Agenda item

Report of the Director of Commissioning and Procurement

Bobby Lowen, Commissioning Lead, introduced the report requests approval to accept and use funding awarded to Nottingham City Council (on behalf of a local partnership facilitated by the Nottingham City Integrated Care Partnership) following a successful application to the national Changing Futures programme.

The approval of the recommendations within this report will allow for the mobilisation of an ambitious programme of activity designed to drive improvements in collaboration between partners in the City working to help people experiencing Severe and Multiple Disadvantage.

Resolved to

(1)  approve the receipt of funding up to a total of £3,878,673 from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for the delivery of Nottingham’s Changing Futures programme over 2021/22 to the end of 2023/24;

(2)  approve the use of funding to a maximum value of £1,365,105 allow for the delivery a range of activity required for the initial mobilisation of the programme as detailed in Appendix 1;

(3)  approve dispensation from Contract Procedure Rules 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 in accordance with Financial Regulation 3.29 to allow for selected contracts to be directly awarded as detailed in appendix 1 of the report;

(4)  approve the selection of providers to deliver selected contracts by means of an open quotation process as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report  and to delegate authority to the Head of Contracting and Procurement to establish contracts with the successful provider(s) based on the outcome of this exercise;

(5)  approve spend up to a value of £261,308 for internal appointments as detailed in appendix 1 of the report;

(6)  note that use of the remaining balance of the Changing Futures award will be subject to further approval.

Reasons for recommendations:

·  Approval to take receipt of the funding is sought to allow for the delivery of Nottingham’s Changing Futures programme in line with proposals submitted to the Changing Futures national team.

·  The delivery of Changing Futures will put in place a significant programme of operational activity designed to help improve the lives of people in the city who experience severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD). SMD is defined by Changing Futures as experiencing three or more of the following: homelessness, substance misuse, mental health issues, domestic violence, and contact with the criminal justice system. The delivery and further development of this activity is expected to realise the significant benefits of improving the lives of vulnerable people and the avoidance of serious negative outcomes (e.g. in relation to health, homelessness, offending, etc), as well helping to manage demand for reactive interventions (e.g. emergency homelessness responses, hospital attendances, etc) and the associated costs across the public sector.

·  The delivery of the programme will also prevent a substantial loss of existing support for people experiencing SMD by providing continuity of provision beyond the closure of the current Opportunity Nottingham programme funded through the Big Lottery Fulfilling Lives programme until the end of June 2022.

·  The delivery of Changing Futures is expected to significantly enhance

partnership efforts to improve the collective response to help people who experience SMD, with the further expectation of improved outcomes and greater efficiency through collaborative planning and delivery. Changing Futures will also seek to establish a partnership programme of activity on SMD on a sustainable footing (e.g. by creating the structures to join up planning for the use of partners’ mainstream resources) beyond the end of external funding for the programme at the end of March 2024.

·  The recommendations under this report allow for the initial mobilisation of the programme during the 2021/22 year. Work will take place within the scope of the programme to shape recommendations for the further commissioning and procurement of the programme from July 2022 in line with key objectives of supporting collaboration between partners.

·  Dispensation from Contract Procedure Rule 4.1.2 in accordance with Financial Regulation 3.29 is sought to enable a direct award of contracts with the following rationale (see Appendix 1):

o  Project Coordination and Support, Lived Experience Team, and Frontline Delivery Team (rows 8-13). A direct award is sought to enable funding to be provided for the continuation of activity previously funded through Opportunity Nottingham for a short period of time only (a maximum of six months) in advance of full procurement of the Changing Futures programme for delivery from July 2022. The current provider is considered the only viable provider based on the short timeframe for delivery and required compatibility with the existing Opportunity Nottingham programme;

o  Embedded / Hosted Posts: Primary Care Officer and Offender Management Officer (rows 14-15). These roles have been commissioned to work to improve the response to SMD within these organisations as key mainstream services. These roles also need to support direct engagement between the service and the wider Changing Futures programme with scope to directly influence developments within their organisation. A direct award is sought in each case on the basis that no alternative provider is able to meet these requirements.

·  The Changing Futures programme requires a number of new Navigator posts to work as SMD specialists within BAME communities and with women and people experiencing domestic violence. These roles have a remit that includes the direct delivery of support to people experiencing SMD as well as improving understanding of how people within different communities are affected by SMD and effective means of providing support. Approval is sought to select providers through means of a quotation process to secure the most appropriate organisations to meet the requirements corresponding to each post.

Other options considered:

·  Not to take receipt of funding awarded by MHCLG for the delivery of the Changing Futures programme. This is not recommended on the basis that to not take receipt of the funding would lose the opportunity to realise expected benefits from direct operational delivery and prospects for longer term improvements.

·  To procure all activity from the offset of the programme. This option has been rejected on the basis that the procurement of all activity will delay the implementation of the programme, with a substantial risk of loss of funding from MHCLG and of undermining the ability of the programme to achieve desired outcomes.

·  To procure the required activity for the initial mobilisation of the programme from the Project Coordination and Support, Lived Experience Team, and Frontline Delivery Team through means of a competitive tender. This option is not recommended on the basis that there is considered to be no alternative viable provider in line with the requirements for the short period of delivery and compatibility with the current Opportunity Nottingham programme.

·  To procure the Embedded Posts – Primary Care Officer and Offender Management Officer through a competitive tender. This option is not recommended on the basis that there is considered to be no alternative viable provider in line with the requirement for these posts to work within key existing mainstream services.