To agree the redesign and procurement of a home care service to be known as Help to Live at Home.

Recommendation(s)

THAT:

(a) a redesigned model of home care as set out within the Vision and Delivery

Document in appendix one is adopted;

(b) procurement of approved providers be undertaken with a recommended

hourly rate as set out within the legal and financial implications sections;

(c) approval of the detailed service specification for the redesigned service and

the final decision to approve acceptance of providers meeting the qualification

criteria onto the framework in each zone, be delegated to the director for

adults and wellbeing for the total contract period of five years;

(d) the director for adults and wellbeing be authorised to extend the existing

contractual arrangements, if required and within existing budgetary provision

for up to a 9 month period, until 31 March 2018.

The current contractual framework arrangements for the delivery of home care services cease on 30 June 2017. The current framework includes home care, supported living and skills for daily living, both home care and skills for daily living are included within the service redesign, however supported living will be separate and will be extended in line with the recommendation above.

The redesign of the service is required to address the drivers for change (appendix

one, section 3). These are:

·        to redesign and recommission home care in order to enable people to be

Independent in their own homes for as long as possible, whilst ensuring the care they receive is timely and appropriate and meets their needs and thereby preventing, reducing or delaying the need for more intensive services.

·        approaches to the delivery of care and support are based on the adult and wellbeing blueprint and aims to embed an enablement ethos, whilst utilising support from communities.

·        to enable the council to manage the increasing demand for formal care and support.

The indicative revenue budget for directly commissioned home care services for

2017/18 is £9m for approximately 900 service users at any one time. The nature and

scale of the proposed service and the financial value of the contract(s) indicate that it

is subject to public sector procurement rules. However, it is also subject to the ‘light

touch’ procurement regime which does not require the council to strictly follow one of

the procurement procedures set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The

council has flexibility in designing its own procurement procedures, as long as they

meet EC Treaty requirements (e.g. fairness, transparency, equal treatment etc.).

Delegated authority is sought in order to facilitate a timely procurement and

mobilisation process and therefore achieve the envisaged start date for the new

service of July 2017.

Extension to the existing contractual arrangements may be required to enable a

seamless mobilisation given the large number of service users. Experience suggests

that a ‘big bang’ transition is likely to carry significant risk and so a more phased

process over time is expected to be preferable.

The transition will be complex due to:

·        the significant reduction in service providers from those currently contracted across the county (move to zones);

·        the potential requirement for extra capacity to undertake any necessary reviews; and

·        supporting service users and the implementation of system changes to accommodate different pricing bands within zones.

The extension will be dependent on the outcome of the procurement process.

To continue with the current model of service and contractual arrangements. This

option is not recommended as the contracts cease on 30 June 2017. Furthermore,

there are service delivery issues that need to be resolved and a new approach is

required to ensure people can access an appropriate level of support in a timely

manner in order to meet their outcomes.

To procure the home care service without a competitive tender process. This option is not recommended as the nature and scale of the proposed service and its financial

value indicate that this is subject to the ‘light touch’ procurement regime. These and

the council’s own contract procedure rules suggest that a competitive tender process

is appropriate. Soft market testing and a consultation exercise indicate that a number

of provider organisations would be interested in tendering for this service. This would

also ensure that the best value for money is achieved.

To adopt an alternative model of service based on different geographical zoning. This

option is not recommended as the proposed zones have been developed through a

robust and prolonged period of engagement with providers and has been designed

based on the informative feedback received from the market.