AMCV 355 - Digital Solutions to Support Unpaid Carers

Shropshire Council is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) to understand the current market for digital solutions that support unpaid carers. This engagement will help inform the Council’s future commissioning approach before any decision is made about whether to tender, use an existing compliant route, develop an alternative model, or take no further procurement action.

Shropshire Council has an established Unpaid Carer Support offer. Recently this has become an all-age offer supporting Young Carers and Parent Carers. The Unpaid Carers portal will be an online offer which will be available to Unpaid Carers 24/7 throughout the journey of their caring role. We are aware there are a large proportion of people who do not identify as an Unpaid Carer, we envisage the portal will support with that identification and will provide relevant up to date information to support families in a preventative manner.

Any proposed solution should offer the following support:

Increase the identification recognition and early interventions for unpaid Carers

Delay and reduce the need to access high-cost statutory provision

Improve accessibility to information, advice and guidance, improve links and signposting to services that are already available nationally, regionally and locally.

Support Unpaid Carers to access self-help and self-management support to reduce the need for Unpaid Carers crisis interventions.

Include access to Unpaid Carers 'self-assessment' focused on individualised outcomes

The solution should have the capacity to collect and produce relative data regarding demographics, ethnicity, age range as well as information such as when and where the portal is accessed.