Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Civic Life considered the report which sought approval to implement Contract Standing Order 10.02.1b, to vary and extend the current contract for the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Strategic Partner Service with the Bridge Renewal Trust.

The Commissioning Officer highlighted that section 2 of the report should refer to the Cabinet Member for Communities and Civic Life, rather than the Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care, and Wellbeing.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED

1.    To approve, in accordance with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 10.02.01(b) and CSO 16.02, the variation and extension of contract with the Bridge Renewal Trust for the Voluntary and Community Sector Strategic Partner for a period of 12 months from 1^st January 2023 to 31^st December 2023. The value for the extension period of twelve (12) months is £166,800.

2.    To note that the aggregated value of the full contract from 1^st February 2020 to 31^st December 2023 is £653,300.

Reasons for decision

The VCS Strategic Partner contract with the Bridge Renewal Trust ends on 31^st December 2022. A contract extension for a period of 12 months will allow sufficient time to review and redesign the service in line with the Haringey Deal and the emerging VCS Strategy, which will be co-produced with the Voluntary and Community Sector before and carrying out a procurement process for a new service. Service re-design is needed to ensure the service is innovative, responsive, flexible and strategically aligned with our approach to working alongside the voluntary and community sector in Haringey to provide improved outcomes for residents and communities.

The VCS Partner provides the sector with capacity building and fundraising support, networking and partnership development opportunities and runs the Volunteer Centre in Haringey which provides guidance on recruiting and managing volunteers. The service also acts as a medium for communication between the Council and the voluntary sector.

Support for, and development of, partnership working arrangements with the voluntary and community sector in the borough is a key strategic priority for the Council and the Cabinet. Approval of this extension period will support the delivery of these strategic objectives.

The Bridge Renewal Trust’s performance has been evaluated as good throughout the contract period. Key Performance Indicators and methods of measurement are integrated within the service specification and are monitored through contract monitoring meetings and reports. Given the above reasons, it is beneficial to extend the contract to allow sufficient time for a smooth transition and mobilisation of a new contract in 2024.

Alternative options considered

Insourcing: Direct delivery of this service was robustly considered but found not to be suitable at this time due to the capacity and resource required to manage the transfer of staff and the specific role this contract plays in brokering and bridging relationships between the voluntary and community sector and the boroughs statutory partners. An extension of 12 months will provide sufficient time for the Council to complete a review and refresh of the service model and reconsider the viability of insourcing.

Do nothing: Consideration was given to ceasing the contract in December 2022, in lieu of the redesign and commissioning process. However, ending the contract would have an adverse impact on delivery of strategic and operational outcomes for residents, as well as on those organisations in the voluntary and community sector who benefit from the support of the VCS Strategic Partner. Furthermore, ending the contract would result in staff redundancies and provide no option for redeployment. This option would therefore have a significant detrimental impact on the voluntary sector and on staff and the residents they support. The option to do nothing was therefore considered and rejected.

Full tender: To commission this service now would require a full tender process, which is lengthy. Conducting this process now would not offer sufficient time to refresh the service model or to identify opportunities for improved financial and strategic value. The provider market would also be unlikely to have sufficient time to deliver an innovative, financially viable proposal within the timescales required. Therefore, this option was disregarded, and an extension of the existing contract is considered the most advantageous option.