In 2016, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) commissioned a collaborative contract with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham for a Victim Referral Service.
The initial contract term was two years with an option to extend for a further two years (Ref 101-2015).
The contract was due to end in March 2020. However, as a result of the PCC elections due to take place in May 2020, a decision was taken to extend the contract for 12 months.
That would enable the PCC to take office and make a decision on the way forward (Ref 2020-00194997).
The Covid Pandemic resulted in further delays as PCC elections were postponed until 202.
Therefore, a decision was taken to extend the contract further until March 2022 (Ref 2021-00270419).
A further reason for this extension was to enable potential bidders to focus on delivering victim support at a turbulent time rather than focus on bidder for new contracts.
During this time, the PCC for Durham decided to no longer collaborate on a contract for Victim Referral Service. Therefore, the tender was advertised for Cleveland OPCC only.
The new service will provide a universal support service for all victims of crime and antisocial behaviour living in Cleveland.
It will help them cope with the immediate impacts of the crime/incident and, as far as possible, recover from the harm, which they have experienced.
Key outcomes of the service
The key outcomes to be delivered by the service provider are the following:
- Enable victims to cope and, as far as possible, to recover from the impact of crime and antisocial behaviour
- Improve victim experience of the criminal justice system through a `report to court’ support model leading to improved attrition rates
- Provide tailored support to victims based on individual needs and circumstances
- Improve community and partner awareness and understanding of support services available
- Increase sense of empowerment for victims who are supported — victims should feel heard and understood
- Broad range of victims supported across protected characteristics and crime types
This service links to the Police and Crime Plan Priority of Effective, Quality Support for Victims and Witnesses of Crime.
The decision notice advises the PCC of the procurement process undertaken to award a replacement contract for the Victim Referral Service.
An open tender was carried out using EU Supply as the tender portal, advertising the contract in Contract Finder as per the Public Procurement Regulations 2015.
Details of the Procurement Process are included in the appended report.