12-21 Counselling Service

Location

York

Description

The Council intends to apply a short term extension to its existing contract for the provision of counselling services for young people aged 12-21 living in York. This extension is required to maintain continuity of provision while the Council undertakes a full review of children and young people's counselling services and aligns future commissioning with the Humber and North Yorkshire Mental Health Strategic Transformation Plan 2025-2030. The current service was originally awarded in 2019 to York Mind following a competitive procurement for a 16-25 counselling service. A subsequent service level agreement piloted counselling for 12-15 year olds, including 1 1 art therapy. The contracting authority intends to award a contract for 12-21 Counselling Service. The Contracting Authority is not awarding a new contract. This VEAT notice is in respect of a proposed short-term extension to the term of its contract for the provision of 12-21 counselling service. See sections 2.2.3 for further details. The contract was varied to incorporate the 12-15 service and extend the 16-25 service for a further year, creating a unified 12-21 counselling service, supported by a £10k contribution from the ICB. The proposed extension will allow sufficient time for: • a full review of CYP counselling provision • alignment with statutory duties and system wide responsibilities • development of an integrated commissioning model with the ICB • a robust procurement process and evaluation for a longer term solution The contract extension period: is 12 months beyond the extension period originally set out in the contract. The indicative procurement timetable for the new service is as follows: Write draft specification Oct-Nov 2026 Write Contract, Tender documents with Legal / Procurement support: Oct-Nov 2026 Preliminary Market Engagement phase starts: Early Nov 2026 Draft Invitation to Tender documentation, draft applicable Notices: Mid Nov - Dec 2026 Invitation to Tender Period (30 days): 4th Jan 2027 Invitation to Tender return deadline date: 4th Feb 2027 Tender evaluation: Early Feb 2027 Standstill (8 working days from date of Contract Award Notice publication): Mid Feb 2027 Approval to award: Late Feb 2027 Contract Mobilisation / Implementation Process (6 weeks): March 2027 New Contract starts: 1st April 2027

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• 85312320 - Counselling services

Indicators

Legal Justification

The Council considers that the extension may be lawfully applied under Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Justification; • The service can only be delivered by the current provider, York Mind, without causing disruption to vulnerable service users and continuity of care. • No reasonable alternative provider could mobilise the service within the required timescales without significant risk to service users. • A change of supplier at this point would create disproportionate operational and safeguarding risks and interrupt ongoing therapeutic relationships. • Extending the contract ensures continuity, stability, and value for money while the Council undertakes a strategic review and prepares a compliant procurement process. The extension is also permitted under Contract Procedure Rule 26.2.5, which allows extension with an existing provider where there is significant benefit and no unacceptable risk to the Council. This VEAT notice is published voluntarily to ensure transparency prior to applying the contract extension. The Council will observe a voluntary standstill period of 30 days from the date of publication. The contract variation will only be executed following the standstill period, subject to no legal challenge being received.