Agenda item

Procurement of Best Interest Assessor Services

To procure Best Interest Assessor services via the call-off agreement the Council has in place.

 

Minutes:

Approval was sought to procure Best Interest Assessor services via the call-off agreement the Council had in place with Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited, since January 2018, under the provisions of the Birmingham City Council Managed Service Contract for the Provision of Temporary Agency Workers.

 

In response to questions raised by the Chair of Safer Neighbourhoods and Active Communities Scrutiny Board, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources understood the concerns expressed on the current overspend on external resource and reported that this option was currently being reviewed as part of new legislation coming in.


 

Furthermore, Sandwell had a contract with Hays, which was part of Birmingham City Council Framework, for sourcing all agency workers. Whilst it was aimed to align external assessors recruited directly with the agency to the framework, HR resourcing management team would look into the possibility of recruiting providers from within Sandwell.

 

Reasons for Decision

The proposal would allow for the Sandwell Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards service to be compliant with the procurement rules and to align the recruitment of Best Interest Assessors with the Hays Framework.

 

The Sandwell DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) service had outsourced its Best Interest Assessors directly with the recruitment agency and this fell outside the formal procurement arrangements.

 

There was a need to ensure the procurement of Best Interest Assessors meet Procurement Regulations, facilitate market testing and fair competition for this service.

 

The Council had statutory responsibilities under the provision of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) to complete formal Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLS) best interest assessments when a person who lacked the mental capacity to consent to their care or treatment was being deprived of their liberty in a care home or hospital to keep them safe

from harm.

 

In order to meet those responsibilities, the Council needed to appoint Best Interest Assessors on an as and when required basis.

 

Alternative Options Considered

The alternative was for the Council to consider its internal staff to support the Best Interest Assessment work. This option was challenging and not feasible due to the specialist training and qualification required that was currently suspended by many Universities due to efforts in preparation for the new legislation, Liberty Protection Safeguards.

 

The other alternative was for the Council to continue procuring the Best Interest Assessors directly with the recruitment agency. However, this option was currently presenting its challenges as assessors were being sourced outside of the Birmingham City Council framework.

 

Procurement of these services as a single contracting authority had proved difficult because of the strong demand on resources and the level of specialism required. The Council had been procuring services on an ad hoc basis. The proposed call off arrangement with Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited would give greater certainty of availability of resources and a more robust contractual basis for the services.

 

Agreed:-

 

(1)          that approval be given to procure Best Interest Assessor services via the call-off agreement the Council has in place with Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited, since January 2018, under the provisions of the Birmingham City Council Managed Service Contract for the Provision of Temporary Agency Workers;

 

(2)          that the Director Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer be authorised to enter into appropriate contracts with Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited as a call off contract under the provisions of the Birmingham City Council Managed Service Contract for the Provision of Temporary Agency Workers.

 

Supporting documents: