Purpose

This item seeks
approval from the Mayor and Cabinet to initiate a recommissioning
and tender exercise leading to the award of a new Young
People’s Supported Housing Pathway from 1st of June 2026. The
current Tower Hamlets Children and Young People’s Supported
Housing Pathway (CYPSHP) is designed to provide accommodation and
support services to young people (YP) aged 16 to 21 (up to 25
depending on needs), who are in and on the edge of care, such as
looked-after children (LAC), care leavers and homeless YP. The
Pathway is a mechanism for the Council to meet its legal duties
under the Children’s Act 1989 and the Housing Act
1996.

The council has full nomination rights to all properties and
works collaboratively with the service providers to ensure that our
young people are placed in suitable accommodation with sufficient
hours of housing related support to meet their needs.

The duration of the contract will be a 3 years + 1 year + 1
year term (5 years maximum) to provide stability for the service,
facilitate improvement, and to meet anticipated future demand
throughout the term of the contract.
 

Content

DECISION
 

1.    
Approves the re-procurement of the Tower Hamlets Children and
Young People’s Supported Housing Pathway (CYPSHP) contract
for 3 years plus with the option for two 12-month extensions from
1st of June 2026 with an annual value of
£1,783,325.
 

2.    
Authorises the Corporate Director Children services in
consultation with the Deputy Mayor and the Mayor the ability to
award a contract to the Best Value bidder or bidders as required in
each lot demonstrated by the results of the procurement exercise
referred to in Recommendation
 

3.    
Notes the specific equalities considerations as set out in
Paragraph 4.1 

Reasons for the decision

The current
contracts for the provision of housing related support in the
Children and Young People’s Supported Housing Pathway are due
to expire on 31st May 2026. A decision from the Mayor and Cabinet
is required to ensure that the service is recommissioned in line
with the proposed procurement timeline and for the start of new
contract.
 
The main objective
of this re-procurement exercise is to ensure continuity in the
services currently available, to maintain the placement stability
of the children and young people currently living in the Pathway
while ensuring that the Council meets its statutory
duties.
 
To ensure
continued and high-quality services for our most vulnerable
children and young people. 

Alternative options considered

A transition to
spot purchasing accommodation services for 16/17-year-olds and
young people aged 18-25 who are in and on the edge of care or
homeless is the alternative option to the pathway. This option
comes with several risks and issues:
 
The cost of
temporary accommodation is considerably higher than the pathway.
The cost of a commissioned pathway service with 24-hour on-site
support is £345 per week. The least expensive spot purchase
spot purchase placement with 24-hour staff on site was £895
per week. The median cost for accommodation with support 24 hours
per day was £1,274 per week.
 
If provision is
transitioned to spot providers it introduces risks in that the
Council will not be able contract manage, and quality assure their
services as closely and comprehensively as is currently the case
with the commissioned providers. It also limits the opportunities
to build relationships with providers and develop more flexible,
specialist and good value services that meet our children and young
people’s changing needs. 
 
Temporary
accommodation is predominantly outside of Tower Hamlets. This
removes the young person from their support networks that are
essential for their emotional wellbeing, safety and security.
Typically, temporary accommodation does not include housing related
support therefore young people placed in that accommodation would
be unable to access the support to improve the life skills
necessary for them to sustain a tenancy when they eventually move
on from supported accommodation to commence living
independently.
 
At age 18, a young
person transitioning from temporary accommodation to the Adults
supported accommodation pathway presents potential safeguarding
risks particularly due to interactions with adults who have complex
needs. This raises significant concerns around their safety,
emotional well-being, and the developmental appropriateness of the
environment.
 
To not provide
accommodation for the children and young people covered by the
current pathway is not a viable option as we have a statutory duty
to provide them with support and accommodation.