Agenda item

Report ACH23-005

The Committee considered a report outlining the current arrangements for the provision of Bromley’s Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES), commissioned through the London Community Equipment Consortium (London Consortium), and the results of the tender exercise for the provision of the new service.

The Senior Commissioning Officer advised that the current contract for ICES ends on 31^st March 2023 and both 1+1 extension options had been utilised. The Council’s Executive previously approved re-procuring the service through continued membership of the London Consortium (report ECHS19049) and for Bromley Council to participate in the joint re-tendering exercise, which was activated in April 2022. Approval to call-off the new contract was being sought to support the conclusion of the Consortium-led tender exercise and the new Framework Agreement, in order for the new service to commence on 1^st April 2023, and for Bromley to continue to support and meet the needs of Bromley residents. It was noted that the Contract Award report (Part 1) made recommendations for the new ICES provision in Bromley and should be read in conjunction with the Part 2 Contract Award report.

A Member questioned how it could be tested if the Consortium was still considered to be the best route and, if so, were there others that could be considered. The Senior Commissioning Officer noted that the Consortium was the biggest in the UK, and across Europe. It continued to grow, with a further three local authorities joining in recent years. This reflected the strength of the collaboration, especially in terms of buying power for supplies. It remained a powerful establishment and had a lot of relevance in the market, and would be able to provide supplies and negotiate prices. The Director of Adult Social Care agreed that this was a fair challenge, and advised that the rationale for the Consortium had been laid out in the earlier report to the Executive.

In response to a further question regarding the length of the contract, the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care advised that this contract was being procured by a third party on the Local Authority’s behalf, as part of the London Consortium.

RESOLVED that the Executive be recommended to:

i.)  Support the London Consortium award of the Framework Agreement to the successful bidder for the new ICES. The new provider will operate as the single supplier to a framework agreement to provide an Integrated Community Equipment Service on behalf of the London Community Equipment Consortium. The new contract is scheduled to commence on 1^st April 2023;

ii.)  Approve to call-off the new contract for the provision of ICES, with an initial period of 5 years, with one plus one-year extension periods;

iii.)  Approve Recommendation iii, as detailed in Part 2;

iv.)  Delegate to the Director of Adult Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care & Health Services, the Assistant Director of Governance & Contracts, the Director of Finance and the Director of Corporate Services, authorisation to extend the contract for up to two years; and,

v.)  Continue to approve the annual Consortium membership fee (value detailed in Part 2).