The Executive Office (TEO) – Communities in Transition (CIT): Regional Personal Transition Programme for the Ex-Prisoner community in the Carrickfergus and Larne, East Belfast, North Down and Shankill CIT Areas

Description

The Executive Office (TEO) is seeking to establish a Contract for the provision of Ex-Prisoner support programmes to support those who continue to face barriers to their full civic participation in the Carrickfergus and Larne, East Belfast, North Down and Shankill CIT Areas. For maps of the areas, please see separate document entitled ‘MAPS OF THE 4 CIT AREAS’. The Contractor will develop and design the programme through a participatory approach with the community and relevant stakeholders therefore they will need to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the community context in the four individual CIT Areas, and provide an overview of the issues and needs facing the Ex-Prisoner community within each area resulting from the impact of paramilitarism and organised crime. This should take into account the aims of the CIT Project and the overall Executive Action Plan on Tackling Paramilitary Activity, Criminality and Organised Crime. Successful delivery of this Contract aims to: • Raise awareness of relevant support services available to the Ex-Prisoner community and their families; • Connect individuals from the Ex-Prisoner community and their families to relevant service providers to address their particular needs (health / wellbeing, education, employment), through engagement and signposting activities; • Address the issues of isolation and marginalisation impacting the Ex-Prisoner community through building community understanding and acceptance; • Build relationships between the Ex-Prisoner community and other groups and sectors within the areas. This tender is linked to the Communities in Transition (CIT) Project which had been due to end in March 2024 however the Executive made a commitment to extend the overall Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime (EPPOC) to March 2027. As CIT is a key element of EPPOC, it has also been extended to 31 March 2027. This phase of delivery is classed as Phase 3 of CIT and will operate from 01 April 2025 – 31 March 2027. Phase 1 of the Project provided a firm foundation for continuing to address the issues that allow Paramilitarism, criminality and coercive control to persist within communities. Phase 2 presented an opportunity to further refine the work under a thematic approach as we move forward. Phase 3 will see delivery move from a thematic approach to an issues-based approach focusing on the key issues caused by paramilitarism in communities. This Contract falls under Phase 3 and will support the Department in its overall delivery of the CIT Project. The Contractor’s programme will incorporate and deliver a number of programme activities, described at paragraph 6.5 of the Specification. The Contractor must not be delivering general outreach activities as part of this programme, activities must be clearly linked to addressing issues and needs facing the Ex-Prisoner community within each area resulting from the impact of paramilitarism and organised crime, and to the Benefits Framework (as listed at paragraph 6.6 of the Specification). Full details of all the requirements for this Contract are provided for within the Specification of Requirements Schedule. It is anticipated that the Contract will commence in April 2025 and run until March 2026 with the option to extend for a further period of 12 months, up to 31 March 2027.