Meeting Details

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Gordon.

Items 8, 9, 17 and 21 contained confidential appendices but were not taken in private as it was not necessary to discuss the confidential information provided.

Item 13 was taken, in part, in private in order to refer to the confidential appendix.

Councillor Mahfouz declared an interest in item 14 by virtue of his employment by A2 Dominion.

Councillor Anand declared an interest in Item 15 by virtue of her being a landlord. Councillor Anand left the meeting for the duration of this item.

That the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 14 June 2016 be agreed and signed as a true and correct record.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) notes the report and the response of service officers to each of the recommendations set out in Section 14 of Appendix A; and accepts the recommendations set out in in Appendix A of the report with the exception of recommendation numbers 3 and 22, which were rejected;

ii) agrees that further information or advice is not required from service officers

on any of the recommendations at this time.

iii) directs service officers to produce/or finalise an action plan within an agreed

timescale on those recommendations that are agreed by Cabinet.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Scrutiny has a role in improving decision-making and service delivery through effective scrutiny. Recommendations from Scrutiny need to be taken forward in a timely manner and in accordance with the Council’s Constitution if the Scrutiny function is to be effective. The Scrutiny and Executive Protocol identifies the timescale for Cabinet to respond to Scrutiny recommendations. This decision will mean that the response is made in a timely manner and that services can implement the recommendations accepted.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) approves the proposal to relocate Ealing Central Library to a new first floor location within Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre.

ii) agrees that the Council surrender the current lease of the space within Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre for the existing library.

iii) agrees that the Council enters into a new lease of 94 years (to 2110) based on the Heads of Terms set out in para 3.5 of the report, including a break clause after 5 years.

iv) delegates authority to Director Regeneration and Planning following consultation with Director Customer Services and the Director of Legal & Democratic Services to finalise and authorise the Council to enter into the necessary legal agreements to give effect to the surrender of the current lease and grant of a new lease.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Ealing Central Library is located in Ealing Broadway shopping centre. British Land, the owner of the shopping centre, approached the Council about the potential to move the library in order to remodel that part of the shopping centre to create a larger retail unit that will attract and retain a high quality retailer. In October 2014 the Council agreed in principle to support a relocation to ensure Ealing town centre develops and adapts its retail offer and thrives as a major shopping centre in the face of competition from other centres. (Cabinet report – Perceval House and Ealing Central Library – 21st October 2014).

In addition to supporting the regeneration of Ealing Town Centre, the relocation of Ealing Central Library provides the opportunity to update the library offer and provide a modern town centre library at no cost to the Council, achieving operational efficiencies and reducing running costs.

The plan for the library offer at Ealing Broadway is to maintain the current opening hours and demonstrate what a library in the 21st century can look and feel like, and what it can deliver to the community. This will consist of a library with a retail look displaying popular stock on flexible shelving, to enable the creation of space for an exciting programme of events; cultural activities and children's events; and a digital offer fit for a modern library including online newspapers and magazines.

Alternative options for the re-location of the library have been explored including locations in the shopping centre and within one of the ground floor retail units in Dickens Yard. The preferred location is in the first floor space above Primark which previously housed the shopping centre management offices. British Land has proposed to extend the foot print and fit out the space to accommodate a new Library in the town centre.

The Council is also still considering a permanent move of the Library to the redeveloped Perceval House site as part of the Council’s proposals to redevelop this site. Space to provide a new library co-located with Customer Services offices has been included in the brief for the redevelopment of Perceval House. It is however still considered that the current proposal should proceed pending a final decision on a possible move to any new space at the Perceval House site.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) approves the selection of Mastcraft Ltd as the preferred bidder for the development and refurbishment of Ealing Town Hall and disposal by way of a long lease for up to 250 years.

i) delegates authority to the Director of Regeneration and Planning following consultation with the Director of Legal and Democratic Services and the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Performance to agree the terms and grant a lease for Ealing Town Hall to Mastcraft as the preferred bidder.

ii) delegates authority to the Director of Regeneration and Planning following consultation with the Director of Legal and Democratic Services and the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Performance to agree terms and enter into an underlease for the Council to occupy the eastern wing of Ealing Town Hall – the Democratic Retained Part (DRP) as identified in Appendix 1.

iii) agrees to the use of the lease premium towards the costs associated with relocating occupiers from the Town Hall on a permanent or temporary basis.

