second email containing a link to access the procurement documents.  

Deadlines  

The deadline for expressions of interest is: 11.59am on Friday 24 July 2026

The deadline for submissions is: 12noon on Friday 24 July 2026

Late submissions may not be accepted.

Additional information  

• Islington Council and its partners are committed to work towards a ‘Fairer Islington’, for more information see Islington Together 2030.   
• Islington Council aims to provide equality of opportunity and welcomes applicants who meet the qualitative selection criteria from black and minority ethnic communities and disabled groups.   
• The council encourages all types of organisation who meet the qualitative selection criteria including Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations, Social Enterprises or not for profit enterprises and small to medium enterprises (SME) to tender.
• All questions relating to this contract should be raised via the messages section of the relevant contract on the London Tenders Portal.  Please do not contact any officer of the council directly.  
• As part of a commitment to transparency the council is now publishing all spend over £500 each month. This includes spend on contracts, so the successful contractor should expect details of spend against the contract to appear on the council website under council spending. The council is also committed to publishing tender and contract documentation after contract award stage. Commercially sensitive information will be redacted from documentation. What constitutes commercially sensitive information is a matter for the council’s sole discretion. However, tenderers will be invited to identify information they consider to be commercially sensitive in their tender return and this will be taken into account in the council forming a view.
• In accordance with the Procurement Regulations 2024, please note that for contracts with an estimated value of more than £5 million, the council will publish in the Contract Award Notice the name of each supplier that submitted a tender which was assessed for the purposes of determining the most advantageous tender and was not awarded the contract.