A CONTRACT to support the mental health of people at risk of homelessness has been approved by a council cabinet.
The mental health service is funded from the Welsh Government’s housing support grant and can be used to support existing tenants and those in temporary accommodation.
Torfaen Borough Council’s cabinet member David Daniels said the service provides one-to-one support and also said the authority has 20 rooms “up and down the borough” for those in need of support to be in a position to get their own tenancy.
The contract, to run for five years from this September, with an option to extend for a further three years, is worth £703,208 a year, which was described as “the most economically advantageous tender”.
Three bids were considered eligible to be awarded the contract which was decided on an 80 per cent quality and 20 per cent price basis, which Cllr Daniels said the council should be “proud” of.
The Pontnewydd Labour member said: “The third place bidder was almost half the cost of the winning bidder if we wanted to save money and have just a bare bones service we could have done but we wanted to maintain quality.”
The cabinet awarded the contract to “provider one” though its identity won’t be revealed until later and its bid was lower than the £708,857 from the second place provider while the bidder that finished third had put forward a price of £380,900.
Council director Dave Leech said the contact is to work with those aged 16 and over but it is intended to align with services supporting children for a “seamless transition” through and is also required to fit with the council’s approach of supporting services based in communities.
He also said the cost includes paying the enhanced real living wage for staff providing the service which is in line with Welsh Government guidance.