iv) approves a new capital programme scheme named Ealing Town Hall to a value of up to £2.500m to be funded from the capital receipt (lease premium), profiled over a 3 year period

v) a. agrees the appropriation of part of the Town Hall (other than the Democratic Retained Part (DRP)) in principle for planning purposes prior to the grant of the proposed lease

b. delegates authority to the Director of Regeneration and Housing to finalise the appropriation process when and as required.

vii) thanks officers for their hard work to date.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

The procurement process to select a developer for Ealing Town Hall (ETH) has been concluded and a recommendation is being made on the preferred developer partner. This is in accordance with the previous Cabinet approval of 21 October 2014 which provided the justification for the project and recommended that the developer procurement process commence.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) agrees that officers work up detailed plans and budget proposals in accordance with the Administration’s priorities and financial strategy objectives (para 3 of the report).

ii) notes the potentially significant impact of Government decisions to reduce public spending and review local government funding over the three years that the MTFS covers and notes that work is on-going to further refine funding level assumptions.

iii) delegates authority to the Executive Director of Corporate Resources to review and respond to the government’s offer of a multi-year settlement following consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Performance and Customer Services (para 4.3 of the report).

iv) approves the use of the £5.000m Transformation fund as follows (para 4.3 of the report):

•  Up to £3.150m for the Brighter Futures programme as set out in Appendix 2a of the report subject to satisfactory sign off of the detailed project plan.

•  £1.850m for a number of Adults Services projects as set out in Appendix 2b of the report with further consideration of an additional £0.175m of funding in relation to Transforming Care in future years.

v) delegates authority to the Executive Director of Corporate Resources to approve the development of a set of criteria and suitable metrics to monitor the impact and benefit of the Transformation fund programme.

vi) sets a requirement to identify proposals that would deliver the 2017/18 budget savings target of £4.541m by the end of 2016/17 and agrees that any growth proposals put forward by services require additional savings to be identified (para 4.4 and para 4.5 of the report).

vii) notes the capital investment process set out in the report (para 4.6 of the report).

viii) notes the outline budget timetable set out in the report (para 4.7 of the report).

ix) notes the tabled Equalities Analysis Assessment (EAA)

x) thanks all officers in the Council for helping to achieve this position.

xi) congratulates the Executive Director of Children, Adults and Public Health and her team, on their recent success in the MJ Achievement Award – Reinventing Public Services category.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

This report is part of the Council’s budget setting and business planning process. The MTFS was recommended by Cabinet on 16 February 2016 and approved by Council on 23 February 2016. This report seeks to agree the strategy for 2016/17 to 2019/20 so that officers can work up detailed proposals to present for Member consideration as part of the annual budget setting cycle of the Council.

The overarching objective is a priority-led budget over the medium term which is balanced and realistic and supported by achievable savings plans.

The Council continues to face significant budget pressures, including the prospect of reducing revenue support from Central Government over the medium term, and increased demand for services.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) notes the General Fund revenue budget forecast outturn position of £0.113m net

overspend (or 0.04%) for 2016/17, and the nil variance on the Housing Revenue

Account, and agrees that Executive Directors are required to take management actions to bring the forecast General Fund overspends into balance for year-end (Para 5.1 and appendix 1 of the report).

ii) notes the progress on delivering the 2016/17 savings (Para 5.3 and appendix 2 of the report).

iii) notes the capital programme 2016/17 balanced forecast outturn position after taking

account of slippage (Para 5.5 of the report).

iv) approves the capital programme net slippage of £14.558m (Para 5.5 of the report).

v) thanks officers for their good work during some difficult years.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

To confirm the financial position as at 31 May 2016. The report outlines the council’s

position on revenue, capital, income and expenditure to the end of the period and

subsequent effect on the council’s level of reserves.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) notes the contents of the report;

ii) notes the progress made against the Corporate Plan performance indicators;

iii) notes the progress made against each of the Corporate Plan Commitments;

iv) notes Ealing’s comparative performance against the London average, as

available from the London Councils LAPS data for 2015/16.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

The purpose of this report is to provide the Cabinet with a summary of the 2015/16 yearend performance against key indicators set out in the Corporate Plan. Performance is described against key targets for operational delivery and service improvement, while also noting the direction of travel of comparable performance indicators since last year. The report also highlights progress against the delivery of the Corporate Plan Commitments by the end of the year 2015/16, and provides a summary of Ealing’s comparative performance against the London average on a core set of indicators.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) selects CIPFA Business Ltd as the Preferred Bidder for the contract for the design, build and operation of the London Counter Fraud Hub, and awards the contract to CIPFA Business Ltd subject to final agreement of the terms and conditions of the contract.

ii) delegates to the Executive Director of Corporate Resources the authority to finalise the contract terms and conditions.

iii) notes that the contract will be for a period of 9 years, but will include a ‘contract review’ following an initial proof of concept pilot which is expected to last 6 months.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Ealing Council has developed the concept of a counter fraud hub that uses data provided by local authorities and from other sources and advanced analytics to increase the detection and prevention of fraud across London. Following a tendering process the council is now in a position to award a contract to build and operate the hub.

