Issue - meetings

Ms Andrea Martin, Commissioner, was in attendance for this item.

1.    Ms Martin introduced the report and provided a summary of the recent procurement activity. 

2.    Ms Martin responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:

(a)  Asked about the financial risk to the Council and the risk of disruption to individuals already within a care home, Ms Martin said people on all services, that tender successfully for the contract, would transfer onto the new contract and work had been carried out to ascertain the financial impact and sustainability of providers so that people would remain in their current care homes.

(b)  Asked about people being placed out of county and away from their support groups and families, Ms Martin said where an appropriate service could not be sourced within Kent operational colleagues would have to look at out of county placements.

(c)  Asked about market engagement with family members and users of the service, Ms Martin said users, families, organisations, and operational colleagues were consulted during the development of the new specification.

(d)  Asked how services would cope with the rise in mental health problems and identified learning difficulties, Ms Martin said she expected more people to be accessing supported living providers. In terms of people with more complex needs the market was being encouraged to improve and develop more services and a Dynamic Purchasing Agreement had been put in place.

3.    It was RESOLVED that the decision to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health to:

a)    Award contracts to provide residential care for People with a Learning Disability, People with a Physical Disability and People with Mental Health Needs to the successful bidders as identified following a procurement process and detailed in exempt appendix 1; and

b)    Delegate authority to the Corporate Director Adult Social Care and Health to take relevant actions, including but not limited to finalising the terms of and entering into required contracts or other legal agreements, as necessary to implement the decision.

be endorsed.