Archived decisions

Contact: Alan Edwards 01962 847158 [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The following decision is sought

That the voluntary sector be consulted on the proposed revision of single tender criteria in respect of award of contracts.

2. Reason

2.1 This report supports all the corporate strategies as it will be applicable to all social care contracted services which by their nature will be designed to deliver safe services, maximise wellbeing and enhance quality of place.

3. Other Options considered and rejected

3.1 None; report designed to legislate for those circumstances where formal competitive tendering arrangements are not deemed to be appropriate.

4. Conflicts of Interest declared by the decision maker or other Executive member consulted

None

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee

None

6. Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent

6.1 Not applicable

Approved by: ........................................... Date: ................

Councillor Felicity Hindson

Executive Member for Adult Social Care

Contact: Alan Edwards 01962 847158 [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report makes recommendations for the revision of single tender criteria in respect of award of contracts for the purposes of consultation with the voluntary sector prior to submission to Social Care Executive for formal ratification.

2. Recommendation

2.1 That the voluntary sector be consulted on the proposed revision to the following single tender criteria for award of contracts for social care services:-

2.1.1 Specialist Provider - where there is clearly no alternative provider;

2.1.2 Initial `pump-priming' to enable new and innovative services to start, but tendering to be considered if the service is to continue after the initial pilot period;

2.1.3 Interim arrangements whilst a service is being reviewed, subject to evidence of a review programme;

2.1.4 Where joint contracts with other agencies represent demonstrable value-for-money for the County Council;

2.1.5 Service user led and community based services which give added value;

2.1.6 That in all cases in 2.1.1 - 2.1.5 above there will be a need to demonstrate Best Value through cost and quality tests, and to undertake appropriate level of advertising sufficient to ensure that non-competitive practice does not apply.

3. Links to Corporate Strategies

3.1 This report supports all the corporate strategies as it will be applicable to all social care contracted services which by their nature will be designed to deliver safe services, maximise wellbeing and enhance quality of place.

4. Impact Assessment

4.1 All contracts must comply with principles of non-discrimination, and under European Union (EU) Treaty requirements be subject to a degree of advertising sufficient to ensure that non-competitive practice does not apply.

5. Current Single Tender Criteria

5.1 The primary reasons for introducing single tender criteria were to:

- give security of service for the mutual benefit of vulnerable service users, the service provider and the County Council;

- to aid Best Value to enable service providers to concentrate on their strengths and core business rather than competing against each other, particularly in the voluntary sector where providers tend to deliver niche community based services in specific geographical localities;

- to aid development of, and provide stability to, voluntary sector service providers in the provision of community care services;

- to provide continuity of service to vulnerable service users on the basis that research has revealed consistently a successful contract is determined by the positive relationship between service users and carers;

- to lessen risk of losing third party contributions to contracts from partners.

5.2 The current single tender criteria were approved by the then Social Services Committee in 1996 and revised in 1999. The current criteria are attached at Appendix 1.

6. Contract Analysis and Care Market

6.1 The Department has 239 contracts for services, of which 183 (77%) are held by voluntary sector providers. The estimated value of all the contracts is £43.1m p.a.

6.2 The distribution between types of providers and services in the following table:

Sector	Service	No of Contracts	Estimated Cost (£m)
Voluntary	All mental health services, supported living (LD), supported employment, day services, domiciliary care, including sitting and domestic services, delivery of meals-on-wheels, advocacy, information services, home from hospital.	183	32.1
Private	Residential/nursing care and domiciliary care	39	8.6
Health	Supported Living	13	1.9
Other Statutory Services	Meals-on-wheels, day services (PD)	4	0.5

6.3 The voluntary sector is therefore critical to the Department's delivery of service. The only sector where there is private sector involvement, in terms of contracts for services, as opposed to individualised spot purchasing, is residential/nursing care and domiciliary care for older people.

6.4 The social care market for community services is characterised by relatively few providers for each care group, including older people, with these providers delivering niche services in specific geographical locations. The challenge for the future is therefore to expand the service provider base whilst protecting community based services. The only field in which there is genuine competition between sectors is in domiciliary care.

6.5 Also, the White Paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say places significant emphasis on service user led services.

7. Revised Criteria

7.1 It is therefore proposed that future single tender criteria should have regard to:

- those situations where there is clearly not an alternative provider and having to consider bids that are not sustainable

- protecting community based services

- protecting service user led services

- the need to continue to demonstrate Best Value through cost and quality tests.

7.2 As illustrated in Section 6 above the voluntary sector are the sole providers of virtually all community based and service user led services.

7.3 In the past few years, some services have been subject to continual review, emanating from Best Value Reviews, National Service Frameworks, Valuing People and, more recently, the Wellbeing and Modernisation agenda. This process will continue in the future and it would seem undesirable to disrupt existing care arrangements whilst those review arrangements are in progress. Such arrangements will also usually be the most cost effective through not having to incur care management resources in transferring people from one service to another. It also adds to the uncertainty of service users and carers regarding continuity and consistency of service during review periods. It is therefore proposed that the revised criteria should take account of this factor.

7.4 There are also joint contracts services with other agencies, particularly Health, where there will be a need to form a common view on renewing contracts. In a number of cases, continuation of partners' contributions with existing providers may be an important consideration.

7.5 There will also be situations where it will be opportunistic to commission and purchase new and innovative services but within a restricted timeframe. Some of these opportunities have arisen in the past when government grant money has been available for specific purposes, but expenditure has to be incurred within a telescoped timescale in the financial year concerned, and which precludes a formal tendering process. A single tender process will generally be more appropriate in such circumstances though it does raise the issue of the purchasing approach at the end of any initial pilot period. This could apply to community based services as well as specialist services designed to facilitate hospital discharge or prevention of admission to hospital, and thus support a key performance requirement.

7.6 It is therefore recommended that the single tender criteria outlined in paragraph 2 of this report forms the basis of consultation with the Voluntary Sector.

8. Conclusion

8.1 The general assumption is that social care services be tendered but there will be instances where it would be more appropriate to procure services via a single tender approach to protect community based services, service user led services and continuity of service where those services are being reviewed. However, there will be a need to ensure Best Value through cost and quality tests and to undertake an appropriate level of advertising sufficient to ensure that non-competitive practice does not apply.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None

APPENDIX 1

Existing Single Tender Criteria