The rationale for the establishment of the London Counter Fraud Hub was set out in a report to Cabinet on 12 July 2015. It is estimated that at a national level fraud costs local authorities £2.1bn a year. Every £1 that a local authority loses to fraud is £1 that it cannot spend on supporting the community. Fraudsters are constantly revising and sharpening their techniques and local authorities need to do the same. Taking a tougher stance against fraudsters includes using technology to tackle cross boundary and organised fraud and corruption attempts, as well as addressing new risks.

The project has been adopted by London Councils as part of its London Ventures programme, which is overseen by the Capital Ambition Board. The funding for the project came from a grant awarded to Ealing Council by the Department for Communities and Local Government (£430,400).

All 32 London boroughs and the City of London have signed a Memorandum of Understanding demonstrating their commitment to using the Hub.

A stakeholder board has been established comprised of council finance directors from across London, as well as representatives of the London Borough Fraud Investigators Group and London Auditors Group. It is chaired and hosted by London Councils, and meets on a quarterly basis to consider the procurement and wider programme. It acts as a vehicle for conversation to support designing and procuring a solution that will work across London, and be supported by all boroughs. A programme of communication with councils and key stakeholders has been followed throughout the project.

The council has followed the Competitive Dialogue procurement route. The project commenced in 2014, and in July 2015 the procurement process was launched. By October 2015 following assessment of preliminary submissions three tenderers were selected to proceed. The first round of competitive dialogue took place in January 2016 after initial tender submissions were received. Tenderers were then asked to submit detailed solutions, and this led to a second round of dialogue, following which two bidders were shortlisted and invited to submit their final offers. A final round of competitive dialogue was held, leading to submission of best and final offers in June 2016.

The evaluation of the bids was carried out by a panel consisting of subject matter experts in areas including fraud, ICT, commercial issues and data management.

The outcome of the evaluation is set out in confidential Appendix A of the report – Tender Report.

The bid from CIPFA Business Ltd was ranked first in the evaluation, based on both the scores for quality and commercial elements.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) agrees to the making of Compulsory Purchase Order/s in principle in respect of Phases 3 and 4 of the Green Man Lane Estate Project (as shown on the plan in Appendix 1) generally under the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 and specifically under Section 226(1) (a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which will be funded from Green Man Lane Estate Project existing approved capital budget as detailed in section 4.4.

ii) agrees to the compulsory acquisition of all rights over the land by the creation of new rights pursuant to Section 13 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (as required).

iii) authorises the Executive Director for Regeneration and Housing to take any steps, procedures and measures necessary to discharge all rights, easements, liberties, privileges, advantages and incidents to which the land may be subject.

iv) delegates authority to the Executive Director for Regeneration and Housing to make the final decision to authorise the making of the necessary Compulsory Purchase Order/s when required and as appropriate

v) delegates authority to the Executive Director for Regeneration and Housing, both in advance of and after the making and confirmation of any compulsory purchase order, to negotiate with the owners of interests and rights in the CPO land with a view to acquiring those interests and rights by agreement, to conclude such acquisitions by agreement, and to pay such compensation for the acquisition of the interests and rights as may be proper and reasonable.

vi) a. agrees the appropriation of Housing land in principle pursuant to Section 19 of the Housing Act 1985 for planning purposes prior to the transfer of land outlined at Appendix 1 in Phases 3 & 4 and the remainder of 2B, subject to the consent of the Secretary of State if required and .

b. delegates authority to the Executive Director of Regeneration and Housing to finalise the appropriation process when appropriate.

vii) authorises the Executive Director for Regeneration and Housing to dispose of land to the developer partner under Section 233 of the Planning Act 1990 as required in accordance with the terms of the Principal Development Agreement (as varied).

viii) authorises the Executive Director for Regeneration and Housing to amend phasing and /or the boundary of the land to be acquired by CPO or agreement or appropriated as necessary following consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

ix) authorises the Executive Director of Housing and Regeneration to take all steps, procedures and measures including seeking statutory consents and enter into any arrangements necessary for the implementation of the scheme as outlined in this report.

x) authorises the Director of Legal and Democratic Services to seek all necessary statutory consents in order to facilitate the redevelopment scheme and authorise the Executive Director for Regeneration and Housing to undertake consultations necessary prior to seeking such consents.

xi) notes the tabled appendix (map).

