UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

The Home Office (the Authority) has a statutory duty under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to discharge its immigration and asylum functions having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK. In addition to this, under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide temporary support for Asylum Seekers who appear to be destitute or are likely to become destitute within a prescribed period. These obligations include Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) who arrive in the UK and enter the immigration system without a parent or guardian as well as an adult Asylum Seeker Cohort. The service includes the arrangement of transport on behalf of local authorities, as well as the Home Office, for the movement of UASC when these movements are required. A number of core business units will utilise this contract. Further details will be provided through additional materials that will be made available to parties, upon completion and receipt of a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (more information for which is set out in this document). This service will not be used for Home Office staff transport and is intended as a civilian travel programme only. The Home Office is still considering all of its options with regards to aggregation and disaggregation and therefore encourages suppliers who may not be able to deliver the full scope of services to still participate in any subsequent market engagement activity. The purpose of this engagement is to better understand market capability, capacity, delivery models, and commercial approaches available to support the future service. Information regarding service requirements, volumes and operational arrangement will be shared with interested organisations as part of this engagement activity. Please refer to “Engagement process description” below. The content of this Notice, including the estimated contract value and indicative contract timelines, is subject to change and does not commit the Authority to commence any procurement process.

The Future Asylum Contracts Transformation (FACT), formerly Asylum Support and Accommodation Programme (ASAP), is a long-term transformation programme in the delivery of asylum support and accommodation services. The objective is a transformative re-procurement of services to replace the following contracts: • Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC) • Advice Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) • Bridging Accommodation and Travel Services (BATS) • Asylum Support Payments (ASP) The Home Office will be going to market for supplier(s) who can: 1. Accommodation Provision – Identify, acquire, and maintain a diverse range of safe, suitable, and legally compliant accommodation types within agreed timescales and contracted regions to meet the varied needs of asylum seekers. Ensure accommodation aligns with statutory and regulatory standards, and is approved and allocated in collaboration with Local Authorities to support lawful use, community integration, and minimal impact on local services. 2. Accommodation Management – Maintain accommodation to defined standards throughout its lifecycle, with robust systems in place for maintenance, temporary housing, and complaint communication and resolution to ensure a safe, suitable, and responsive living environment for asylum seekers. 3. Transport – Arrange, manage, and deliver a 24/7/365 transportation service that is safe, timely, and responsive to asylum seeker needs in line with Home Office policy, whether independently or as directed by the Home Office. This includes the use of suitable, appropriately equipped, roadworthy vehicles and professional drivers, supported by an appropriate IT booking system, and ensuring the transport of asylum seekers, their dependents, and permitted belongings with appropriate assistance and within agreed timescales. 4. Sustenance – Ensure that asylum seekers receive appropriate interim support through food vouchers or cash, including issuing food vouchers as a temporary or emergency measure until a Section 4 payment card is provided or replaced, and providing cash where full board accommodation is not available. 5. Safety and Security – Ensure the safety and security of all staff and asylum seekers by implementing appropriate training, incident management, cross-provider collaboration, and vetting procedures. 6. Audit & Assurance Services – Monitor provider compliance and performance through a structured assurance framework, combining inspections, desk-based reviews, and data analysis to identify trends, risks, and areas for improvement. The assuror must also produce clear, evidence-based reports to support supplier management and meet the reporting requirements of external assurance bodies. 7. Service User Assistance – The Provider must ensure that asylum seekers receive clear, accessible, and timely information and support throughout their asylum journey - from initial application and arrival at accommodation to integration into the community. This includes maintaining a reliable single point of contact, delivering oral and written communication in a way asylum seekers can understand, assisting with access to local services, and continuously monitoring and improving the asylum seeker experience through inclusive feedback mechanisms. 8. Wellbeing and Safeguarding – Establish effective communication channels with relevant partners to ensure timely notification and coordination on safeguarding and wellbeing matters. Where safeguarding concerns are identified, specialist safeguarding staff must be deployed and follow the prescribed action plan. Proactively prevent and reduce safeguarding incidents, the Provider must offer ongoing support to asylum seekers and ensure that all staff and asylum seekers have access to resources that help them recognise, respond to, and report safeguarding concerns. Regular welfare checks must be conducted for all asylum seekers. ------- The Home Office intends to procure a proportion of the services under the Light Touch regime in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023. For the avoidance of doubt following the delivery model change in relation to Service User (SU) Assistance and External Assurance. To clarify, Service User Assistance will be procured via a separate Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP), supported by its own Market Engagement (ME) activity, and is therefore out of scope of the current procurement. In addition, External Assurance will be procured via an alternative route and does not form part of this CFP. Suppliers are requested to continue monitoring the original PMEN for any updates or further clarifications relevant to the current procurement. **The content of this Notice, including the nature of works and services including start date of contract, may be subject to change.**

The Home Office (HO) is the government department responsible for safeguarding the nation through border control, immigration, passport issuance, policing, fire services, counter-terrorism and drugs policies. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) plays an integral role in delivering this vision, managing millions of applications annually, enabling foreign nationals to visit, study, work or settle in the UK. As part of the evolution of existing services, UKVI pursues the transformation and modernisation of services in a manner that enhances customer experience and ensures accurate and efficient outcomes. One of the core services delivered by UKVI is pre-entry tuberculosis (TB) screening for specific visa routes. The Authority intends to procure a first-generation service to deliver TB screening globally and is seeking market input to inform the development of the delivery model, requirements, commercial strategy, and procurement approach. These may support all or part of the end-to-end TB screening journey, from appointment availability and customer booking through to clinical testing, result management, and caseworker access to screening outcomes. The service may also include elements of service management, assurance, operational oversight, customer support, digital enablement, management information, and financial administration. The Authority is considering a range of potential delivery models, including outsourced management services, healthcare-led models, regionally lotted arrangements, digital-enabled services, and hybrid delivery approaches. The anticipated core service areas are: • Appointment and capacity management • Customer booking and administration • Payment processing and financial administration • Identity verification and customer record management • Clinical TB screening services • Clinical result management and transmission • Management information and reporting • Supplier and clinic management • Service performance monitoring • Customer enquiry and complaints handling • Digital platforms and systems integration • Quality assurance and compliance activities • Governance, assurance, and service management functions Further details will be provided after a Non Disclosure Agreement has been signed and returned, in line with the process outlined in the engagement section below. Services are expected to be delivered internationally, supporting approved TB screening locations in and outside the United Kingdom. The content of this notice, including scope, structure, value and timelines, is indicative and subject to change. For the purposes of this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice, the estimated contract value has been listed as £0. This figure does not reflect the expected final value of the contract. The actual estimated value is currently being finalised and will be shared at a later date.