Agenda item

RESOLVED:

1.    That following consideration of the available options, the results of the procurement process, and commercially sensitive information provided in Part 2 of the report, approval was given for the Council to enter into a regional Framework Partnership Agreement for children’s residential provision (led by Southampton City Council) for the period 1 September 2018 – 31 August 2024.

2.    That delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director(s) of Children’s Services to ‘call off’ this framework in order to place looked after children in external children’s homes, where this is deemed to be the most appropriate placement for the child or young person.

3.    That delegated authority be given to Executive Director – Children, Families and Learning, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Children, to add new providers to the framework for Surrey, in consultation with other local authorities, during the life of the framework.

Reasons for decisions:

The existing regional framework (of which Surrey is a member) would expire on 30 September 2018. If the Council did not participate in a Framework or similar procurement arrangement, it would only be able to spot purchase children’s residential provision, or enter into Block Contracts. Due to the level of spend, exclusive spot purchasing would place Council in breach of procurement law. Having only block contract arrangements in place would limit placement choice for children and their needs may not be met.

Additionally, if we did not join the Local Authorities of the Southern Region (LASR) Flexible Framework, more staff would need to be recruited by Surrey to undertake the increase in workload associated with negotiating individual contracts and monitoring the performance of a large number of providers. In the regional collaborative, these tasks would be shared across all the local authorities and coordinated centrally by a small Framework Coordination Team.

The LASR Flexible Framework would allow Councils across the region to manage the market, control expenditure and ensure value for money over the next six years. Prices were fixed for the first three years of the framework, and there was the potential for further savings through block contracts and voluntary discounts. 

Framework Agreements were technically £0 value contracts as they include no obligation to undertake any set minimum level of expenditure through them. It is, however, envisaged that this contract would act as the Council’s primary route to the external children’s residential care market going forward. The only financial commitment was a small contribution towards framework coordination and contract management costs (approximately £15k per annum for Surrey).

A similar arrangement for the commissioning of Independent Fostering Agencies had been in place for over 12 months, and the experience of partnership working and having a regional perspective of demand, sufficiency and provider performance had been very positive.

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

The Cabinet Member for Children introduced the report and pointed out that there had been an update since the report was published.  The number of homes now in the framework were 366 rather than 382 as stated in various sections of the report and its annexes. 

She explained that for most children and young people the best place to live was with their family of origin and where appropriate would support parents to provide an environment in which their child could grow and thrive. Unfortunately, in some circumstances the safest and most appropriate option was for a child to be taken into care. As Corporate Parents, Surrey County Council had a responsibility to ensure that sufficient placements were available to meet the needs of our looked after children. For the majority of looked after children, foster care was the most suitable placement option, however in some cases, young people required the type of care offered in a children’s home. 

She went on to say that Surrey had been an active member of a regional framework which was due to expire on 30 September 2018.  In 2017 and early 2018 a total of 18 local authorities, including Surrey and our Orbis partners East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, came together to develop and tender for a revised framework. This new Flexible Framework was due to commence on 1 September 2018. The initial contract term was three years, with the option to extend for a further three years (or part thereof). The framework did not commit the Council to any given level of expenditure, although there was a contribution to shared management of the framework.  The framework was dynamic and interactive in that providers could join or leave as required and dependent on Care Quality Commission inspections.

Mr Jonathan Essex had submitted a written question relating to this report and this and the written response were published as a supplement to the agenda.  Mr Essex also asked if it was the ambition to try to get as many placements in the County and that this should be a priority for the framework even though it may be more expensive.  The Cabinet Member responded that it was the Council’s ambition to reduce out of county placements where this was appropriate.  Where this may not be appropriate was for those that lived on the borders.  It was therefore more about being closer to home.  There was also a campaign to greatly increase the number of foster care provision across the county.

RESOLVED:

1. That following consideration of the available options, the results of the procurement process, and commercially sensitive information provided in Part 2 of the report, approval was given for the Council to enter into a regional Framework Partnership Agreement for children’s residential provision (led by Southampton City Council) for the period 1 September 2018 – 31 August 2024.

2. That delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director(s) of Children’s Services to ‘call off’ this framework in order to place looked after children in external children’s homes, where this is deemed to be the most appropriate placement for the child or young person.

3. That delegated authority be given to Executive Director – Children, Families and Learning, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Children, to add new providers to the framework for Surrey, in consultation with other local authorities, during the life of the framework.

Reasons for decisions:

The existing regional framework (of which Surrey is a member) would expire on 30 September 2018. If the Council did not participate in a Framework or similar procurement arrangement, it would only be able to spot purchase children’s residential provision, or enter into Block Contracts. Due to the level of spend, exclusive spot purchasing would place Council in breach of procurement law. Having only block contract arrangements in place would limit placement choice for children and their needs may not be met.

Additionally, if we did not join the Local Authorities of the Southern Region (LASR) Flexible Framework, more staff would need to be recruited by Surrey to undertake the increase in workload associated with negotiating individual contracts and monitoring the performance of a large number of providers. In the regional collaborative, these tasks would be shared across all the local authorities and coordinated centrally by a small Framework Coordination Team.

The LASR Flexible Framework would allow Councils across the region to manage the market, control expenditure and ensure value for money over the next six years. Prices were fixed for the first three years of the framework, and there was the potential for further savings through block contracts and voluntary discounts. 

Framework Agreements were technically £0 value contracts as they include no obligation to undertake any set minimum level of expenditure through them. It is, however, envisaged that this contract would act as the Council’s primary route to the external children’s residential care market going forward. The only financial commitment was a small contribution towards framework coordination and contract management costs (approximately £15k per annum for Surrey).

A similar arrangement for the commissioning of Independent Fostering Agencies had been in place for over 12 months, and the experience of partnership working and having a regional perspective of demand, sufficiency and provider performance had been very positive.