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Further to a report to Cabinet on 14th June 2014, which authorised the promotion of a

CPO for Phases 3 and 4 of the Green Man Lane estate regeneration scheme, this report

seeks approval to a revised drawing showing a new layout for the areas to be

considered as Phase 3 and Phase 4.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) notes the outcome of the consultation on Additional and Selective Licensing in the private rented sector. Especially the representations received and the council’s considerations of the findings (Section 2.3 & Appendices 1 and 2 of the report).

ii) subject to 1.1 of the report and using its powers under s.56 of the Housing Act 2004, agrees to designate an Additional Licensing area of the whole of the London Borough of Ealing as delineated and edged red on the map at Appendix 3 of the report.

iii) agrees to include within the Additional Licensing designation

(a) all HMOs, as defined in section 257 of the Housing Act 2004, but only where the number of dwellings exceeds the number of storeys in the building, and where the building and all of the dwellings in the building are either in the same ownership or considered by the housing authority to be effectively in the same control, and

(b) all categories of HMO in buildings containing a mix of commercial and residential uses.

iv) subject to 1.1 of the report and using its powers under s.80 of the Housing Act 2004, agrees to designate a Selective Licensing area in the five wards of Acton Central, East Acton, South Acton, Southall Broadway and Southall Green as delineated and edged red on the map at Appendix 4 of the report.

v) agrees that the Additional and Selective Licensing designations shall come into force on 1 January 2017 for a 5 year period.

vi) agrees that the council will begin to accept applications from 1 October 2016, in anticipation of the scheme coming into effect on 1January 2017.

vii) agrees the Additional and Selective Licensing conditions set out in Appendix 6a and 6b of the report.

viii) agrees the property licensing fee structure detailed in Appendix 7 of the report.

ix) agrees to increase the existing Mandatory HMO licensing fee from £1007 to £1100 in line with the Additional HMO licensing fee.

x) approves growth in the 2016/17 revenue expenditure of £28.407m, to be fully funded from £28.407m Additional and Selective Licensing fees.

xi) approves the ring-fencing of the property licensing fee income and the proceeds from any Rent Repayment Orders to support the robust enforcement of the licensing scheme and standards for the duration of the scheme.

xii) agrees to delegate the authority to the Director of Safer Communities to issue the required statutory notifications in relation to the designations and, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder to amend the licensing fee and make such other changes to the schemes as is necessary for the effective administration of the schemes

xiii) notes that the schemes (if approved) will be kept under review annually.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

In accordance with the council’s governance arrangements, on 15 December 2015 Cabinet considered a report on Private Rented Sector Licensing Proposals. Cabinet agreed the recommendations in the report to begin consultation on proposals to introduce a borough wide Additional Licensing scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation (including s.257 HMOs) and a Selective Licensing scheme for single family private rented properties in the five wards of Acton Central, East Acton, South Acton, Southall Broadway and Southall Green.

As part of Cabinet’s decision it was agreed to receive a further report, following the consultation, to decide whether to proceed with the schemes. Details of the consultation were set out in the report.

As part of Cabinet’s decision it was agreed to receive a further report, following the consultation, to decide whether to proceed with the schemes. Details of the consultation were set out in the report.

Having considered the evidence and the responses to the statutory consultation exercise and being satisfied that the legislative requirements had been fulfilled, and in the absence of acceptable alternative options to deliver improvements within the private rented sector Cabinet agreed with recommendations to introduce the proposed schemes.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) authorises to extend the current contracts as detailed below:-

•   contract for Door Entry, Emergency Lighting, Fire Alarm with Alphatrack Systems Ltd until the re-procurement exercise is undertaken but maximum one more year. For 16/17 and 17/18, this has approved capital budgets of £0.800m, funded by Leaseholder Contributions and Major Repairs Allowance. The revenue element of £0.850m is to be funded from existing budgets.

•  contract for Lift Maintenance with Otis Ltd for one more year, which has approved yearly capital budgets of £0.750m for 16/17 and 17/18, to be funded from HRA Revenue Contributions.

