Agenda item

[Report of the Director of Adults and Health. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health.]

Request to extend the existing contract by 8 months as a result of impact of Covid 19 to allow sufficient and reasonable timeframe to prepare ITT documentation and service provider submissions.

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health introduced the report which sought agreement under Contract Standing (CSO) 10.02.1 (b), for the extension and variation of the contract held by Humankind for the Children, Young People and Families Substance Misuse to enable an 8-month extension of the contract to 30th November 2021.

The Cabinet Member expressed that most young people in Haringey lived lives free of substance misuse. However, if a child or young person developed a problem it was important that they and their family had access to specialist young people and family focused support. 

It was noted that the current service, Insight Platform, played a central role in identifying substance misuse problems early. For those identified with a problem it provided a whole family service. Its universal level outreach service provided impressive outcomes for young people leaving the service.

The Cabinet noted the procedural procurement reasons for the proposal to extend the current service. The Cabinet Member emphasised the importance of the service remaining in place to create stability for vulnerable families and continuity for young people.

Following questions from Councillor Ogiehor and Cllr Hearn, the following information was provided:

• The inspection of the provider in 2017 had been positive and it was likely that further visits had not been taken forward by the CQC as this was not a priority organisation for them to focus on.

• The number of re- referrals were small and would likely be part of the recovery process for the young person. However, the numbers would be provided for inclusion in the minutes.

• The provider had not been collating data on the sexual orientation and disability and this had been rectified with training provided by the Council. This would allow data returns on all protected characteristics to be provided to Public Health England as it was a mandatory requirement.

RESOLVED

To agree to the extension and variation of the contract with Humankind Charity for the provision of Children, Young People and Families Substance Misuse services – as allowed under Contract Standing Order 10.2.1 (b) for a period of up to 8 months from 1st April to 30th November 2021 at a maximum value of £190,000 The total cost over the life of the contract is therefore, £760,000.

Reasons for decision

In March 2020 Cabinet agreed extension and variation of the existing contract, to bring its end date in line with the completion of the Innovation Fund Project for Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents (CADP). The CADP for which the Council receives external grant funding, is due to end on the 31st of March 2021. CADP is logistically being delivered within the service we are seeking to extend.

It is proposed that Cabinet extend the current contract for 8 months to allow sufficient and reasonable timeframe to prepare documentation and service provider submissions.

Alternative options considered.

The Council is not mandated to provide this service. It could decide to no longer commission this service for its residents. However, there is high demand for this service and no alternative project /programme to refer children, young people, and families into. The commissioning of this service is in line with the Council’s intention to ensure every child thrives.

The Council could decide not to extend the contract for the 8 months period. However, given the impact of a second wave of the pandemic during winter months, it is unlikely that the market would be able to respond to a tender before March 2021. Providers of these types of services are themselves facing staffing issues, are having to find new ways of working with residents and are dealing with complex safeguarding issues.