Adult Social Care Accommodation - PIN

The Islington Adult Social Care Accommodation Strategy 2024-2030 (subject to approval) sets out our vision for Islington residents to live healthy, fulfilling, and independent lives in a safe place they call home. We will support residents with care needs to remain as independent as possible in their own home. Where this is no longer possible, we aim to support residents in bespoke, high-quality accommodation-based care services, as close to home as possible, helping to maintain links with their communities and support networks.

The development of additional Extra Care Housing provision is a key tenet of delivering a strengths-based, enabling, and independence-oriented care and support for older people. The Council is committed to working with providers to develop additional high quality, social rent, Extra Care Housing in-borough.

A new development is currently underway in the Holloway area which includes a 60-unit Extra Care housing scheme. The scheme is due to open in Autumn 2026. Islington are now appraising options to inform how the care will be delivered. The Council are keen to hear from and work with prospective providers who share our ambitious vision and can bring innovation and best practice examples to help shape and inform new provision.

We are particularly keen to explore innovative models of Extra Care such as intergenerational housing. A handful of schemes in the UK have come to light recently which provide care and support for people aged 18+ with a mix of care and support needs including Learning Disabilities and Mental Health. There are reported benefits such as, mutually supportive relationships with shared interests and exchanges of knowledge, skills and strengths. These Extra Care schemes foster more dynamic communities and greater independence.

In Islington, as with much of the country, we are seeing greater complexity of need in our residents with increasing prevalence of Learning Disabilities, Autism and Mental Health issues. Our Extra Care schemes must respond to these changes in our population to provide care and accommodation that is fit for purpose.

We want to engage in discussion with the provider market to help explore the above approach and identify key opportunities and potential challenges via an open and transparent process. Therefore, please can you contact the lead Commissioning Manager

sophia.stevens@islington.gov.uk to arrange a suitable time to meet or if you prefer share contact details for the appropriate lead from your organisation.

We are planning to conduct soft Market engagement over the spring. Meetings will take place at Council Office Building in person or via teams depending on availability.

Areas for discussion include but are not limited to:

1. Would your organisation be open to delivering a 60-unit Extra Care service to residents aged 18 and over with a mix of needs including low to greater complexity of need?
2. What are the implications for your organisation for the proposed approach?
3. What do you perceive to be the benefits of a mixed model?
4. What challenges or risks do you envisage and how could these be mitigated?
5. What working arrangements between the Council, the Extra Care provider and the wider system support a successful scheme?
6. What arrangements would you like to have in place between the Extra Care provider and the Housing provider?

This is not an invitation to tender nor does it preclude or favour eligibility to participate in the formal procurement once it starts. It is a process solely to test the current market capacity, to scope the services, engage with a wide range of stakeholders and inform the procurement process.

Details in this PIN are subject to being updated or changed in the final contract notice.

The Council reserves the right to cancel, postpone, suspend, or abort this procurement at any stage. The issue of this PIN in no way commits the Council to commence the procurement process.

The contract notice will be published on the e-tendering system used by Islington Council, the London Tenders Portal (ProContract). We would advise you to register on the e-tendering system now in order that you receive an email alert when the contract notice is published.

Register your company, free of charge, via the London Tenders Portal (ProContract) link: procontract.due-north.com/Login ↗