North Yorkshire Council

Health and Adult Services

Executive Member Meeting

12^th December 2025

REPORT TO Corporate Director of Health and Adult Services (HAS) in consultation with the

Executive Member for Health and Adult Services

Procurement of Supported Housing Service for Offenders – Resettlement and Community Support Service (RACSS)

1.0 Purpose Of Report

To seek approval to commence a procurement of a Supported Housing service for       Offenders, Resettlement and Community Support Service (RACSS)

2.0 Summary

2.1 This paper sets out the proposal to reprocure Supported Housing service for High and Medium risk offenders under the supervision of the National Probation Service. The service will provide housing related support to people with a view to reducing homelessness and reoffending.

3.0 Background

3.1 Having a secure place to call home is the one of the key foundations of living a healthy and independent life, however for many it is something that can seem unobtainable and more dream than reality. For many reasons, including mental health challenges or a history of substance misuse or offending some people find themselves in a state of moving from one temporary or insecure housing option to another.

3.2 Challenges around maintaining a permanent home often cause people to come into increased contact with services such as Housing, Adult Social Care, Health and Criminal Justice. These interactions are often circular, with people engaged in a cycle of accessing different services who each attempt to address their own specialism, whereas a complimentary and partnership approach is required to understand a break the cycles of behaviour which underpin a person’s actions.

3.3 The proposed Resettlement and Community Support Service (RACSS) service aims to support and enable high and medium level risk offenders supervised by the National Probation Service (NPS) to maximise their potential for independence, through sustaining accommodation, accessing employment, avoiding hospital admissions, preventing homelessness and significantly reducing the risk of them reoffending while easing pressure on other statutory services.

3.4 The service will deliver flexible, outcome-focused service delivery, with providers and partners responding creatively to fluctuating demand to deliver consistent, high-quality, recovery-oriented support across North Yorkshire. 

3.5 The proposed service builds on and enhances the long running services which were first delivered under the banner of Supporting People (SP). It retains the principles of supported housing established under SP and through subsequent commissioned services but takes advantage of the broader remit of North Yorkshire Council as a housing authority. The specification is ambitious in the vision to deliver a broad-based supported housing offer to people who have offended with a wide range of physical and mental health needs linked to housing and homelessness.

3.6 Supported Housing services aim to address some of the root causes of these issues whilst developing skills and knowledge that will enable people to move on to permanent housing and reducing the need for engagement with services. Supported Housing is non-regulated, short term housing with support which allows people to develop the skills they need to manage their own tenancies and live independently such as:

• Tenancy related support

• Financial planning and budgeting

• Personal administration

• Meaningful activities

• Social networks and relationships

• Health and wellbeing

3.7 Supported Housing services are delivered as a partnership approach, with people accessing a range of support in addition to the tenancy management functions set out above, the aim being to address the key challenges they face in securing and maintaining their own permanent accommodation.

4.0 Detail of Substantive Issues

4.1      Current Offer

4.2 RACSS provides Supported Housing services to High and Medium risk offenders under the supervision of the National Probation Service, the Council jointly commissions this service with NPS on the grounds that it has a significant impact on reoffending in the county and promotes community safety.

4.3 The Resettlement and Community Support Service (RACSS) currently delivers support into 70 designated properties across North Yorkshire. These units are predominantly in key areas of need in Harrogate and Scarborough along with units in others areas of the county.

4.4 The service works with people to develop their independent living skills, manage their probation conditions and move through a planned pathway towards independent living.

4.5 Referrals are largely managed by NPS due to their knowledge of those eligible for release and the conditions associated with those.

4.6 Proposed Service

4.7 The new RACSS service will build on the strong existing provision which has been in place for many years. Whilst the core of the service provision is similar, significant enhancements have been made reflecting NYC’s role as a Housing Authority. To bring together partners and stakeholders to more effectively wrap the wider system around the service.

