Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Judi Ellis and Terence Nathan, and from Linda Gabriel and Leslie Marks.

There were no declarations of interest.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions to the Portfolio Holder must be received in writing 4 working days before the date of the meeting.  Therefore please ensure questions are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on Tuesday 21^st July 2015.

Two questions had been received for written reply from Michelle Duncan, Steering Group member of Bromley Parent Voice -

(1) CoP Children & Families Act 2014  4.8 Local authorities must involve children with SEN or disabilities and their parents and young people with SEN or disabilities in deciding how to publish the Local Offer. Why have parents not been given the chance to input into this Gateway report?

Reply:

Bromley Parent Voice (BPV) have been involved (and will continue to be involved) in the various iterations of the Local Offer pages.

BPV also sit on the SEN Implementation Steering Group which is overseeing the implementation of the reforms and were part of the Local Offer Project Group.

(2) All LAs have had to produce a Local Offer, there are many other software platforms already developed that would provide a better base for the Local Offer and adult social care information without need for further development costs, has Bromley explored purchase of one of these?

Reply:

We already have the Bromley MyLife web portal - the costs outlined in this report are in the main licence cost which would be required for any platform. The developments of the SEND Local Offer pages have incurred no additional system costs.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 26^th March 2015 (excluding exempt information) be confirmed.

Report CS15910

The report reviewed the current MyLife web portal services delivered on behalf of the Council by OLM Group Ltd and made recommendations for the future procurement of this service. The current 2015/16 contract was for £40,375 with the cumulative contract value was £201,375. Following publication of the report, the Department of Health (DoH) had written to the Local Government Association to delay the Care Act cap on care costs system until 2020. This meant that the Council would not need to purchase the additional Care Act module for the Bromley Mylife web portal, reducing costs by £53,020. An addendum report including the DoH letter was circulated setting out revised recommendations.

The Council had been one of the first local authorities to develop a web portal for care and health support services and had awarded the contract to OLM Group Ltd to deliver the Mylife web portal in 2010. Since its launch, the number of visitors to the portal had increased significantly – details were set out in Appendix 1 to the report. There were other providers in the market, but none were any more advanced than ODM, and it would take considerable time and resources to migrate to a new provider. Officers advised that offering a further three year contract to OLM Group Limited was within procurement rules and would bring stability to develop the changes required under the Care Act, reduce annual costs and see a return on previous investment and development.  Other members present commented on the development of the dementia hub and agreed that this was a sensible proposal given the complications of transferring to a new supplier at this stage.

RESOLVED that

(1) The award of a three year contract totalling £87, 700 to OLM Group Ltd for the Mylife web portal service to continue be approved; the contract will begin on 1st April 2016 and end on 31st March 2019.

(2)  Funding of £42,700 from the Social Care Capital Grant be agreed and included in the Council’s Capital Programme.

The Portfolio Holder received an update on the operation at Bellegrove which had been refurbished for use as temporary accommodation for homeless households. The principle aim of the scheme was to provide an alternative to expensive nightly paid accommodation placements arising from increased statutory homelessness. Full occupancy had been consistently achieved and the scheme was providing greater savings than set out in the original business case.

RESOLVED that the contents of the briefing report be noted.

RESOLVED that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business referred to below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

The following summary

refers to matters

involving exempt information

The Portfolio Holder asked for an update on the Residential property Acquisitions Project. Although some minor changes were required following the Budget, Officers were working to finalise the contracts.

RESOLVED that the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 26^th March 2015 be confirmed.