Agenda item

Report CS18168

The Committee considered a report outlining the current contract arrangements for the provision of Supported Living Services for seven adults with learning and physical disabilities at Johnson Court which was due to end on 13^th January 2020.  The report requested that the Council’s Executive approve a proposal to retender the service for a new five year contract period commencing on 14^th January 2020, with the option to extend the contract for up to a further two years.

The Supported Living Scheme at Johnson Court formed part of the 155 Supported Living places available in the Borough which had been established to support service users to live as independently as possible within their local community and were viewed as a key resource in meeting the existing and future needs of adults with learning disabilities in Bromley as well as offering a value-for-money alternative to residential care.  The existing contract to provide Supported Living Services at Johnson Court was due to end on 13^th January 2020, with no further extension options available.  Following a Gateway Review of the future procurement strategy for the Supported Living Scheme at Johnson Court, it was proposed that the service be retendered in accordance with the Council’s Financial and Procedure Rules for a new five year contract period commencing on 14^th January 2020, with the option to extend the contract for up to a further two years.

The Senior Commissioner (Education and Care Services) advised Members that the Local Authority’s Commissioning Strategy included commissioning some Supported Living Services as single schemes and others as groups of schemes as this helped ensure a varied provider market within the Borough, including opportunities for smaller local providers.  The Supported Living model offered person-centred support to service users and as providers were Registered Social Landlords, service users were eligible for Housing Benefit top-up payments which helped offset the cost of service charges and provide a value-for-money service.  Supported Living Services also benefitted from a mixed-economy of care where service users could choose to take-up Direct Payments to meet their care needs.

In considering the report, a Member noted that the contract to provide Supported Living Services at Johnson Court from 14^th January 2013 had originally been awarded via competitive tender with an estimated value of £113k, but that the contract had consistently exceeded this with contract expenditure of £343k estimated for 2018/19.  The Senior Commissioner (Education and Care Services) explained that tenders to deliver Supported Living Services were evaluated on the basis of the hourly cost of support, and that the increase in contract expenditure at Johnson Court, which was fully wheelchair-accessible, was related to changes in service users and an escalation in complexity of need that required additional hours of support.  The current value of the contract was reported in the Contracts Register and Contracts Database report which was provided to the Adult Care and Health PDS Committee on a quarterly basis.

In response to a question from the Chairman, the Senior Commissioner (Education and Care Services) confirmed that quality monitoring was undertaken with service users on a regular basis and that the service user experience was central to every stage of the tendering process.  This would be further supported by work to develop more focused Key Performance Indicators for Supported Living Services that had clear measurable outcomes.

RESOLVED that the Council’s Executive be recommended to:

Approve the commencement of the retendering of the Supported Living Scheme at Johnson Court, in accordance with the Council’s Financial and Contract Procedure Rules for a new five year contract commencing on 14^th January 2020 with the option to extend for up to a further two years.