4.8 The service will be tendered on a 3year + 2year + 2year basis.

4.9 The service aims to reduce the risks of homelessness and harm through collaboration at strategic, delivery, and case levels, focussing on: -

· Finding a home for those at risk with risk of harm in some way being related to accommodation or lack thereof and risk being defined as

· NPS – high risk tier A1, A2 ,A3 and B1, B2,B3 (i.e. High risk offenders, complex situations, resource heavy)

· NPS - medium risk tier B1 and B2 (i.e. medium risk, rehabilitation focus, varying levels of resourcing required) remove highlighted wording

· (C3) Gold Integrated Offender Management and C1 & C2 cases in exceptional circumstances where appreciable risk of harm

· Sustaining tenancies to prevent evictions into homelessness with the provision of accommodation and support through the scheme being identified as a method of containing risk and preventing escalation of risk.

· Supporting stable lives by managing risk, addressing wider needs including but not limited to health, care, financial inclusion, and employment - tackling root causes and enabling change.

4.10 This is underpinned by multidisciplinary support that addresses a broad range of health-related needs (including substance use, mental and physical health), using trauma-informed approaches and therapeutic interventions.

4.11 The key principles of this services are to:

· Support people to stay healthy, safe, and well in their communities.

· Help individuals remain in their own homes wherever possible.

· Provide a safe place to live for those who cannot stay at home and support them to return or secure a new home quickly.

· Build resilience to promote independence and reduce long-term reliance on services.

· Offer high-quality information and advice.

· Deliver flexible services that can respond effectively in times of crisis.

· Reduce pressure and demand on health, social care, and housing systems, including avoiding hospital or residential care admissions.

4.12 The service will contribute to public health outcomes by addressing some of the wider determinants of health and acting as a protective factor.  These key principles are:

· Support people to live independently in their own homes and communities.

· Provide holistic, wraparound support in the home to improve health, wellbeing, and independence.

· Ensure people are informed and involved in decisions at every stage.

· Empower individuals to build resilience and make informed choices.

· Deliver personalised support that promotes safety, security, and meets individual needs.

· Protect people from avoidable harm and abuse.

· Foster effective partnerships across housing, financial, and health services.

· Prioritise personalisation, choice, and control in service delivery.

4.13 Core Functions of the Service
Delivered through an integrated and flexible model, these functions are designed to meet and deliver the service’s aims and outcomes described in the specification:

Assessment and Triage

· Conduct integrated initial assessments with key partners (Housing Needs, Adult Social Care, Mental Health, Substance Use, Community Safety).

· Determine accommodation and support needs and triage individuals into appropriate housing options, including signposting and supporting people into options beyond the scope of this contract.

Supported Accommodation Offer

· Provide a range of accommodation under a property management arrangement for up to a maximum of 2 years.  The service will also provide short term focused support based on an individual’s needs.

· Include trauma-informed, multi-disciplinary approaches in high-quality, psychologically informed environments.

· Offer both designated properties and floating support in people’s own homes.

Preventing Evictions

· Work with partners to prevent evictions and comply with the Prevention from Evictions Protocol.

· Where eviction is unavoidable, work with partners to manage risk and identify alternative accommodation.

Support to Find Longer-Term Accommodation

· Work with individuals to address their behaviour to evidence their ability to manage a tenancy, resolve qualification barriers for North Yorkshire Home Choice or if needs are greater access supported living.

· Use a standardised approach to assess readiness for move-on.

· Work with NY Home Choice partnership to develop resettlement plans

· Collaborate with Housing Needs and system partners to help individuals secure sustainable long-term housing.

· Avoid prolonged (i.e. more than 24 month) stays in supported accommodation to prevent dependency.

Move-On and Resettlement Support

· Support individuals transitioning to independent living.

· Focus on sustaining accommodation, reducing ongoing support needs, and preventing repeat homelessness.

4.14 Contract Lots

4.15 The current service operates under a single countywide Lot, this approach is effective given the need to disperse people across the County, often taking into account probation conditions or areas where it is recognised a person would have a lower chance of avoiding reoffending.

4.16 It is therefore proposed that the service will continue on a single countywide footprint, with units dispersed appropriately across the county.