•  contract of Lift Replacement Programme - Phase 2 with Lift & Engineering Services Ltd for one more year to be funded from existing revenue budgets for 16/17 and 17/18, of £0.300m.

ii) delegates authority to the Executive Director for Housing and Regeneration to review the procurement options listed under section 2.2 of the report, and agree which options will be procured and authorises inviting and evaluating tenders for each of the proposed contracts which may result in either

a) separate procurements for the directorate with separate decisions,

b) combined procurement for the directorate or

c) a combination of separate and combined procurements following consultation with the Director of Finance.

iii) delegates authority to the Executive Director for Housing and Regeneration upon completion of the tender processes to award the contracts to the most advantageous tenderer for each procurement in line with the evaluation criteria if suitable tenders are received, the contracts awarded may be

a) separate procurements for the directorate with separate decisions,

b) combined procurement for the directorate or

c) a combination of separate and combined procurements.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

The existing Door Entry, Emergency Lighting, Fire Alarms contract (DES) was procured in 2011 following the results of competitive tendering the most economically advantageous of the tenders were awarded.

The current contract was extended with Alphatrack System Ltd at the Cabinet Meeting on 20 of October 2015. This will expire on 8 January 2017. Contractually there is the ability to extend the contract for one more year.

Under the existing contract, the incumbent contractor Alphatrack Systems Ltd have been faced with issues around high growth and internal restructure; resulting in performance failure and a lag in programme demand. We do not believe that an early contract termination is in the best interest of the council; therefore in order to control these failures early warning notices have been issued and a management action plan is being closely monitored to support recovery of the programme.

The Departmental Contract Board has supported an extension as detailed above whilst the re-procurement exercise is undertaken.

Resolved

That Cabinet

i) awards the contract for the Refurbishment and Expansion of the Existing Poplars Hostel to the highest ranking successful tenderer, Shaylor Group.

ii) notes that Full Planning Permission was granted by the Planning Committee at its meeting on 13 January 2016.

iii) notes that existing approved Capital Budget is £4.368m and is currently funded from Major Repairs Allowance (MRA).

iv) approves an additional £2.063m to the Poplars Expansion and Refurbishment works scheme into the 2017/18 HRA Capital Programme to be funded from £2.063m MRA. The revised scheme budget will be £6.431m.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Ealing, along with other London authorities, is facing a significant increase in demand for assistance & accommodation as a result of welfare benefit changes and an overheated local rental market. It should be noted in this context that London Borough of Ealing has the joint third highest number of cases impacted by the benefit caps in London. Whilst there are no easy solutions and the Council will struggle to cope with the increased demand on homelessness services, we recognise the need to develop a plan to try to manage the demand problems to the best of our ability and within limited resources rather than being forced to react when households are in crisis. Part of the Temporary Accommodation strategy to increase supply is to increase the hostel portfolio managed in-house by the Council as an alternative to B&B use.

The cost to the Council of B&B accommodation in 15/16 was £1.560m and is expected to rise in 16/17 and 17/18. Using the proposed modular hostel accommodation instead of B&B rental will go some way to reducing the Council's current loss. The Council will be in greater control of accommodation supply and price with an increase in hostel stock managed within Housing Demand.

Timing – Following expiry of the implementation period, it is expected to award the contract to Shaylor Group, pending any objections, we hope to begin decanting Phase 1 of the development in June 2016, with Shaylor Group mobilising to commence the construction programme as soon as the work site has been vacated 12 September 2016.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) authorises the Executive Director of Regeneration and Housing to invite and evaluate tenders for a new Leaseholder Property Insurance contract for a period of 6 years.

ii) delegates authority to the Executive Director of Regeneration and Housing to award and enter into a new Leaseholder Property Insurance contract that offers best value following competitive tendering and statutory consultation with leaseholders.

iii) notes that the full cost of the insurance contract will be recovered by way of the annual service charge to leaseholders.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

A new contract will be required to ensure continuity of insurance cover for leaseholders. Cabinet approval is required as this is a key decision.

A tendering exercise will also provide an opportunity to benchmark our current costs and also ensure that we have cover bespoke to the needs of our leaseholders.

Long term agreements attract discounts which are financially advantageous over annual contracts.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) approves and authorises Ealing to act as lead authority on behalf of WLA participating boroughs to jointly develop and procure a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) (to include inviting and evaluating tenders from providers applying to join the DPS) for and on behalf of participating WLA authorities for the sourcing and purchasing of Residential Children’s Homes Placements. A separate report will be submitted to Cabinet for approval to award contracts. The DPS will replace the majority of current spot purchasing arrangements.

ii) delegates authority to the Director of Children and Families for Ealing to enter into Access Agreements with Brent, Barnet, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Harrow, Hammersmith & Fulham, City of Westminster, The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea or any other Local Authority that requests to use the DPS with the agreement of WLA participating boroughs.

