Agenda item

Report CS18169

The Committee considered a report outlining the current contract arrangements for the provision of Supported Living Services to 32 adults with a learning disability at a group of schemes comprising 213 Widmore Road, Lancaster House, Amplio House, Swingfield Court and Goldsmiths Close which was due to end on 11^th January 2020.  The report requested that the Council’s Executive approve a proposal to continue to group the schemes together for the purposes of tendering in order to drive the best possible pricing and to retender the service for a new five year contract period commencing on 12^th January 2020, with the option to extend the contract for up to a further two years.

The Supported Living Schemes at 213 Widmore Road, Lancaster House, Amplio House, Swingfield Court and Goldsmiths Close 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 and as offering a value-for-money alternative to residential care.  The existing contract to provide Supported Living Services at a group of schemes comprising 213 Widmore Road, Lancaster House, Amplio House, Swingfield Court and Goldsmiths Close which was due to end on 11^th January 2020, with no further extension options available.  Following a Gateway Review of the future procurement strategy for Supported Living Services at 213 Widmore Road, Lancaster House, Amplio House, Swingfield Court and Goldsmiths Close,it was proposed that the schemes continue to be grouped together for the purposes of tendering in order to drive the best possible pricing and to retender the service for a new five year contract period commencing on 12^th January 2020, with the option to extend the contract for up to a further two years.

In considering the report, a Member was concerned at the variation between the estimated value of Supported Living Services contracts and the actual annual expenditure, and suggested that tender evaluation using the Local Authority’s standard 60% price and 40% quality split should be focused more on quality for these contracts.  The Senior Commissioner (Education and Care Services) confirmed that tenders to deliver Supported Living Services were evaluated on the basis of the hourly cost of support, which was expected to vary throughout the contract depending on the complexity of need of service users.  The Interim Director: Programmes observed that Supported Living Services consisted of a mix of personal and collective support and that the collective support element could be better anticipated when evaluating tenders.  Work was also undertaken in all Supported Living Services schemes on an ongoing basis to ensure that service users’ needs were being met and that support was being delivered efficiently.  The Director: Adult Social Care highlighted that Supported Living Services offered a value-for-money alternative to expensive residential or out-of-Borough care.  In response to a question from the Member, the Senior Commissioner (Education and Care Services) advised that the most recent tendering exercise for a Supported Living Services contract (which comprised three properties) returned 20 tender submissions of which eight had been shortlisted for evaluation.  The Member was pleased to see that ‘consistency of staff’ was a high priority within the evaluation process.

A Member underlined the need for work to be undertaken to identify future demand for Supported Living Services as young people with disabilities transitioned into Adult Social Care services, including ensuring that any increase in complexity of need was being planned for.  The Senior Commissioner (Education and Care Services confirmed that future demand being considered and it was important for the right provision to be in place for young people with disabilities as they transitioned into Adult Social Care services. 

RESOLVED that the Council’s Executive be recommended to:

1)  Agree to continue to group Supported Living Services at 213 Widmore Road, Lancaster House, Amplio House, Swingfield Court and Goldsmiths Close together for the purposes of tendering in order to drive the best possible pricing; and,

2)  Approve the commencement of the retendering of Supported Living Services at these Schemes, in accordance with the Council’s Financial and Contract Procedure Rules for a new five year contract commencing on 12^th January 2020 with the option to extend for up to a further two years.