Agenda item

That a contract for the provision of combined sensory services and for the provision of mobility and independent living skills be awarded to Sight for Surrey starting from 1 February 2016 for a period of three years with an option to extend on an annual basis for two more years.

Reasons for Decisions:

The current separate contracts listed below are due to expire on 31 January 2016.

A.    Contract for the provision of services for people with visual impairments delivered by Sight for Surrey

B.    Contract for the provision of services for people with hearing impairments delivered by First Point

The contract listed below expired on 31 October 2015 with temporary arrangements currently in place to ensure continued service delivery.

C.   Contract for provision of mobility and independent living skills delivered by Sight for Surrey 

A joint contract for adults and children’s demonstrates best practice and has the biggest potential to deliver improved outcomes for Surrey residents and will provide value for money.

This joint contract will ensure that Surrey residents continue to receive a timely provision of service, and enable Surrey County Council to continue to meet its statutory duties to provide appropriate services to people with a visual impairment, hearing impairment, dual sensory loss, people who are Deaf, people who use British Sign Language, and to children for provision of mobility and independent living skills.

[The decision on this item may be called in by the Social Care Services Scrutiny Board or the Wellbeing and Health Scrutiny Board]

[Note: This item was moved up the agenda and taken next]

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Wellbeing and Independence said that this report soughtapproval to award a three year contract with an option to extend for up to two additional one year periods to Sight for Surrey for the provision of combined sensory services and mobility and independent living skills, to commence on 1 February 2016.

He stated that the Council believed that combining visual and hearing impairment services across the County would improve outcomes for Surrey residents and also provide value for money. He also said that two commissioning strategies had informed the re-commissioning process: (i) the Adults Joint Commissioning Strategy, and (ii) the Children’s Commissioning Strategy.

He referred to the Equalities Impact Assessment, attached as an Annex to the report and confirmed that a range of positive impacts had been identified for all groups, including increased flexibility of provision for individuals and carers.

The Cabinet Member for Schools, Skills and Educational Achievement said that she was fully aware of the importance of the service provision which enabled these children and young people to have full access to the academic, mobility and independence skills to help them achieve their potential. She was confident that the new contract would deliver the right provision for 0-25 year olds. Finally, she confirmed that the contract would be closely monitored.

Other Cabinet Members made the following points:

·         The procurement strategy – that the tenders received had been evaluated against a number of ‘quality’ questions, including ‘added value’.

·         The Equality Impact Assessment had included evidence which would ensure its compliance with the statutory and legal requirements, as set out in the Care Act 2014.

·         The aim of this contract was ‘outcome based commissioning’ rather than just providing a service.

·         The specification of this contract was jointly drafted and had incorporated both Adults’ and Schools and Learning’s requirements.

·         Assurance was requested that hearing was equally important to the proposed contract provider - Sight for Surrey.

·         The Monitoring Officer had confirmed that the Council was complying with the general responsibilities under the Care Act 2014.

·         Finally, attention was drawn to paragraph 30 of the report which said that the contract would include a termination clause.

RESOLVED:

That a contract for the provision of combined sensory services and for the provision of mobility and independent living skills be awarded to Sight for Surrey starting from 1 February 2016 for a period of three years with an option to extend on an annual basis for two more years.

Reasons for Decisions:

The current separate contracts listed below are due to expire on 31 January 2016.

A.    Contract for the provision of services for people with visual impairments delivered by Sight for Surrey

B.    Contract for the provision of services for people with hearing impairments delivered by First Point

The contract listed below expired on 31 October 2015 with temporary arrangements currently in place to ensure continued service delivery.

C.   Contract for provision of mobility and independent living skills delivered by Sight for Surrey 

A joint contract for adults and children’s demonstrates best practice and has the biggest potential to deliver improved outcomes for Surrey residents and will provide value for money.

This joint contract will ensure that Surrey residents continue to receive a timely provision of service, and enable Surrey County Council to continue to meet its statutory duties to provide appropriate services to people with a visual impairment, hearing impairment, dual sensory loss, people who are Deaf, people who use British Sign Language, and to children for provision of mobility and independent living skills.