Councillors and committees

Issue - meetings

Personal Support Services for Children, Young People and their Families

Meeting: 18/12/2018 - Cabinet (Item 208)

208 Commissioning of Personal Support Services for Children, Young People and their Families pdf icon PDF 161 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

That the setup of a Light Touch Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for the commissioning of Personal Support for Children, Young People and their Families be approved. This would enable call-off placements to be made under the Light Touch DPS from 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2022. (If both extension years are used the Light Touch DPS end date will be 31 March 2024.)

 

Reason for decision:

 

The current arrangements end on 31 March 2019 and the Council had statutory duties to provide these services.  The Council needed to ensure spend on personal support was compliant with Procurement regulations and addressed current overspend.

 

Feedback from professionals and families had indicated that there were limitations to the previous framework in terms of choice, flexibility and overall availability. Therefore a different approach was required. The new specifications would support improved outcomes for children and families.

 

The Light Touch DPS provided the opportunity to improve choice and flexibility for families through a dynamic list of approved suppliers. Support will be called off through the lifetime of the Light Touch DPS, therefore limiting spot-purchases, and as a result the new approach should offer better value for money.

 

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Children & Education Select Committee]

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families introduced the report explaining the different lots to the contract.She stated that this formed part of the Transformation Programme, widening the offer of the personal support element of short breaks to include better provision for the range of complex needs of the children and young people entitled to the service. Furthermore, the framework agreement would reduce costs to the Council. She also explained that this was a framework agreement which would reduce costs to the Council.

 

She also explained how Family Voice had expressed concerns about the effects of this service with the Children’s and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). The concerns had been acknowledged and work was being undertaken to improve mental health services for children. In response to Member queries it was stated that Family Voice had been involved in identifying issues with the contract and their contributions would be welcomed going forward, along with other groups.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the setup of a Light Touch Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for the commissioning of Personal Support for Children, Young People and their Families be approved. This would enable call-off placements to be made under the Light Touch DPS from 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2022. (If both extension years are used the Light Touch DPS end date will be 31 March 2024.)

 

Reason for decision:

 

The current arrangements end on 31 March 2019 and the Council had statutory duties to provide these services. The Council needed to ensure spend on personal support was compliant with procurement regulations and addressed current overspend.

 

Feedback from professionals and families had indicated that there were limitations to the previous framework in terms of choice, flexibility and overall availability. Therefore a different approach was required. The new specifications would support improved outcomes for children and families.

 

The Light Touch DPS provided the opportunity to improve choice and flexibility for families through a dynamic list of approved suppliers. Support will be called off through the lifetime of the Light Touch DPS, therefore limiting spot-purchases and, as a result, the new approach should offer better value for money.