Issue - meetings

Report ACH21-016

The Council had a contract in place with the Southside Partnership (also known as Certitude) to provide learning disability supported living and community-based day and respite services. Executive approval had been obtained in November 2019 to extend the contract for a period of up to 2 years from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2022. The Council was unable to reach mutual terms to extend the contract as originally intended and subsequent negotiation had resulted in a 6-month extension of the contract to 31 March 2021.

At the Adult Care and Health PDS Committee meeting on 24 November 2020 members had scrutinised a report that set out the procurement proposals in relation to these services; the report was subsequently agreed by the Leader. Future learning disability day provision was being divided so that people with lower needs would receive their services from community based locations that are spot purchased or funded via direct payments, while people with complex needs will receive a building based service. This report was focussed upon the building based complex needs day service which has been subject to a full tender process.

The tender process for complex needs day services closed on 4 February 2021 but did not attract any compliant bids. The report provided Members with details of the negotiated process that was now being followed and the interim arrangements that were required. The report sought Member agreement to a contract variation and extension of the current block contract with Southside Partnership to enable service provision whilst the negotiation and contract award processes were progressed and the new contract was mobilised.

Further details were set out in a part 2 report.

It was confirmed that officers were working with several providers on a negotiated basis, and the Leader thanked Colin Lusted and his colleagues for their hard work on this contract.

The report had been scrutinised by the  Adult Care and Health PDS Committee on 17^th March 2021 and the Committee supported the recommendations.

RESOLVED that the variation and extension of the existing block contract with Southside Partnership to provide building based complex needs day services be approved, the extension to commence on 1 April 2021 for a period of up to 5 months to 31 August 2021 at a cost detailed within the Part 2 report; this will increase the total expenditure on the Southside Partnership block contract since 1 October 2015 to the amount detailed in the Part 2 report.