Agenda item

[Report of the Assistant Director for Commissioning. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal.]

This report details the outcome of an open tender process and seeks approval to award the contracts to the successful tenderer for the Provision of Housing Related Floating Support Services to Haringey residents in accordance with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 9.07.1 (d), as the current contracts are due to expire in March 2020.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Estate Renewal introduced this report which detailed the outcome of an open tender process and sought approval to award the contracts to the successful tenderer for the Provision of Housing Related Floating Support Services to Haringey residents in accordance with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 9.07.1 (d), as the current contracts are due to expire in March 2020.

The Cabinet Member noted the Council was committed to ensuring that residents who were homeless or at risk of homelessness had access to high quality support to prevent or resolve immediate challenges and address underlying contributory factors. The services within those contracts would support families and single adults to develop their independent living skills, maintain or establish sustainable housing and overcome problems that could lead to homelessness. The Floating Support contracts were therefore strategically important in delivering our commitments set out in the Borough Plan (2019-23).

The Cabinet Member welcomed the outcome of the procurement exercise that had identified an organisation with the expertise and commitment required to meet the needs of Haringey residents and the outcomes of the service. Contract monitoring would help to ensure that a good quality support service was maintained throughout the life of the contracts and that excellent outcomes for residents are achieved.

In response to questions from Councillor Morris, the following information was provided:

• The Cabinet Member noted the Council had considered bringing the contract for floating support services inhouse. However, due to the Council not having the resources available, and the need to continue quickly with a seamless provision to vulnerable residents, it was recommended continuing with the commissioning of these services.

The Cabinet Member further emphasised that insourcing these services had not been ruled out in the long term but, due to the urgent need to provide these services, continuing to commission these services was the only current viable option available.

Further to considering exempt information at item 21,

RESOLVED

To approve the award of contracts (Lots 1 and 2) to the successful tenderer in accordance with CSO 9.07.1(d) each for an initial term of 3 years, commencing from 1^st April 2020 to 31^st March 2023 with an option to extend for a further period/periods of up to a total of four (4) years. Details of the successful tenderer is outlined in Appendix 1 - Part B (exempt information) of the report.

The estimated value of Lot 1 for an initial term of 3 years will be £1,156,171 and the total value £2,730,235 over the period of 7 years.

The estimated value of Lot 2 for an initial term of 3 years will be £2,163,828 and the total value £5,109,764 over the period of 7 years.

The total value of the two contracts (Lots 1 and 2) for the initial term of 3 years will be £3,320,000 and the total value £7,840,000 over the period of 7 years.

Reasons for decision

Haringey residents face significant challenges related to housing and homelessness:

• Of private rented homes, 1 in 3 of these do not meet Decent Homes standards.
• 9% of households in Haringey are overcrowded.
• Haringey has around 3,000 households in Temporary Accommodation, the 4th highest figure in London.

There is a clearly identified need within Haringey for services to support residents with the wide-ranging factors that contribute to and cause homelessness. These Floating Support services will help to meet that need, providing a flexible and person-centred service which will support clients in a holistic way to maintain or establish sustainable housing and overcome problems that can contribute to homelessness.

In 2018 the Homelessness Reduction Act brought about a range of changes to the way that local authorities respond to households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. A key element of the new legislation is an extended duty, for the Council and its partners, to prevent homelessness at the earliest possible stage. This focus on early prevention will be a key element of these Floating Support services and the services will therefore support the Council in meeting its statutory duty.

The services will play an integral role in the delivery of Haringey’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategies, by:

• Helping to prevent and relieve homelessness
• Reducing the use of temporary accommodation
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These Floating Support services will contribute to delivery of the Council’s Borough Plan (2019-2022) objectives, by supporting single adults and families to secure positive housing, health and community outcomes.

The decision to award contracts to the successful tenderer is based on the conclusion of a competitive procurement process. The proposed recommendation to award the contracts is made according to the outcome of the Most Economically Advantageous Tender, as detailed in section 6 of this report.

The recommended provider submitted a strong tender bid that clearly demonstrated their expertise and commitment to providing the services required and to meeting the service outcomes as specified. They have a strong track record of delivering housing-related floating support services.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing

The Council could elect not to recommission these Floating Support services. However, this would leave Haringey without a service to support households to prevent and resolve housing and homelessness issues. This would be likely to cause an increase in cases of homelessness within the borough, which would have a significant detrimental impact on the residents affected as well as increasing demand for statutory services to respond to cases of homelessness which could have been avoided, had Floating Support been available. Therefore the option of doing nothing was considered and rejected.

Extend existing contracts

Extension periods available within the existing contracts have already been exhausted.

Deliver the services in house

The Council could elect to deliver these Floating Support services itself and consideration was given to this option. However, the investment required to develop and manage the staff and services required, was found to be significantly greater than the resources available, and more than commissioning from an external organisation. The successful provider has an extensive track record in delivering these services, which will ensure a quality service for residents and good value for the Council.