Agenda item

(Report of the Director of Adult and Housing Services. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Services). The report seeks approval to waive Contract Standing Orders for contracts due to expire on 31 March 2013 and further approval to award a one year contract from 1 April 2013.

Cabinet considered a report, presented by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Carbon Reduction, which sought approval to waive Contract Standing Orders for contracts due to expire on 31 March 2013 and further approval to award a one year contract from 1 April 2013.

Exempt information was considered under Item 32.

RESOLVED:

1. That the waiver of tendering requirements of Contract Standing Order 10.01.2 d) be approved on the grounds that is was in the Council’s overall interest;

2. That the cessation of core grant aid to those organisations referred to in the report be noted. (This was pursuant to the decision on 20 December 2011 by Cabinet whereby it agreed the Voluntary Sector Strategy 2011-16 and the associated Funding Framework. The Funding Framework set out the Council’s intention to terminate core grant aid funding of organisations and move towards a commissioning based approach; and.

3. That the award of contracts to the organisations detailed in the exempt part of the report (Appendix 2) be approved, for a period of one year from 1 April 2013, with an option to extend for no more than six months.

Alternative Options Considered

The option of tendering all expiring contracts for 1^st April 2013 was considered and discounted on the grounds that:

1. A commissioning project group has been meeting since autumn 2012, consisting of officers from Adult and Community Services, Children and Young People’s Service, Housing Related Support and Corporate Procurement. This group recommends that a full strategic review of the sector is undertaken, across the Council to ensure value for money is achieved across the Council, and to ensure there is no duplication of services;

2. The proposed strategic review of legal, information and advice services proposed during 2013/14 as set out in this report, require sufficient lead in time to then inform any plans to undertake a procurement exercise.

3. It is noted that there are major changes to the welfare benefits system coming, as well as changes to how the legal aid system works, into force on 1^st April 2013.  Officers recommend that in order to assess more fully the impact of these changes on organisations that provide legal and advice services (and residents using them), the implementation of a full procurement exercise is delayed with an implementation date of 1^st April 2014;

4. It is also noted that Haringey Healthwatch comes into force on 1^st April 2013, and their statutory functions include information, advice and signposting. The strategic review proposed for the next 14 months will have due regard to how these statutory functions evolve within the new Healthwatch Haringey, to ensure other services compliment rather than duplicate services.

5. Tendering for these contracts in the short term is unlikely to provide better value for money ahead of completion of a strategic review across the Council, taking all factors into account.  We will, however, negotiate the one year contracts (and extensions if required) with the objective of reducing costs.

6. The proposal for an interim one year has been discussed with the Corporate Procurement Team, and it was concluded that the proposed approach represents the best and most appropriate way forward for the Council.

Reasons for Decision

The proposed one year contract(s) and strategic review of the sector planned from Spring 2013 is an approach that will help deliver high quality outcomes for Haringey residents and is line with the Voluntary Sector Strategy.

The proposed approach is considered to be in the overall interests of the Council.