To approve the redesign and procurement of a countywide Shared Lives Scheme.  The scheme currently supports 67 people, the majority of whom have a learning disability, and is managed on behalf of the council by Ategi Limited. The contract commenced on 1 April 2014 and expires on 31 March 2018; therefore alternative arrangements need to be put in place from this date.

That:

(a)          The statutory requirements and day to day management of the Shared Lives Scheme are undertaken by Herefordshire Council from 1 April 2018;

(b)         the director for adults and wellbeing is authorised to take all operational decisions necessary to implement the above recommendation, including approval, following consultation with the solicitor to the council, of any application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) to staff if applicable within a year 1 budget of £199,908.

1          The option to conduct a commercial procurement exercise. This option is not recommended as the soft market test conducted in August 2017 indicates that there is no functioning market for this type of service. 

2          The option to renegotiate a new contract with the current service provider, Ategi, from 1 April 2018. Ategi has indicated that it would have difficulty continuing to manage the scheme on the current terms and conditions. Furthermore, it has not delivered the required growth in the number of individuals using the scheme and previous commitments to remedy this situation have not produced tangible results.

3          The option to delegate the management of the Shared Lives Scheme to another council, in order to secure efficiencies from a larger scale of business.This option is not recommended as preliminary discussions with potential partners have found little evidence of interest on their part for such an arrangement. There is also a risk of the loss of Shared Lives carers to another council and a fragmentation of the Herefordshire scheme.

4          The option to directly award the contract to a local organisation of Shared Lives carers.  This option is not recommended at this time as the only such body, Hereford Shared Lives, is a recently formed organisation with no track record of managing services. However, the council will continue to explore the opportunities for co-production and the possibility of the scheme becoming self–directed over time.