Criminal Justice Related Drug and Alcohol Referral Service for Adults

What the buyer is asking for

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Warwickshire invites tenders for the provision of a Criminal Justice Related Drug and Alcohol Referral Service for Adults. The PCC seeks to commission an experienced provider to deliver an Arrest Referral Service across police custody settings in Warwickshire, together with associated substance misuse assessment, intervention and referral services. In addition, the provider will deliver a service within the Leamington Justice Centre courts' setting to offenders who have a history of substance use related problems, the provider will complete court requested suitability assessments for community sentences; and provide information to Court Probation Staff to inform Pre-Sentence Reports. The service will undertake holistic criminal justice substance misuse assessments for individuals in custody who test positive following a Drug Test on Arrest and those who voluntarily engage with the service. Assessments will consider drug and/or alcohol use alongside offending behaviour, health, safeguarding, vulnerabilities and wider social needs, with the aim of identifying appropriate treatment, support and risk management interventions. The service will also undertake suitability assessments for Community Sentence Treatment Requirements, including Drug Rehabilitation Requirements and Alcohol Treatment Requirements. The service will maximise opportunities to identify and engage individuals experiencing drug and/or alcohol misuse at a key point of intervention within the criminal justice system. It will provide early intervention, harm reduction advice, brief interventions, and effective pathways into community drug and alcohol treatment and wider support services. The successful provider will operate as a key partner within Warwickshire's multi-agency response to substance misuse and offending, working collaboratively with Warwickshire Police Custody, Probation, the commissioned community drug and alcohol treatment provider and other relevant statutory and community partners. The service will contribute to improved treatment engagement, improved criminal justice outcomes and the reduction of reoffending in Warwickshire. The PCC is seeking a provider with relevant experience and expertise in delivering substance misuse and/or criminal justice services, with the capability to provide an appropriately skilled and resilient workforce within police custody and criminal justice environments. The provider will be expected to demonstrate effective multi-agency working, strong safeguarding and risk management arrangements, and the ability to engage individuals with complex needs and support them into appropriate treatment and wider services. The requirement will be procured as a single contract and has not been divided into lots. The Authority considered whether to separate the custody and court-related elements of the service but determined that delivery through a single contract would provide continuity of service and straightforward, integrated referral pathways. The contract will be awarded for an initial period of three (3) years, commencing 1 April 2027, with an option to extend for up to a further two (2) years, subject to funding availability. The contract is funded through a fixed budget, subject to applicable funding terms and conditions. Funding levels may be subject to change during the contract period and any underspent funding must be returned to the Authority and/or relevant funding body. Contract values provided are indicative and dependent on VAT status of successful bidder(s). How to Register Full details of the service requirements, procurement process, conditions of participation, evaluation methodology, specification and contract terms and conditions and identified risks are contained within the procurement documents on the In-tend Bluelight portal https://sell2.in-tend.co.uk/blpd/home Please see Submission section below on how to register and respond. This procurement is being conducted using a competitive flexible procedure for the award of an above-threshold Light Touch Contract under the Procurement Act 2023. Preliminary market engagement has been carried out for this contract. We have made available the presentation slides and Q&A from the market engagement in the tender pack on In-tend for information purposes only. Where there is any conflict between the preliminary market engagement materials and the tender documents, the tender documents shall prevail. The Authority reserves the right to amend the procurement timetable or process where permitted by law, make a future direct award where permitted, manage conflicts of interest in accordance with applicable requirements and its governance procedures, and not to award a contract as a result of this procurement exercise. The Authority reserves the right to award the contract directly under Schedule 5, paragraph 8 of the Procurement Act if the competitive procedure does not result in an acceptable tender.

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• qualityConditions of Participation and AssuranceConditions of Participation will be assessed on a pass / fail basis as per the Procurement Specific Questionnaire and will consider the Supplier’s legal and financial capacity and technical ability. This stage will also include an assessment of information provided in the Supplier Assurance Questionnaire on a Pass/Fail basis. The Evaluation Panel will assess the supplier information provided via the Central Digital Platform for completeness and compliance with what is required under the Act and Regulations. This will include a review of Basic Supplier Information, Exclusion Grounds, some Economic and Financial Standing information (e.g. as set out in the supplier’s most recent financial accounts), and details of connected persons and beneficial ownership.
• qualityTechnical QuestionsThe Technical Response covers the below areas and the %age weightings of each: Proposed Service Delivery Model 25.00% Contract Mobilisation 5.00% Engagement, Motivation and Referral into Treatment 15.00% Partnership Working 10.00% Safeguarding, Risk and Vulnerability 10.00% Performance, Quality and Outcomes 15.00% Workforce and Service Resilience 5.00% Continuous Improvement and Added Value 5.00% Technical Questions MUST have due regard to the Financial Model being proposed.
• qualitySocial ValueSocial Value 10.00% The Social Value element can be submitted via the DICM Pluggin portal, a platform we use that highlights local projects and charities which suppliers can support through donations, volunteering, or other resources. Full details are included in the tender documents.
• costFinancial ModelThe Financial Model will NOT be evaluated as a standalone scored criterion. The Authority will use the submitted Financial Model and supporting statement to assess the credibility, sustainability, efficiency and deliverability of responses to the technical questions. In particular, the Authority may consider: • Value for money; • the alignment between the proposed service delivery model and the allocation of resources; • the balance between frontline delivery, management, Governance, Quality & Compliance, workforce structure, mobilisation and other support functions; • the sustainability and resilience of the proposed operating model throughout the Contract Term; and • whether the proposed allocation of resources/finances supports the achievement of the required outcomes and performance standards. Financial model will form part of the technical responses using the Scoring Methodology as outlined in the Tender documents.
• qualityPresentation and Q&AThe purpose of the Presentation and Q&A session with the Authority is to provide: • Overview of their proposed Service Delivery Model • Overview of their Cost Allocation Model • How they intend to deliver Value for Money based on their Service Delivery Model and Cost Allocation Model • Mobilisation Overview • Partnership working approach • Improving Service Users’ experience The presentation does NOT have any standalone weighting. Its purpose is to confirm that the proposals being made are deliverable. It will be used to clarify, validate and provide assurance regarding the bidder's submitted tender and to support evaluators in their assessment of the tender against the published award criteria. Suppliers must NOT introduce new proposals, commitments, resources, methodologies or other material information that was not included within their written tender submission. The Authority reserves the right to amend evaluation scores where the presentation provides clarification of information already contained within the tender and where that clarification reasonably affects the evaluators' assessment against the published award criteria. Any score adjustment will be fully documented and will be based solely on the published award criteria and information contained within the tender submission.

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 32 comparable procurements we can tell you the typical field size, how often one of these goes uncontested, and whether the buyer awards on price or on quality.

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice publishedyesterday

   25 Sept 2026, 11:08 BST
2. Clarification questions byin 34 days

   30 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
3. Submission deadlinein 40 days

   5 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
4. Award decision expected byin 102 days

   5 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender

1. Pipeline or early engagement notice29 Jul 2026, 12:18 BST071652-2026
2. Tender notice25 Sept 2026, 11:08 BST090894-2026

Payment terms

Payment terms will align with the funding terms and conditions.

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender