The Director of Adult Social Care and Health Services submitted a report outlining the intention to procure supported living and domiciliary care services by establishing two frameworks for each but having all providers under the same terms and conditions.  The report also sought delegated authority for the Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health Services to ensure the result of procurement could be enacted efficiently, enabling the aims of the procurement to be carried out as soon as possible.

The report explained that Home Care was currently procured within a Home Care Framework and Supported Living was procured within a Supported Living Accredited select List Framework.  Both frameworks had been awarded in 2015 with the current contracts running until April 2020, at which point they would need to be re-procured in line with the Council’s Standing Orders.

The proposed operating model for the replacement frameworks had been established and this framework agreement would be an arrangement between the Council and an unspecified number of providers.  All providers would be signed up to the same terms and conditions and contract terms.  Price and quality standards would have been agreed as part of the framework agreement and support/care packages would be commissioned as and when required and only offered to those on the framework agreement.  All providers on the framework would be able to bid for individual care/support packages and service users would be offered the choice from the bids.  As a result there would be minimal spot purchase contracts.

The framework would operate a quality two-tier system; those providers on tier 1 would be assessed as having the best quality and would be offered to the service user first.  The providers on tier 2 would have met the minimum quality standards for the Council and would be offered work that was unable to be picked up by the tier 1 providers.  Tier 1 providers would have first refusal of any new work and a ‘Gold Standard’ stamp next to their online listings.

Through this approach the Council would have a number of aims, including the following:

• Provide a range of good quality, sustainable care and support residents;
• Ensure value for money through competitive rates;
• Ensure that all providers the Council worked with were under the same contractual terms and conditions;
• Ensure that the Council could select the providers it worked with based on quality and price;
• Allow the Council the flexibility to adapt the way it worked according to the needs of the population of the Borough.

Resolved –    That the Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health Services, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Adult Social Care, be authorised to enter into a contract with the successful tenderer(s) for the support/care services to be provided through the above framework agreement, at the stage of contract award (close of Q4 2019/2020).