Agenda item

1.  That the retendering of two tranches of domiciliary care contracts via the Council’s Adult Social Care Dynamic Purchasing System, on a three year basis with scope for two extensions of one year each be agreed.

2.  That delegated authority be given to the Executive Director for People (Adults), in consultation with the Lead Member for Social Care and Public Health, to have oversight of the procurement process.

3.  That it be agreed that contract award for the first tranche of contracts will be presented to Cabinet in June 2022 and that contract award for the second tranche of contacts will be presented to Cabinet in November 2022.

4.  That it be noted that a report concerning the proposed model would be presented to People Scrutiny Panel in March 2022.

The Lead Member for Social Care & Public Health and the Associate Director for People Strategy and Commissioning introduced the report on the re-procurement of Adult Social Care Domiciliary Care Contracts which sought approval to tender for two tranches of domiciliary care contracts via the Council’s Adult Social Care Dynamic Purchasing System.  The two existing tranches of contracts expired in June 2022 and December 2022 respectively.

Appendices 1 and 2, which contained exempt information, were noted during consideration of the Part I report.

The Cabinet recognised that good quality domiciliary care enabled people with assessed care and support needs to remain living at home, which promoted their independence and reduced the need for more expensive residential care.  The Officer explained that the domiciliary care market was subject to a number of different current pressures including inflation, the National Insurance increases and wage competition from other sectors.

Lead Members raised a number of issues during the course of the discussion which included the importance of good communication and information between providers and their clients.  The Cabinet welcomed the fact the suppliers paid staff travel time and wages at or above the National Living Wage and asked that this be monitored to ensure providers were complying.  In response to a question about how the Council monitored the safety and welfare of care workers it was explained that it is ensured that providers were providing adequate training and that it encouraged for staff to share any concerns in the workplace through their management structure.  Members also requested that opportunities for clients to provide feedback on the care they received to be sufficiently robust and responsive.

At the conclusion of the discussion the recommendations were agreed.

Resolved –

(a)  That the retendering of two tranches of domiciliary care contracts via the Council’s Adult Social Care Dynamic Purchasing System, on a three year basis with scope for two extensions of one year each be agreed.

(b)  That delegated authority be given to the Executive Director for People (Adults), in consultation with the Lead Member for Social Care and Public Health, to have oversight of the procurement process.

(c)  That it be agreed that contract award for the first tranche of contracts will be presented to Cabinet in June 2022 and that contract award for the second tranche of contacts will be presented to Cabinet in November 2022.

(d)  That it be noted that a report concerning the proposed model would be presented to People Scrutiny Panel in March 2022.