To brief Cabinet on the duties to provide short breaks for disabled children and their carers, and the level of need for such services in Herefordshire. To recommend the continuation of council funding up to £450,000 per year for 2017-2020 to procure services for Herefordshire’s short breaks offer for disabled children.

1       The contracts awarded to external providers as a result of the previous commissioning cycle will end on 31 March 2017.

2       Allocation of funding for 2017-2020 will provide the families of disabled children and the providers of short breaks services some stability over the period and enable development and shift to a more child and family centred approach within existing resources.

3       Access to a range of short breaks opportunities, arising from the commissioning exercise, will assist the council to continue to carry out its statutory duty to provide appropriate short breaks to meet the needs of disabled children and their carers.

4       The re-commissioning exercise provides an opportunity to review local need, look at good practice from elsewhere, and seek the views of children and families in order to reshape and further improve the Herefordshire short breaks offer.

1       Reduced funding could be allocated to Herefordshire’s short breaks offer. The existing short breaks offer has been through a period of significant change since the last commissioning exercise in 2013/2014. While the cost of some services has decreased, it is anticipated that demand for targeted and specialist short breaks could increase over the 2017-2020 period. There is a risk that reduced funding would not be sufficient to meet statutory responsibilities.

2       Existing contracts could be renewed. The maximum renewal options have already been applied to existing contracts, further renewal would require an exemption from council procurement rules. Renewing the existing contract for residential short breaks, as it is, would create overcapacity. New providers have expressed interest in entering the local short breaks market, which could offer more choice for families following a competitive procurement process. Different types of contract arrangement may also increase choice, control and flexibility for families, which could involving moving away from traditional block contracts towards dynamic purchasing systems or framework agreements.