Agenda item

The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny has further agreed that the call-in procedure shall not apply to this urgent decision. This is because the decision is urgent and any delay in implementation caused by the call-in procedure would seriously prejudice the Council's or the public's interests due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a high and increasing demand for PPE and it is of vital importance that the Council access supply routes to ensure that the health, safety and wellbeing of Haringey staff, care providers and our residents. This is in accordance with Part 4, Section H, and Paragraph 18 (a) and (b) of the Council Constitution.

It was noted that boroughs across London have been working closely together to respond to the current crisis. Through these existing relationships, it was prudent to take advantage of shared buying power to procure a significant volume of contingency PPE directly from suppliers to ensure frontline staff were protected in the short-to-medium term.

The Leader noted that the London Borough of Ealing (LBE) had established a framework for PPE supplies that can be accessed by all London Boroughs, including Haringey Council, through signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). The Council’s Contract Standing Orders (CSO) 7.01 b) made provision for the Council to procure goods, works or services via a framework.

The LBE framework required PPE orders to be processed via a sub-regional ‘hub’ borough. The hub borough in North Central London (NCL) would be the London Borough of Camden (LBC) for Haringey related orders. LBC would process payments on behalf of the Haringey, which the Council would reimburse back to LBC.

Keeping in mind the high demand globally for PPE, and the need to seek additional procurement methods, the Leader:

RESOLVED

1.    To agree for the Council to enter into the pan-London MoA (a draft of which is attached as Appendix 1) with the London Borough of Ealing and other London Boroughs  to access and procure contingency supplies of PPE through a supply framework.

2.    To agree that delegated authority be granted to the Director of Adults and Health to implement the arrangement for the pan-London MoA including approving any further amendments and entering into and signing off the MoA and any other agreement between the Council and the participating London Boroughs.

3.    To agree the allocation of £350,000 from the General Fund Emergency Response Contingency to cover the estimated costs of procuring contingency PPE for the period to end of June 2020.

Reasons for decision

The Council have a responsibility to ensure that staff who need PPE have access to the right equipment to enable them to do their jobs safely. It is imperative that the Council continue to prioritise those who are most in need of PPE supply, particularly our partners across the community care system and Council staff who require PPE to carry out their critical activities.

The Council existing supply lines, however strained,  were supported by emergency deliveries of PPE from central government,  and have thus far been sufficient to cope with the levels of demand. The emergency stock is limited and intended for use by all London Resilience Forum (LRF) partners including local authorities, social care and primary care providers. The list of organisations able to access the emergency continues to grow.

The following steps are set out for ordering of PPE based on the latest guidance the Council have received from government:

• Please continue to try and secure PPE supplies through your usual supply routes. We know stocks are being delivered through everyday orders and this should continue in the first instance.

• Make contact with other Borough or partner colleagues and support each other through mutual aid if this is possible

• Only order through the emergency supply route If you determine that your need is urgent (less than 3-days PPE supply remaining) and having exhausted all other options. 

• If there is no emergency supply available then each of the five Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP) across London have an escalation process for emergency supplies of PPE and have been distributing stock to local authorities and care providers over the past few weeks. There is a sub-regional local authority representative working in partnership with each STP; please make contact with them if you have not already done so.

The pan-London approach offers the Council an additional route to secure the vital PPE needed and for our  social care providers.

The role  of boroughs has changed during this crisis and the Council find  themselves sourcing, distributing, and using its own stock of PPE to support care providers. It is essential to continue to source PPE as resourcefully as possible until the national supply of PPE is able to meet demand.

By ordering together with other London Boroughs, the Council stand to benefit from significant economies of scale by purchasing stock in bulk. This stock is intended to act as a contingency for local authorities and providers who cannot access stock through business as usual supply chains.

The need to progress this alternative route of pan-London PPE stock is clear and growing daily. The first order of stock is due for submission to the supplier on 29^th April 2020 and is intended to provide sufficient resilience for a six-week period. The procurement route would remain open to boroughs for future orders should there be an ongoing shortfall and emergency need.

West London Alliance (WLA) has previously been successful in utilising this model on a sub-regional basis and have taken delivery of quality and cost-effective PPE from the supplier. The Council’s  intention now is to scale this existing model up to a regional level.           

The MoA has been drafted by Haringey and its legal advisers and circulated to all London boroughs. It provides confidence to LBE, who will be acting as the commissioning organisation, that they bear no financial risk or liability for orders placed by other London boroughs. The agreement also confirms that all orders and payment with be coordinated on a sub-regional basis using existing partnerships with one borough, or ‘hub’, allocated as a PPE lead for that area.

There is a clear need to take an evidence-based approach to the responsible procurement of PPE at this time of critical need.  The Council  are tracking daily PPE usage and to provide sufficient contingency of equipment, and reassurance to providers,  that the Council have scaled this usage to a six-week level.

Current daily stock usage is listed below with numbers scaled up for future emergency provision over six weeks (42 days):

Funding of £350k will be sufficient to meet the immediate six-week contingency need for PPE and will allow the Council  to draw down on any future pan-London orders should there be disruption to our existing supply routes.

The PPE is for is for high need organisations outside of the NHS supply chain who have the highest need clinically, including:

·         Those who currently have close, unavoidable contact with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases, including highly vulnerable groups. For example, adult social care (including care homes and home care), hospices and local authority adult social care services for Covid-19 vulnerable groups.

·         Other services that would have a high priority need for PPE include General Practitioners, children’s homes, secure children’s homes, children’s social care services in local authorities, prison officers, police and funeral directors.

Boroughs across London will be required to support their social care providers in the current climate of unprecedented demand for PPE. By securing this pan-London contingency stock the Council  are making a clear commitment to  its social care staff and residents of commitment  to ensuring the safest provision of care to all its providers during this period of uncertainty.

Alternative options considered

Not to take part in the pan-London procurement scheme. This was not considered, as our current supply lines are under increasing strain and a contingency baseline is needed to provide ongoing support to partners.

Continue with business as usual supply chains. With the global demand for PPE resulting in acute shortages of equipment it was considered prudent to take part in the pan-London scheme via LBE and their existing supply chain who have a more robust and cost-effective route to market.