Agenda and minutes
PDF 207 KBVenue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN. View directions
Contact: Ross Pike or Joseph Jones
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Minutes: Apologies were received from Dorothy Ross-Tomlin, Pauline Searle, Fiona White and Chris Townsend. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.
Notes: · In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest. · Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests. · Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register. · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.
Minutes: There was no declarations of interests to declare. |
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Purpose of the report: Scrutiny of Services and Budgets
To scrutinise the approval to award a contract for the provision of combined sensory services and the provision of mobility and independent living skills, decided by the Cabinet on 24 November 2015. Additional documents: Minutes: Witnesses:
Dave Sargeant, Strategic Director Liz Uliasz, Area Director Anna Tobiasz, Adults Category Lead, Procurement & Commissioning Clive Boswell, Surrey Deaf Forum spokesperson (assisted by Wendy Anderson, Surrey Deaf Forum Secretary and his interpreter Melanie Clark) Heather Gerrard and Don Gerrard, Hard of Hearing Forum Bob Hughes, Chief Executive of Sight for Surrey Bev Bishop, Head of Adult Services - Sight for Surrey
Mel Few, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Independence and Wellbeing
Key points raised during the discussions:
1. The Chairman informed the Board and the witnesses of the procedures of a call-in and that the Board can make recommendations to the Cabinet however they cannot make decisions.
2. The Surrey Deaf Forum spokesperson was invited to outline the nature of users’ concerns. He advised the Board that it was felt that there had not been due regard to service user viewpoints during the tender due to meetings not taking place and they would like this to change post-award. They also had concerns about value for money when there was only one bid for the contract; how the budget would be allocated to meet the needs of deaf people in Surrey, how there would be continuity of care and whether the Social Value Act was suitably considered in the tender.
3. The spokesperson highlighted to the Board that Sight for Surrey had historically provided services to blind and visually impaired people and that the contract could have engaged the existing provider, First Point, to meet the needs of deaf people. Furthermore, the spokesperson suggested that some of the value of the contract could have created work for disabled and deaf people and small businesses in Surrey.
4. The representative from the Hard of Hearing Forum explained that this Forum had initially been left out of the tender process but did take part in the evaluation of the tender in May 2015. However, circumstances changed following this evaluation and the final decision with a sub-contractor not becoming involved raising doubts about how the primary contractor would meet the needs of the deaf community. The issue is not whether Sight for Surrey can deliver the Council’s combined sensory service but the validity of the Hard of Hearing Forum’s contribution to the evaluation.
5. The Chief Executive for Sight for Surrey introduced himself and provided a background of the organisation including its history, the services that it provides and its reputation. The Chief Executive understood the concern raised and emphasised that Sight for Surrey would deliver the highest quality of service to its users through key workers who specialise in deaf and hearing impairment services and that most of the key workers would be transferred from First Point from the 1 February 2016.
6. Sight for Surrey’s Chief Executive emphasised to the Board that EU tender processes had been followed and Sight for Surrey had indicated a plan to sub-contract but the other provider withdrew for reasons unknown to Sight for Surrey, so they decided to operate the ... view the full minutes text for item 58. |
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Scrutiny Board will be held at 10:00 on Monday 25 January 2016.
Minutes: The date of the next public meeting will be on Monday 25 January 2016 from 10.00am. |