Speculative Notice – NATIONAL

1 Authority Details

1.1

Authority Name and Address

1.2

Address from which further information may be obtained

As in 1.1

2 Contract Details

2.1

Title

Experts by Experience

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

As part of the Welsh Government’s Nation of Sanctuary policy, we are committed to “Involve sanctuary seekers as experts by experience at the heart of policy development and to improve the integration of new arrivals.” This contract will help us to meet this commitment.

The Requirement

- An appropriate organisation to identify, recruit and support up to 10 people who have diverse experiences for 2024 – 2025 and 2025 – 2026. They will act as our Experts by Experience (EbE). All must have been (or currently be) sanctuary seekers residing in Wales.

- The organisation would need to have demonstrable expertise in supporting sanctuary seekers to self-advocate in a professional environment.

- We would like to ensure the selected expert panel include refugees, current asylum seekers and those refused asylum.

- Ideally, the selected panel will also include a mix of national backgrounds, sex or gender, sexual identity or age. This is to encourage the greatest possible range of viewpoints brought to bear in considering Welsh Government policies.

- Although the panel will bring their own individual experiences to this work, we really want the panel to be representing a wide range of sanctuary seekers living in Wales.

- Three types of support to Welsh Government is required:

1. Attendance and contributions to policy development working groups.

2. Lead focus groups with other sanctuary seekers and report findings.

3. Attend Nation of Sanctuary meetings to help us make progress.

Groups

- Policy development workstreams

- Monthly (x10) – 1hr meeting with 1hr prep time = up to 20hrs per EbE per year

- Workstreams:

- Welcome Ticket

- No Recourse to Public Funds

- Future asylum accommodation requirement

- Health

- Sanctuary website improvements

- [To Be Decided x 5 – Input from EbE and WG colleagues requested]

- Nation of Sanctuary Governance structure

- Nation of Sanctuary Chapter Group (x4) - 1hr meeting with 1hr prep time = 8hrs per EbE per year.

- Partnership Board (x4) – 1hr meeting with 1hr prep time = 8hrs per EbE per year.

- Resettlement Forum (x10) – To be discussed with existing attendees. 1hr meeting with 1hr prep time = 20hrs per EbE per year.

- Wales Asylum Forum (x10) – To be discussed with existing attendees. 1hr meeting with 1hr prep time = 20hrs per EbE per year.

- Focus groups with other EbE

- Each EbE to lead at least two focus groups with sanctuary seekers who are not part of the panel. This is to build awareness of experiences of others which can help with working groups and governance meetings.

- Focus groups suggested to involve 2hrs delivery and 2hrs prep time = 8hrs per EbE. 80hrs total for all EbE.

Expertise we need

- Expertise and Experience with the Asylum Process - Individuals who have gone through the asylum application process can provide insights into the challenges and barriers faced.

- Health and Wellbeing - Those who have experienced difficulties in accessing healthcare services (including mental health) can highlight gaps and suggest improvements to ensure better health outcomes for refugees and asylum seekers.

- Education and Language - Individuals who have faced obstacles in accessing education or language classes can offer perspectives on how to make these services more accessible and effective.

- Housing and Accommodation - Experiences of finding and maintaining stable housing can inform policies to provide better support and housing solutions for refugees and asylum seekers.

- Employment - Those who have struggled to find employment can share their experiences to help develop programs that support job readiness and integration.

- Community Integration and Social Support - Insights from individuals who have successfully integrated into their communities can help create programs that foster social inclusion and community support.

- No Recourse to Public Funds – Insights from individuals who have had to navigate life in Wales without access to Public Funds.

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=146736.

2.3

Notice Coding and Classification

3 Administrative Information

3.1

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

3.2

Estimated Start of the Award Procedure

4 Other Information

4.1

Additional Information

- Welsh Government would not recruit any individuals. Some of those we wish to engage with will not be eligible for employment and Welsh Government may not be able to employ some because of the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

- Selection of experts is likely to take some time so we would be looking for an agreement which continues until March 2026.

- We would want to review whether this approach is working around September 2025 to decide if we continue for at least another year (but decisions would not be made until the end of the calendar year).

- Asylum seekers and those refused asylum would be paid expenses as volunteers only. We would avoid anything which could be seen to undermine UK Government policy relating to employment and Public Funds.

- Number of meetings above is a maximum but a smaller number of meetings/workstreams/focus groups is possible (for a reduced funding amount)

- We have already identified some workstreams where EbE input would be very valuable but we want to identify more based partly on the issues EbE want to focus on.

- Experts would generally attend different workstreams/meetings though perhaps two per workstream/meeting to support effective representation.

The estimated budget for this requirement is £70,000 up until March 2026.

(WA Ref:146736)

4.2

Download Additional Documentation

4.3

Publication date of this notice