Agenda and minutes

Councillor David Mellen – attending the Education Partnership Conference

Alison Michalska – attending the Education Partnership Conference

Candida Brudenell – attending the Education Partnership Conference

None.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 11 December 2013

The Committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 11 December as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

(Verbal update)

Helen Kearsley-Cree presented an update to the Committee, including the following information:

(a)  NCVS would soon be starting work on refreshing the Compact, which Commissioning and Procurement will play a big part of.

(b)  NCVS has two established forums, which can be linked in with upcoming Strategic Commissioning Reviews: The Children and Young People’s Provider Network and the Vulnerable Adults Provider Network. Currently, the Community Partnership Forum helps to drive BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Service delivery, so the forums can be very useful tools.

Report of Director of Quality and Commissioning

Antony Dixon, Strategic Commissioning Manger, presented the work programme for the Committee for the period February 2014 – April 2014.

RESOLVED to note the provisional agenda items shown below:

12 February 2014  2014/15 Strategic Commissioning Intentions

  Health Improvement Strategic Commissioning Review

  Communities of Identity Commissioning (Established Communities)

12 March 2014  Better Care Fund 2014/15 Plan (Integration Transformation Fund)

  Residential Care Commissioning Proposals and Pricing

9 April 2014  Child Development Strategic Commissioning Review

Report of Corporate Director of Resources and Director of Strategic Finance

Liz Jones, Head of Corporate Policy, presented the report to the Committee, highlighting the following points:

(a)  The Discretionary Emergency Hardship Scheme was introduced in April 2013, with very tight criteria with a focus on responding to emergencies.

(b)  The scheme was amended in September and October 2013, to increase flexibility and increase demand.

(c)  The changes to the scheme recommended in the report involve including hardship in the focus, increasing the frequency that people are allowed to apply for the scheme, making individual awards more generous, widening the criteria for items required to set up a new home, and allowing those on “in work” benefits to apply for the scheme,

(d)  Access to the scheme will be widened, to mirror the way food banks operate. In addition to the current access routes, referral agencies such as Advice Nottinghamshire and Welfare Rights will be able to issue vouchers to citizens. Referrals will be monitored for appropriateness, and there is an expectation that any citizen referred will also be provided with more long term help by the referral organisation.

(e)  The next stage is to look at how the scheme can be extended, as funding is for a set period until March 2014. The government has confirmed that this funding will not be continued in 2015/16.

Further information was provided following questions and comments from the Board:

(f)  Any monitoring of referrals would not impact the individuals referred, or add extra steps to the process, The monitoring would be of the referral agencies. Inappropriate referrals will be considered as part of the forthcoming review of advice provision.

(g)  The original report and recommendation stated that this decision is not subject to call-in. This was an error, the decision and resolution are subject to call-in and as such cannot be enacted until 27 January 2014.

RESOLVED to approve the following amendments to the Discretionary Emergency Hardship Scheme for the City of Nottingham:

(1)  Up to 3 awards for hardship support in a 12 month period, and 1 award of household support (household goods), with discretion for a further household support award in exceptional circumstances, can be made;

(2)  Awards for financial support can be extended up to 7 days for both food and utility supplies (gas and electricity);

(3)  Financial support levels for gas and electric will increase during winter months to reflect increased need;

(4)  A wider range of household items will be available for household support based on need and discretion (i.e. to include table and chairs, sofa etc.);

(5)  Remove the emphasis in the scheme on emergency/crisis, and focus the scheme on responding to hardship;

(6)  Open the eligibility to include households that are in receipt of “in work” benefits such as working tax credit;

(7)  Expand how people access the scheme, enabling direct referrals from recognised agencies and professionals.

Reasons for decision

The level of demand for the Scheme during 2013 has not matched the anticipated levels. The original eligibility criteria have been reviewed and it is proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

Report of Director of Quality and Commissioning

Irene Andrews, Market Development Programme Manager, presented the report to the Committee. The draft Funding Document has been approved at a previous meeting of the Executive Board Commissioning Sub-Committee, and has been out for consultation since July 2013. The final version has now come back to the Executive Board Commissioning Sub-Committee for approval.

RESOLVED to agree the “VCS Grant Funding Progress So Far…” funding document, in order to formally record the streamlined model of Grant Funding.

Reasons for decision

To continue to build on the relationship between Nottingham City Council and the VCS, and to document the progress so far to Streamlining Investment to the VCS.

Other options considered

Not to present progress. The absence of a documented progress may result in inconsistent Grant processes developing. For this reason, this option was rejected.

Director of Quality and Commissioning

Jo Pettifor, Strategic Procurement Manager, presented the report to the Committee, highlighting the following points:

(a)  This is a six-monthly update, and the 4^th report to come to the Executive Board Commissioning Sub-Committee since May 2012.

(b)  Some major projects have been included since the last report, including the addition of Public Health procurement intentions.

(c)  A lot of the themes in the Procurement Plan are aligned with previous Strategic Commissioning Intention (SCI) Reviews from the last 4 years.

RESOLVED to note:

(1)  the Quality and Commissioning Procurement Plan 2013-16;

(2)  that the Plan is indicative of planned procurement activity and timescales, which may be subject to change dependent on the findings of Strategic Commissioning Intention Reviews, and that there will be full consideration of the procurement options for each service during this process.

Reasons for decision

The need for a robust plan of procurement activity across all contract areas was highlighted during the process of planning the Quality and Commissioning SCI programme and aligning existing contracts with these reviews. The Procurement Plan provides a tool for joint planning and working between the Strategic Commissioning and Procurement Teams and ensuring procurement activity is embedded with the SCI programme.

The Procurement Plan assists compliance with the Public Procurement Regulations and the Contract Procedure Rules of the Council’s Financial Regulations by enabling procurement activity to be planned and undertaken within the duration of existing contracts.

The Plan provides information for internal and external stakeholders about planned procurement activity, and facilitates joint working on these projects. It allows other service departments (such as Legal Services) to include support activities for this process in their work plans and will present to stakeholders a clear, transparent and robust process of procurement planning aligned with the Strategic Commissioning cycle.

The Plan provides a tool for Strategic Procurement and Public Health Contracts Teams to plan procurement activity alongside other work priorities, which include contract management across a range of contract categories.

Other options considered

Do nothing. This would impact on the alignment of procurement activity within the programme of SCI Reviews within the Quality and Commissioning Directorate. It would risk non-compliance with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Regulations through contracts needing to be extended beyond their expiry date, due to SCI Reviews and tendering activity not being undertaken. For this reason, this option was rejected.