iii) delegates authority to the Director of Children and Families to admit any new service provider(s) onto the DPS subsequent to them meeting their admittance criteria as stated by the Council in the DPS documentation and award spot or block contracts via mini competition or direct award for Residential Children’s Homes placements procured through the DPS where appropriate to the provider(s) best placed to meet the referred persons’ care and support.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Ealing, in common with other Councils, will usually aim to place Looked After Children in family provision such as foster care or kinship care. However, there will be situations where this is not possible. Usually it will be older adolescent children that will be placed in a Residential Children’s Homes. This could be for a range of reasons including the following:

• Children have very complex needs requiring specialist care

• Children need to be placed away from their immediate home area for their own safety or for the safety of others

• No suitable family placement can be found

• Breakdown of a family placement

The Council always uses its best endeavours, where appropriate, to place children in Residential Placements as near to the home area as possible. However, there is an insufficient supply of Residential Children’s Homes Provision in this part of London, especially in relation to some types of very specialist provision.

Setting up a DPS will ensure a completely electronic procurement procedure to establish and maintain a list of providers from which relevant services can be procured. The DPS provides the ability of including new suppliers onto it during its period of operation.

The benefits of using the DPS for procuring Residential Children’s Homes placements are:

• The ability to include suppliers onto the DPS during its validity period:

•  Potentially increases the supply base for the service provision

•  Ensures that the Council is not limited to certain suppliers which allows for far greater competition and drives potential savings

• Allows the Council to develop and grow the supplier base by including new and more local sources of supply where and when available

•  Once established the DPS would provide an efficient process for procuring Residential Children’s Homes placements within a shorter timescale

Only suppliers who have met the Council’s admittance criteria onto the DPS. The admittance criteria will assess each organisation’s knowledge, experience, and expertise in providing the required services. This will ensure commissioning of good quality residential places to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people.

Furthermore, the DPS will provide a single agreed process for the procurement of residential children’s homes placements across the WLA authorities. This will reduce process duplication and create efficiencies across WLA authorities. It will also enable the WLA authorities to use their combined purchasing power to develop and influence an already challenging market which cannot be done by Ealing alone.

Options that have been considered and the reasons they have or have not been recommended are as follows:

Option 1 –

No change to current commissioning arrangements – this is not advisable as these arrangements are not compatible with the EU procurement and Public Contracts Regulations.

Option 2 – each borough sets up its own DPS or similar system -not advisable due to reduced purchasing power and officer input required.

Option 3 – Set up a collaborative DPS arrangement – preferred option. Benefits to this are collective leverage over the market, better use of officer time in the set up and operation of the DPS, financial benefits to all participating boroughs, and high attractiveness to the market which will motivate providers to apply.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) authorises the Executive Director for Children and Adults to invite and evaluate tenders for a local Healthwatch contract for a period of three years with the option to extend for up to two years.

ii) delegates authority to the Executive Director for Children and Adults to award a contract to the most economically advantageous tender for a local Healthwatch, following consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Health and Adults Services and for Children’s Services.

iii) approves the Council’s participation in the tender exercise for a framework for NHS Independent Complaints Advocacy Services (ICAS), noting that the lead authority for the framework is to be the London Borough of Southwark, and notes the list of participating authorities is still to be finalised.

iv) notes that the contract value for

a. Local Healthwatch is £0.140m per annum.

b. NHS Independent Complaints Advocacy Services (ICAS) is £0.050m per annum.

Both contracts would be funded from the Local Reform and Community Voices Grant.

v) notes that there will be an ICAS annual administration charge, such charge is still to be agreed between the participating authorities but is expected to be approximately £0.004m per year for four years for accessing the framework detailed in 1.3 in the report, which will be met from the Advocacy budget.

vi) delegates authority to the Executive Director for Children and Adults to award call off contract(s) as required by the Council under the framework for NHS Independent Complaints Advocacy Services in accordance with the framework call off procedures during the framework term.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

The Health and Social Care Act (2012) introduced a requirement to establish a Local Healthwatch in each local authority area. "Healthwatch Ealing" is an independent consumer champion created to gather and represent the views of the public in Ealing. The local Healthwatch service is an independent organisation, able to employ its own staff and involve volunteers, so it can become the influential and effective voice of the public. The aim of local Healthwatch is to give citizens and communities a stronger voice to influence and challenge how health and social care services are provided within their locality.

The grant agreement for the provision of the local Healthwatch service is due to expire on 31 March 2017. Cabinet is asked to approve the procurement of Healthwatch Services for adults and children and families for April 2017 onwards.

