Decision details

It is agreed that:
(1)The Director of Adult Social Care can commence a procurement exercise for the provision of Direct Payment Support Services (DPSS) for children and adults with an overall contract value of £739,000 for four years, inclusive of services required by Adults and Sandwell Children’s Trust.

(2) The Council to award and enter a new Contract with the successful bidder, on terms agreed with the Director of Adult Social Care, for the provision of Direct Payment Support Services to commence on 6 October 2024 for a period of four years.

(3) The Assistant Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer, or their designated representative, is authorised to execute any documents necessary within a reasonable time to give effect to the proposals in recommendation (2) for the provision of Direct Payment Support Services.

(4) An exemption to rules 8.10 and 8.11 of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules 2022/23 or subsequent amendment, is approved to allow the Director of Adult Social Care to award contracts to the successful tenderer in the event that the required minimum number of tenders are not received.

(4) To continue the existing arrangements for Sandwell Children’s Trust to access Direct Payments on behalf of children. Sandwell Children’s Trust will meet these costs from their budget.

The current contract extension expires on 31 October 2024
and the Council has a statutory responsibility to ensure eligible people can access a direct payment. Therefore, a formal procurement exercise, in line with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules is required to be undertaken, and a contract awarded to the successful bidder.

The following four options were considered and discounted:

Option one: deliver the services in the Council. The Council do not have the specialist knowledge or capacity needed.

Option two: is to procure DPSS services using a contract covering the current service offer only. This option will not consider the views, nor will meet the needs of the stakeholders.

Option 3: is to procure DPSS services using an activity-based contract, with itemised prices for all the additional services. There is a risk that if demand for information and advice services increase during the contract, the increased activity for these services may lead to an unmanageable overspend. The itemised prices will also be complex to administer, as the prices would be per hour.

Option 4: is to procure DPSS services using a block contract for all services. There is a risk that if demand or utilisation decreases over the duration of the contract, this may lead to a block payment which would be higher than the cost of the activity in the contract. This would not offer good value for money.

Preferred Option

Option 5 is to procure DPSS services using an activity-based contract for Payroll, Managed Accounts, and DBS checks only, and to include a block payment for the other services within the same contract. This option will provide the best value for money and enable growth. These services can be accessed as many times as needed in the year. Option 5 is therefore the recommended option.