Report of the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Local Transport
Minutes:
Councillor Adele Williams introduced the report presenting proposals for fee rates in 2021/22 across adult social care contracted provision. Nottingham City Council is contractually bound to consider fee rates on an annual basis where it has a statutory duty to provide a service. The Council will consult with providers on these proposals and consider responses prior to implementation from April 2021.
Resolved to
(1)
approve proposals for fee rates for Adult Social Care
Services in 2021/22 as outlined in the pricing details at exempt
appendix 1, which will be consulted upon with service
providers;
(2)
delegate authority to the Head of Contracting and Procurement to agree
fee rates in accordance with the proposals detailed in the exempt
appendix 1 pricing detail. This is subject to the outcome of
consultation with providers and in line with the Council budget.
Subject to consultation and recommendation 4, the agreed rated will
be implemented from April 2021;
(3)
approve the
total spend associated with this decision of £3.757m.
Approval to spend against the high cost placement provision will be
through the Council’s scheme of delegation for adults care
packages;
(4) note that if upon completion of the consultation the financial impact of any revised proposals exceed the budget available, further approval will be required.
Reasons for recommendations:
·
Nottingham City Council (the Council) is contractually bound to
consider fee rates in respect of services that it has a duty to
provide. This is balanced against budget commitments and pressures
for the Council.
·
In accordance with the Council’s legal obligation, it is
proposed to consult with adult social
care providers with regard to these proposals during February-March
2021. The Head of Contracting and Procurement will take account of
consultation responses and issue variations to existing contracts
reflective of the proposals in this report should no significant
issue arise. Should the outcome of these consultations require
consideration of significant change to the shape and financial
consequence of these proposals (with due regard given to the
available budget) a further report will be presented through the
appropriate governance process.
· These proposals and the associated financial modelling are based on information currently available about service utilisation and demand changes as a result of Covid-19. Recommendations in future years will be based on the relevant circumstances at the time and the financial considerations arising.
Other options considered:
·
Do nothing – the Council is contractually bound to review
contract fee rates on an annual basis. Doing nothing would present
a risk of legal challenge and for this reason, this option was
rejected.
·
Offer different fee rate proposals. This option is not recommended
as the proposal have resulted from significant work and modelling
between finance and contracting, taking into account knowledge of
the market and feedback from providers, and the overall budget
pressures for Adult Social Care. The final proposals have taken
account of the potential impact on service delivery and risk of
market failure. Offering different fee rate proposals would place
further pressure on the Adult Social Care budget and this is not a
feasible option.
· To undertake analysis of individual provider costs and offer fee rates based on factors such as wage rates paid, pension contributions, profit and void levels etc. This option would not be feasible at this time as it would be administratively burdensome due to variations in rats of pay and other costs across the sector.
Supporting documents: