Purpose

The Sex Worker Support Service (SWSS) is
currently operated by Changing Lives, a non- profit organisation in
Doncaster. The service has been provided since 1st December 2013 as
a response to significant community and public service concerns
about the growth of sex work and related anti-social behaviour,
particularly in the Lower Wheatley / City Centre area in
2012/13.
The purpose of the service is to engage with individuals involved
with sex work through outreach and other means to empower and
enable them to enter into mainstream services for a lifestyle
change and ultimately exit sex work.
This involves working in partnership with other agencies and
community networks. Since the inception of the Complex Lives
approach (an intensive action plan to support rough sleepers
in
Doncaster), in practice the SWSS has operated as an integral part
of the Complex Lives case management approach. This reflects the
interconnected nature of the issues and people involved (drug and
alcohol misuse, mental ill health, homelessness and rough
sleeping). The SWSS has been sponsored through the Safer Stronger
Doncaster Partnerships to support its strategic aim and Sexual
Abuse and Domestic Abuse theme groups ‘to achieve an overall
reduction in sex work whilst improving the safety and quality of
life of communities affected, including those vulnerable people
directly involved’.
The project is currently funded up to March 31st, 2024 (utilising
the extension period), following the previous tender process.
It is recommended that funding for the service should be continued
on the basis that it will operate in practice as a key component of
the Complex Lives offering specialist outreach, engagement and case
management work relating to individuals involved in sex work. It
has recently been agreed that the funding will be
‘recurrent’ via the Better Care Fund (BCF).
The contract will be awarded following a compliant tender process
run in accordance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules
(CPRs).

Content

To procure and award a contract for a Sex
Worker Support Service for the City of Doncaster Council. The value
of the service will be £100,000 for a 36 month contract,
commencing 1st April 2024 (with an option to extend for a further 2
x 12 months) taking the potential contract value to
£500,000.00.
The procurement is in accordance with funding approval gained as
per Better Care Fund (BCF) ref: BCF-025-R