Agenda item

The Leader, after consultation with Cabinet:

1.      Authorised in principle the establishment of the Active Homecare Framework detailed in the body of the report for the placement of packages of homecare in Havering to take effect on the expiry of the current arrangements

2.      Delegated authority to the Director of Adult Services to take all necessary steps to set up the Dynamic Purchasing System to be known as the “Active Care Framework” in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (the Regulations) and the Council’s Contract Standing Orders (CSO), including but not limited to: agreeing a specification for the service, approval of and dismissal of providers, approval of contract terms, setting quality requirements and considering any necessary Equality Impact Assessment and implementing any changes required by it.

3       Delegated authority to the Director of Adult Services to agree any amendments in accordance with the Regulations and CSO to the Dynamic Purchasing System for the duration of the term including any termination of the arrangements.

Councillor Wendy Brice-Thompson, Cabinet member for Adult Services and Health, introduced the report

Cabinet was reminded that the current homecare framework contract would expire on 27 January 2017.  This framework had failed to deliver the required capacity.  There were a number of reasons for this which included providers being unable to deliver the care required or leaving the market.  To ensure that no-one went without care, the Council had had to increasingly spot-purchase care from homecare providers outside the framework.

To resolve these issues, the Council proposes to establish a new Active Homecare Framework (AHF).  This type of framework would give the Council and homecare providers greater flexibility and ensure that all homecare was procured and evaluated in the same way to provide excellent quality homecare to Havering residents.

Reasons for the Decision

This decision was required as the current framework agreement for homecare was due to expire, therefore the Council needed to establish a new way of purchasing homecare from February 2017 onwards.  Establishing an AHF would ensure that all homecare providers had been quality assured and evaluated in the same way and offered greater flexibility to make changes and add new providers in the future.

Other options considered:

Option a) Introduce a framework agreement.

Procuring homecare through a standard framework agreement would not offer the same levels of flexibility.  If providers were unable to deliver the required levels of homecare in the future we would not be able to introduce new providers to the framework.  We would also not be able to make changes such as varying the quality threshold or focusing on the outcomes of the care delivered.

Option b) Continue spot-purchasing.

Spot-purchasing homecare would put the Council at risk.  This would mean spending significant levels of funding without following a standardised procurement process which would not be fair and transparent to all.

Option c) Do nothing

The other option would be to do nothing.  This was not a viable option due to the issues raised in the report.

The Leader, after consultation with Cabinet:

1.      Authorised in principle the establishment of the Active Homecare Framework detailed in the body of the report for the placement of packages of homecare in Havering to take effect on the expiry of the current arrangements

2.      Delegated authority to the Director of Adult Services to take all necessary steps to set up the Dynamic Purchasing System to be known as the “Active Care Framework” in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (the Regulations) and the Council’s Contract Standing Orders (CSO), including but not limited to: agreeing a specification for the service, approval of and dismissal of providers, approval of contract terms, setting quality requirements and considering any necessary Equality Impact Assessment and implementing any changes required by it.

3       Delegated authority to the Director of Adult Services to agree any amendments in accordance with the Regulations and CSO to the Dynamic Purchasing System for the duration of the term including any termination of the arrangements.