Issue - meetings

In accordance with Contract Standing Order 88, this report seeks Cabinet authority to award four contracts for Enhanced Reablement Services for a term of 1+1 year. To support the recommendation the report also provides further details on the scheme and details the process undertaken to select the preferred providers.

i) that a contract for Enhanced Reablement Services be awarded for a term of one year with an option to extend by one further year to each of the following:

- MNA Homecare Services Limited

- Capital Homecare (UK) Limited

- DeVere Care Limited

- Supreme Care Services Limited;

ii) that an exemption from Contract Standing Order 104(b) be agreed to permit the award of contracts to the four highest scoring bidders as detailed in i) above for the reasons set out in paragraph 6.4 of the report.

Councillor Hirani (Lead Member Adults, Health and Wellbeing) introduced the report from the Strategic Director of Adults. The report sought authority to award four contracts for Enhanced Reablement Services for a term of one year with an option to extend by a further year, in accordance with Contract Standing Order 88. The Enhanced Reablement service provided an integrated rehabilitation service for Brent Adult Social Care service users with complex needs and followed on from a pilot which ran from November 2012. Prior to the development of the service there had been no intermediate care service within Brent which offered integrated input from social services and health professionals. The pilot transitioned to a mainstream service model in May 2013. Outlining the achievements made following the introduction of the service, Councillor Hirani explained that on average, 18 per cent more service users with complex needs were becoming independent whilst hospital admissions had decreased by 12 per cent and goal attainment had increased by 35 per cent. It was considered that four separate contracts from different providers should be procured to ensure supply capacity, quality and contingency across the borough. The preferred bidders had been selected through a mini competition using the West London Alliance (WLA) Homecare Framework, with a weighting of 60 per cent cost and 40 per cent quality. It was recommended that contracts be awarded to MNA Homecare Services Limited, Capital Homecare (UK) Limited, DeVere Care Limited and Supreme Care Services Limited. The contracts would be funded from the 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 Reablement and Safeguarding revenue budget within Adult Social Care.

Responding to members’ queries, Councillor Hirani advised that the standard reablement programme ran over a period of six weeks; however the focus was on goal attainment and if a longer period was required this would be accommodated. The measurement of independence and repeat hospital admission was taken after six months but it would be important to reassess this after a longer period of time. The contracts were all London Living Wage compliant.

The Cabinet also had before them an appendix to the report which was not for publication as it contained the following category of exempt information as specified in Schedule 12 of the Local Government (Access to Information Act) 1972:

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED:

    (i)        that a contract for Enhanced Reablement Services be awarded for a term of one year with an option to extend by one further year to each of the following:

- MNA Homecare Services Limited

- Capital Homecare (UK) Limited

- DeVere Care Limited

- Supreme Care Services Limited;

    (i)        that an exemption from Contract Standing Order 104(b) be agreed to permit the award of contracts to the four highest scoring bidders as detailed in i) above for the reasons set out in paragraph 6.4 of the report from the Strategic Director of Adults.