Agenda item

RESOLVED:

1.    That the award of the contract for the provision of Extra Care support at Brockhill Sheltered Housing Scheme (Home Based Care services in an Extra Care setting) to A2 Dominion Housing Group Limited, starting from 1 June 2018 for a period of three years with an option to extend on an annual basis for two periods of up to two years for each period be approved.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and the Strategic Director for Adult Social Care and Public Health, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, for the approval of the award of contracts at Mitchison Court and Beechwood Court. 

Reasons for decisions:

The contract awards will support the Accommodation with Care and Support Strategy in Surrey. They will deliver services to residents who are eligible for accommodation in Extra Care schemes, thereby retaining their independence in the community while offering flexible and responsive care and support arrangements to meet their needs, enhance quality of life and improve outcomes.

A summary of the current expiry dates for the existing operational Extra Care schemes and new contract start dates are as follows:

·              Brockhill Sheltered Housing Scheme (Woking) contract expires on the 31 May 2018. The new contract will commence on the 1 June 2018.

·              Mitchison Court Scheme (Spelthorne) contract expires on the 2 September 2018. The new contract will commence on the 3 September 2018.

·              Beechwood Court Scheme (Spelthorne) contract expires on the 2 September 2018. The new contract will commence on 3 September 2018.

All tenders have been conducted under the Light Touch Regime in compliance with the requirement of Public Contract Regulations and Procurement Standing Orders and very similar approaches, evaluation methodologies and commissioning models have been applied to each scheme. 

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Adults and Health Select Committee]

The Cabinet Member for Adults introduced the report which set out the recommended approach to the re-procurement of services at Brockhill, Mitchison and Beechwood facilities including the procurement processes used.  He sought approval to award a three year contract with an option to extend for up to two additional two year periods to the successful provider of the Brockhill home and for delegated authority to the Cabinet Member for Adults and Strategic Director for Adult Social Care and Public Health to approve the contract awards for Mitchison Court and Beechwood Court upon completion of the procurement processes.  He also reported an amendment to the second recommendation which was to include the Leader of the Council being consulted.  The Cabinet Member also referred to paragraph 22 of the report which stated ‘three months’ notice’ would be given if a termination of contract was needed but that this would happen as quickly as possible.

He explained how the Council was committed to improving the wellbeing of residents by ensuring that people can live and age well at home in their community.  The provision of Extra Care housing was beneficial for continued resident wellbeing for eligible elderly people.  It offered a choice of independent living in a community setting, with person-centred care and support services directed by the individual and which were responsive to their changing needs. It helped people continue to live as independently as possible as their care and support needs increased, without the need to move into more institutionalised forms of accommodation.

The Accommodation with Care and Support Strategy was approved by Cabinet in December 2015 and stated the aim of increasing options available for residents needing accommodation with care and support. There were a number of live projects, both strategic and operational, underway to ensure there were services in place for residents in the short and long term and that they had access to the right support regardless of tenure.

In addition to these projects the Council, currently in partnership with Borough and District Councils, provided Extra Care housing and services in which the County had retained a number of units within their facilities.  As the contracts for these facilities would shortly end it was necessary to renew the tenures though a re-procurement process of the three existing Extra Care contracts (Brockhill, Mitchison and Beechwood), including taking the opportunity of reviewing the commercial and delivery models of these schemes.

In addition, there were other renewals in the pipeline which would come to Cabinet this year.

Due to the commercial sensitivity involved in the contract award process, the Value for Money details had been included as a Part 2 report.

In response to a query the Cabinet Member explained that living in these settings was a bridge between living in one’s own home and going into residential care.  Residents were eligible under the Care Act Eligibility Criteria and an assessment for this could be done online.  Residents would stay in these settings until it was identified as part of ongoing assessments that the resident needed different care.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the award of the contract for the provision of Extra Care support at Brockhill Sheltered Housing Scheme (Home Based Care services in an Extra Care setting) to A2 Dominion Housing Group Limited, starting from 1 June 2018 for a period of three years with an option to extend on an annual basis for two periods of up to two years for each period, be approved.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Adults and the Strategic Director for Adult Social Care and Public Health, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, for the approval of the award of contracts at Mitchison Court and Beechwood Court. 

Reasons for decisions:

The contract awards would support the Accommodation with Care and Support Strategy in Surrey. They would deliver services to residents who were eligible for accommodation in Extra Care schemes, thereby retaining their independence in the community while offering flexible and responsive care and support arrangements to meet their needs, enhance quality of life and improve outcomes.

A summary of the current expiry dates for the existing operational Extra Care schemes and new contract start dates were as follows:

·              Brockhill Sheltered Housing Scheme (Woking) contract expires on the 31 May 2018. The new contract will commence on the 1 June 2018.

·              Mitchison Court Scheme (Spelthorne) contract expires on the 2 September 2018. The new contract will commence on the 3 September 2018.

·              Beechwood Court Scheme (Spelthorne) contract expires on the 2 September 2018. The new contract will commence on 3 September 2018.

All tenders had been conducted under the Light Touch Regime in compliance with the requirement of Public Contract Regulations and Procurement Standing Orders and very similar approaches, evaluation methodologies and commissioning models had been applied to each scheme.