Issue - meetings

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport

Anna Coltman, Commissioning Manager, introduced the report seeking approval for Nottingham City Council to enter into a joint tender process with Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the County CCG, and to procure from a framework agreement, with Nottinghamshire County Council acting as the lead of the procurement.

The Council has a duty to provide Direct Payment Services under the Care Act (2014). Adults who are assessed as requiring social care and children who receive social care support in relation to their Special Educational Needs and/or Disability are entitled to receive support in the form of a direct payment, which is used to buy goods or services which meet the identified needs of the citizen.

Providers will be required to provide audits for all accounts they are managing in order to ensure accountability.

Resolved to

(1)  approve the commissioning of a direct payment support service through a joint tender process with Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City CCG and County CCGs. Nottinghamshire County Council will act as the lead of the procurement process. A framework contract will be awarded for use by all commissioning partners;

(2)  delegate authority to the Director of Adult Social Care to approve call-off contracts under the established framework in order to commission packages of services as needed for individual citizens in receipt of Direct Payments;

(3)  approve the indicative spend associated with this decision, up to a maximum of £2,284,000 over a four-year contract (£0.571m per annum based on 2018/19 actual usage and 2019/20 projected usage levels) for Nottingham City Council, under the framework. Approval to spend on individual packages commissioned will be through the Council’s scheme of delegation for Adults Care Packages.

Reasons for decision:

·  Direct Payment (DP) Support Services for Nottingham citizens are being provided through a third party support provider who deliver direct payment support to citizens in receipt of direct payments. Citizens can also choose to use alternative providers if they wish to. This arrangement is in place until September 2020.

·  Commissioning authorities currently operate separate arrangements to make DP Support Services available. There are wide variations in the costs and the service offer between providers.

·  Without a formal contract in place, the Council is limited in its ability to offer any contractual oversight and quality assurance over the services that the citizen chooses to use.

·  It is recommended to align longer term commissioning arrangements with Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City CCG and County CCGs, and enter into a joint contract for the commissioning of a new model of DPO Support Services under a four-year framework agreement. Nottinghamshire County Council will act as the lead of the procurement. This will replace the current interim arrangement with a single provider, which is ending in September 2020.

·  It is recommended to delegate authority to the Director of Adult Social Care to award the call-off contracts. The commissioning of individual packages of support will be authorised through the scheme of delegation for Adult Social Care.

·  The indicative spend associated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53