Decision: To award contracts to provide Care and Support in the Home Phase 2– Supported Living Services to the successful bidders following a procurement exercise and delegate authority to the Corporate Director of 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.
This Decision is to award contracts to additional providers under the pre-existing Supported Living framework which went live on June 15th, 2020, and was agreed under decision 20/00031 – Care in the Home Service
Reason(s) for decision: There is a mixed economy of Care in the Home Services across Kent for older and vulnerable residents with assessed needs, predominantly contracted to external providers and spot purchasing arrangements. The scope of these services includes:
Phase 1 – Home Care Services and Supporting Independence Services (SIS)
The services in scope deliver very similar tasks in people’s homes and there was an opportunity to achieve improved consistency across the market by bringing services together. Additionally, providers delivering services such as SIS are already delivering within an outcomes-focussed approach, whilst the Home Care provision remained time and task focussed.
Phase 2 – Supported Living and Care in the Home Community Vacancies
The contract was retendered in 2019 and was implemented in part in June 2020, a second tender process was opened in March 2021 to add new providers to the contract addressing the market gaps identified since June 2020.
Aligning services under one contractual arrangement has enabled the Council to take a consistent and equitable approach in shaping the market to focus on the personalisation and outcomes agendas and supporting the Council’s strategic outcome that ‘older and vulnerable residents are safe and supported with choices to live independently’.
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Expenditure or savings of more than £1m;
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Division affected: (All Division);
Notice of proposed decision first published: 16/09/2021
Anticipated restriction: Part exempt - View reasons
Explanation of anticipated restriction:
one supporting document contains commercially-sensitive information
Decision due: Not before 15th Oct 2021 by Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health
Department: Social Care, Health & Wellbeing
Consultees
The proposed decision was considered and endorsed by the Adult Social Care Cabinet Committee on 29 September 2021.
Financial implications: The planned contract arrangements for the Care and Support in the Home Service Phase 2 are anticipated to run until March 2024, with an option to extend, for further three years with a total value of £92m per annum, to be determined through contract solution design, currently being progressed. This Decision is sought to add providers to the existing framework agreed under the previous decision 20/00031- Care in the Home Service which took place in June 2020. To add providers to the contract there is an estimated cost of £0.322m per annum to meet the minimum rates we feel the providers will accept. This will run within the same time scale as the contract let in June 2020, through to March 2024 with an option to extend for a further 3 years. The Supported Living service is one in which residents may remain for many years and in some cases most of their lives. Achieving a stable home and support is the first building block to achieving a happy and healthy life.
Legal implications: The main legislative framework for the Care and Support in the Home Service is the Care Act 2014, and the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. These are statutory duties, and the new service will be compliant with both legislations. Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (TUPE) is likely to apply, and the Council will ensure in the event of a change of employer, that it will undertake necessary arrangements, within its remit, to provide for the protection of employees’ rights.
Equalities implications: An EQIA screening was completed, there are no significant changes to the delivery of care, the only changes are to mechanisms of managing the care. No protected group is seen to be adversely affected by any decisions relating to this contract. Data Protection Impact Assessment Implications: A DPIA has been completed for Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Care and Support in the Home Service programme.