4.17 Service Volumes

4.18 The service will deliver support to 70 individuals at any one time. In a change from existing arrangements, this will be in a mix of designated properties and floating support. This approach will allow a wider range of people to be supported and will facilitate the reintegration of people into social and family networks more quickly than is the case where solely designated properties are used.

4.19 Pricing and Payment Model

4.20 The service will be delivered as a block contract on a per unit payment basis. It is anticipated that a unit cost of approximately £5000 per unit per year will be required to deliver the service with the levels of staffing and training required to manage the support group.

4.21 Benefits

4.22 National Government research has consistently shown the benefits of Supported Housing on the wider health and care systems. A long term evaluation of the Supporting People Programme (the pre-cursor to these services) showed that for every £1 spent, £1.68 in benefit was accrued in cashable benefit across the system alongside non-cashable benefits for the individual.

4.23 These benefits are accrued through impacts on use of health services, social care, criminal justice, homelessness and housing services.

4.24 RACSS addresses very specific needs in supporting people on release from prison to access accommodation, reducing the onward risk of homelessness and reoffending which are closely linked.

4.25 RACSS plays a key part in managing reoffending, only 2% of prison leavers are homeless on release in North Yorkshire compared to 13% nationally and 20% in some neighbouring local authority areas.

4.26 National Evidence from the Probation Service shows that people leaving prison into homelessness are twice as likely to reoffend (67%) than those released into settled accommodation (32%).

4.27 Given the nature of offences committed by some in RACSS accommodation, this reduction in homelessness and reoffending behaviour has a significant impact on community safety across the County, particularly in hot spot areas such as Harrogate and Scarborough. This is true both of the group who successfully move on from RACSS and do not reoffend, and those who are monitored through the service and recalled to prison

5.0 Alternative Options considered

5.1 The alternative to this procurement would be to decommission the service. As set out above, despite not being a statutory service, RACSS create significant benefits to communities by reducing homelessness and subsequent reoffending. As such, the impact of decommissioning would be significant and it is considered appropriate to reprocure the service as described.

6.0 Financial Implications

6.1 The service will be funded through income generated by Second Homes Council tax in accordance with the report ‘Second Homes Council Tax Housing Fund Framework’, approved by the Executive on 18th March 2025.

6.2 The anticipated lifetime spend is anticipated to be £2,940,000 inclusive of VAT over the full term of the contract, this is dependent on tender values and an annual inflationary uplift linked to CPI. 

6.3 National Probation Service will continue to make an annual contribution of £40,000 alongside non-financial support to the service via operational and management support.

7.0 Legal Implications

7.1 The procurement shall be undertaken in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules.

8.0 Equalities Implications

8.1 An Equality Impact Assessment Screening Tool has been completed as part of this proposal, the document is attached as Appendix A.

9.0 Climate Change Implications

9.1  A Climate Change Impact Assessment Impact Tool has been completed for this proposal the document is attached as Appendix B.

10.0 Conclusions

10.1 The RACSS service has a track record of delivering strong outcomes in reducing homelessness and subsequent reoffending in North Yorkshire. This proposal maintains the core elements of the service whilst enhancing the partnership working and engagement required to further drive outcomes and benefits across the County.

10.2 As with other Supported Housing services, RACSS should be seen as a key benefit from Local Government Reorganisation. The enhanced and streamlined partnerships working between Social Care and Housing is a key enabler in driving the improved delivery of the this service, ensuring that people are given every opportunity to make positive changes in their lives and that the residents of North Yorkshire are kept safe. 

11.0 Reasons for recommendation

11.1 The RACSS service provides a strong community rehabilitation offer with a strong track record of reducing homelessness and subsequent reoffending. Whilst not a statutory requirement for the Council to deliver, the benefits to the communities of North Yorkshire are considerable and make RACSS a key part of the suite of services promoting community safety.

12.0     Recommendation

That approval be given to commence a procurement for the service as described in this report

Name and title of report author:

Mike Rudd – Head of Supported Housing

Appendix A: Equality Impact Assessment Screening Tool

Appendix B: Climate Change Impact Assessment Screening Tool