Agenda item

The Family Hubs Programme was part of a national funded initiative, jointly managed by the Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care. Funding is provided to 75 upper-tier local authorities with high levels of deprivation. Haringey was one of the Local Authorities which had received funding.

Family Hubs offered a range of support services to families across the borough from pregnancy, through to childhood, and up to age 19 (or 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities). These services were available both in person and online.

The report provided an update on the grant funding from the Department of Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for the continuation of the Family Hubs Programme in Haringey. Also, it sought approval to accept the grant funding of approximately £1.3 million in accordance with Contract Standing Orders (CSO) 21.01 (Approval for Receipt of Grants from External Bodies).

To successfully continue delivering the Infant-Parent Mental Health element of the programme, the report sought approval to vary the terms of the existing contract for the provision of Parent Infant Psychology Service (PIPS) delivered by Whittington Health NHS Trust and extend for further period of 12 months at cost of £265,955 in accordance with CSO 18.03. The total aggregate value of the contract would be £757,865 including proposed variation/extension.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED

1. In accordance with CSO 21.01 to grant a permission to accept external funding from Department of Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) estimated to be £1.3m for financial year 2025/2026 to continue the Family Hub and Start for Life Programme.

2. To approve the variation of the contract terms for the provision of Parent Infant Psychology Service provided by Whittington Health NHS Trust, and to extend for a further period of twelve (12) months from 1st May 2025, at a cost of £265,955, as permitted under CSO 18.03. The total aggregate value of the contract will be £757,865 (excluding VAT) including proposed variation/extension.

Reasons for decision

The Family Hubs programme’s core aim was to improve family services including Start for Life services, particularly in areas with the highest levels of deprivation and disproportionately poor health and educational outcomes. Accepting the external funding would enable the Council to continue with its commitment to successfully deliver the Family Hubs Programme in 2025- 2026. This Programme was needs led, responded to resident demand and provides multi agency services that were accessible locally.

The Council had received late notification of grant funding for the continuation of the Family Hubs Programme for the 2025/26. To ensure compliance with the grant conditions and the uninterrupted provision of services to families and Family Hub staff, it was recommended that the terms of the existing contract for PIPS be varied to allow for an extension of an additional 12 months. Given the time constraints and resource availability, this course of action was deemed to be in the best interest of the Council.

The need to establish and initiate service delivery is driven by the requirements to allocate and expend the DfE grant funding within the timescales outlined in the submitted Family Hubs Delivery Plan. Sourcing an alternative provider would necessitate the establishment of new presence within the borough, along with the time-consuming process of integrating into referral pathways and networks. This alternative approach was both resource- intensive and not cost effective to the programme and service users.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing (Grant funding): The Council could decide not to accept the grant. As such the Council would lose the opportunity to continue the delivery of the Family Hubs Programme which was a key objective within our partnership strategies: Haringey Early Help Strategy and Haringey Early Years Strategy. Therefore, this option was not considered viable.

Option 1: Do nothing (PIPS) - The Council would not meet the requirement of the grant conditions for the Family Hubs Programme if it did not provide a perinatal mental health offer which would result in clawback of funding and non-delivery of services to local families.

Option 2: Competitive quotation process (PIPS) – Going to tender or not to vary the existing contract – going to tender would not be a viable option due to limited time available as well as not be able to attract good market due limited period of funding as well as the need for clinical requirements which would be a challenge to meet requirements. Such a delay would lead to impactful present gaps in service preventing vulnerable families having access to this highly critical service.