Agenda item

To seek approval to participate in a collaborative procurement exercise that would establish a new sub-regional framework for letting contracts with Independent Fostering Agencies.

Cabinet received a report which sought approval to participate in a collaborative procurement exercise that would establish a new sub-regional framework for letting contracts with Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs). 

In order to comply with the Authority’s statutory obligations under the Children’s Act 1989 and other legislation, the Authority needed to ensure that provision was in place for children in need of foster care.  The Authority required the services of IFAs when in-house foster care provision could not meet the needs of a child.  As at March 2019, the Authority had 28 children and young people placed with IFAs.  By comparison, the number of children placed with in-house foster carers (including connected persons) was 218.  North Tyneside had consistently been the second lowest user of the sub-regional framework, both in terms of the number of placements and as a percentage of the looked after children cohort.

The Authority had developed a new Fostering Strategy which aimed to increase the use of in-house fostering placements to meet the needs of children from 2019 onwards.  Proposals would be presented to Cabinet later this year which aimed to increase the number of in-house foster carers, through a revised fees structure and a more comprehensive package of carer support.  Despite this, there may still be occasions where an in-house placement that met the needs of a child could not be provided, so appropriate procurement arrangements needed to be in place in order for the Authority to purchase placements from IFAs if required.

In April 2011 Newcastle City Council had taken the lead to bring together seven councils (Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, Durham and Sunderland) to carry out a collaborative procurement exercise which had resulted in a sub-regional framework for letting contracts with IFAs.  This initial framework had expired in March 2015 and a further procurement exercise had taken place for a new framework which had commenced in April 2015 where 25 IFAs had been awarded contracts.  Current arrangements were due to expire on 30 September 2019 therefore it was imperative that a new collaborative arrangement was in place for then.

The benefits of this collaborative approach and the financial model under the proposed new arrangements were outlined in the report.

The report also set out details of the procurement and quality assurance processes for the new collaborative arrangements. It was noted that young people who had experience of foster care had been invited via the Children in Care Council to contribute to the tender evaluation process.

The Deputy Mayor commented this was one of a number of successful collaborations to provide services across the region.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: to participate in the sub-regional procurement exercise, or alternatively, to not approve the Authority’s participation in the procurement exercise.

Resolved that (1) the Head of Health, Education, Care and Safeguarding, in consultation with the Elected Mayor, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, the Head of Resources and the Head of Law and Governance, be authorised to proceed with the procurement exercise being led by Newcastle City Council that will establish a sub-regional framework for letting contracts with Independent Fostering Agencies, for a period of 18 months commencing on 1 October 2019, with an option to extend for a further 12 months; and

(2) the Head of Health, Education, Care and Safeguarding, in consultation with the Head of Resources, the Head of Law and Governance and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, be authorised to enter into the framework agreement following the procurement and subsequent call off contracts under the arrangement.

(Reasons for decision: This sub-regional collaborative arrangement is in keeping with regional priorities leading to more efficient service delivery.  The Authority will benefit from a standardised and transparent pricing structure, consistency of quality across all providers and a more developed local market which can provide a range of placements to meet the needs of children and young people.

If the recommendation is not approved, the existing framework will expire in September 2019 and the need to purchase external placements will continue.  The Authority will need to undertake a separate procurement exercise without the benefits of collaborating with the rest of the sub-regional group.)