In addition there is a requirement in the Health and Social Care Act (2012) making each local authority responsible for provision of an NHS Independent Complaints Advocacy Service (ICAS). The ICAS provides information, advice, support and advocacy to people who experience disability, vulnerability, distress and social exclusion. This is an independent service free at the point of contact that can help vulnerable patients to make a complaint about the National Health Service (NHS) care or treatment. The service helps people to understand the options, the implication of each option and then supports the patient to take the course of action they wish to take.

Since April 2013 Ealing Council have been part of a pan London contractual arrangement for the provision of the NHS Independent Complaints Advocacy Service to achieve better value for money, both in terms of economies of scale and other benefits to the end user, such as having a common contact number. This London Borough Framework Agreement is also due to expire in March 2017.

The current service is provided to 24 local authorities by VoiceAbility. Commissioners across London have been considering how best to take this service forward from April 2017. The options include supporting a further multi-borough framework agreement for procurement with the London Borough of Southwark acting as the procurement lead.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) authorises the continued participation by Ealing in the London Community Equipment Consortium in order to procure a new framework agreement from April 2017, and to signing up to an Inter-Authority Partnership Agreement with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham by 31 July 2016.

ii) delegates authority to the Executive Director for Children, Adults & Public Health to make call offs from the new framework, once it is established, scheduled for December 2016, to enable the new service to commence on 1 April 2017.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Ealing Council and Ealing CCG have a pooled budget for the purchase of Integrated Community Equipment Services (ICES), which is part of the Better Care Fund. The current contract was called off a 20 authority framework established in 2011 which comes to an end in March 2017.

The report summarises the proposed approach to procuring the new service and seeks authorisation for Ealing Council to continue participation in the London Community Equipment Consortium in order to procure a new framework agreement from April 2017, to sign up to an Inter-Authority Partnership Agreement with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham by 31 July 2016; and to call off the new framework, once it is established, to enable the new service to commence on 1st April 2017.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) authorises officers to develop a dedicated borough Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) for the supply of Tier 4 (detoxification/stabilisation and residential rehabilitation) drug and alcohol treatment services for adults. The DPS will consist of 5 core categories:

• medically assisted inpatient detoxification/stabilisation split into two sections, planned detoxification and complex/crisis stabilisation

• residential rehabilitation with 24 hours staffing

• residential rehabilitation without 24 hours staffing (quasi-residential)

• community rehabilitation

• medically assisted front end detoxification with residential rehabilitation

It is anticipated that the DPS will commence in April 2017 and will be for a period of 3 years until March 2020 with the option to extend for up to two years to March 2022 with an estimated overall value of £0.691m. This will be funded from the Public Health Inpatient Detox and Residential Care budget.

ii) delegates authority to the Director of Public Health or Director of Adult Social Services to appoint providers onto the DPS who meet the qualification criteria, award contracts from the DPS to the provider(s) best placed to meet the referred persons’ care and support needs, and to add providers to the DPS during its term in accordance with its rules and selection criteria.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Ealing’s current drug and alcohol treatment system offers Tier 4 provision for service users with a range of complex issues that make achieving abstinence through community based support challenging. Residential rehabilitation services, often run by voluntary or private sector providers, are a key part of Ealing’s recovery-orientated treatment system, with robust care pathways between the community based services and the Tier 4 providers.

Tier 4 providers are spread across the country (largely outside London) and the national market consists of approximately 80 organisations. All of these services require residents to stay overnight and provide either detoxification provision with medically assisted withdrawal or rehabilitation programmes with either on-site accommodation or separate housing away from the day programme. There were a number of high profile closures over the last two years and some new private sector providers entered the market. During 2015/16 in Ealing, there were 46 residential rehabilitation placements using 10 providers and 37 detoxification placements across 5 providers.

Historically, the Council commissioned a block contract arrangement for inpatient detoxification. One of the main providers, Central North West London’s Max Glatt Unit, closed down in 2015. The current provision for Tier 4 (detoxification and rehabilitation) drug and alcohol treatment services is spot purchased from a range of providers. There is currently a CPR exception in place which allows for spot purchasing Tier 4 provision until 31 March 2017. 

The allocated budget for Tier 4 drug and alcohol treatment services will be reduced over the next three years and the Council needs to consider alternative procurement options to successfully manage this reduction.

Ealing considered the following options for commissioning these services from next financial year:

• Procuring services collaboratively with other boroughs

• Continuing with the current spot purchasing arrangements

• Adopting a Dynamic Purchasing System

Procuring services with other boroughs was not a viable option because they were operating to different procurement timetables and using different types of electronic procurement portals which posed other problems.

The current spot purchasing system is working with a small number of potential providers and does not provide the best value for money longer term. Continuing with this arrangement would also be bureaucratically cumbersome because it would require renewing the CPR exception.

To ensure better value for money and to manage further reductions in the budget, Public Health would like to develop a Dynamic Purchasing System, supported by the Council’s Substance Misuse Team and contract managed by the Public Health Team.

The Dynamic Purchasing System will consist of five categories detailed in the report.

The system enables providers to join the DPS throughout its term provided they meet the relevant criteria. This will allow for changes in a volatile market place, and provide Ealing with an increase in the number and variety of providers across the Categories.

Providers for all the Categories, apart from Category 4 (Community Rehabilitation), will be accepted onto the DPS if they are CQC registered and have achieved a good, outstanding, or requires improvement rating at their last inspection. Category 4 providers will not necessarily be CQC registered so their application will be evaluated against their submitted method statements in accordance with the tender documents. The timetable for the DPS is the same for all the Categories.

The RISE service and the LBE Substance Misuse Team will assess all service users and if eligible shall submit appropriate referrals into the procurement portal. Organisations accepted onto the DPS will then bid to deliver individual packages of care. 

It is proposed that the DPS will start from 1 April 2017 and expire on 31 March 2020, but will have provision for extension for up to two years at 2019/20 values, expiring on 31 March 2022. It is proposed that all the current community drug and alcohol services will be re-tendered with a start date of April 2020. The Tier 4 treatment budget could be included in this tender, allowing the successful provider to manage the tier 4 pathway as part of the whole treatment system. However, the extensions allow for the continuation of the DPS if it demonstrates improved successful completions for service users and shows strong value for money.

Resolved

That Cabinet:

i) authorises the Director of Adults Services to appoint Suppliers (detailed in Appendix 1 of the report, who meet the entry criteria) onto the West London Alliance (WLA) Care Home and Supported Living Dynamic Purchasing System (known as the DPS) for the first round of the scheme due to commence 1 September 2016.

ii) delegates authority to the Director of Adults’ Services to add additional Suppliers on to the DPS throughout the 4-year term of the DPS in accordance with its rules and selection criteria following its establishment.

iii) approves that in meeting statutory need the direct award of placements for vulnerable adults on a spot contract basis may be necessary where suitable arrangements cannot be made via the DPS; or where crisis or emergency circumstances dictate this is not possible to do so via the DPS or where the statutory Choice of Accommodation & Additional Payment Regulations 2014 apply; and delegates authority to award such spot contracts to the Director of Adults Services through a competitive process (where possible) through the direct award to a supplier deemed best placed to provide services required to meet a vulnerable adults’ eligible care and support needs.

iv) notes that the DPS is a WLA procurement initiative with Ealing Council acting as the contracting body on behalf of the London Boroughs of Brent, Barnet, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, City of Westminster, and Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

Reasons for Decisions and Options Considered

Ealing Council has a statutory duty to meet the care and support needs of vulnerable adults and carers in the borough based on an assessment of need and the where the eligibility criteria are met. As a result Adults’ Services need to source care home and accommodation based placements to meet a range of eligible care and support needs.

The WLA Adults Programme operates a care home framework contract for the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Barnet, which expired in February 2016 and has been extended until the new DPS arrangements commence in September 2016.

The DPS method was chosen as the preferred model, following a service review during the commercial strategy stage of the process. Framework and block contracts were considered at the time but did not offer suitable vehicles for the contracting of social care placements as neither model allow new suppliers to join the scheme during the term of the contract – resulting in an increase in the level of spot purchasing by the Council outside of its Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs), and counter to Adults Services aims to increase capacity and build a diverse and sustainable ‘managed’ local care market.

Cabinet gave prior approval for the development of the DPS and for Ealing Council to act as the lead contracting body in November 2015. The DPS tender documents were designed by a cross-borough project group and duly advertised via the London Tenders Portal on the 16 May 2016 (with the application process closing on the 14 June 2016).

Cabinet are also asked to note that additional Cabinet are also asked to note that additional inflationary pressures pertaining to the prices of placements will also feature each year up to 2020 due to increasing overheads driven by higher remuneration to retain staff, annual national living wage increases, and pension reforms. Ealing’s potential spend on placements (excluding block contracts prices and standard annual inflation demands) could be £3m higher in real terms by 2020 as compared to current 2015-16 prices.

Resolved

The next meeting of Cabinet will be held on 13 September 2016 at 7pm