Agenda item

This report sets out proposals for the development of a framework contract for care delivered in Housing with Care (HWC) schemes.

Cabinet Portfolio Holder – Councillor Margaret Bell

Councillor Margaret Bell, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health explained that Housing with Care was an alternative term for schemes like Extra Care Housing, where residents were offered a housing option with relevant on-site care support.  She noted that commissioning activity for care delivered in Housing with Care schemes used the Supported Living Working Age Adult framework but, as arrangements for care for those customers in Housing with Care schemes needed to include elements that were not covered in the Working Age Adults contracts, use of the Supported Living framework would not be an option going forward. 

Councillor Bell stated that a Housing with Care framework of care providers to commission care for customers in Extra Care Housing and Specialised Supported Housing would provide a more consistent, efficient, and transparent way of engaging and contracting with the market for care delivery in those settings. It was proposed that the term of the framework should be five years plus the option to extend for a further five  years.  Whilst there was an existing approval for the award of spot care contracts in some cases, use of spot purchasing needed to be minimised as far as possible in line with the Council’s Contract Standing Orders and the establishment of the proposed framework would, therefore, reduce the requirement for spot purchasing. 

Councillor Bell advised that the current annual commissioned spend by the Council on the care delivered in Housing with Care Schemes was £8.3 million per annum across 23 schemes and there were 14 pipeline schemes expected to be delivered by the market in the next three to five years. These would add an estimated £5.3m per annum to the total spend on care in schemes.  Within the current Medium Term Financial Strategy, Adult Social Care had a £500,000 a year cost avoidance efficiency for Housing with Care as an alternative to traditional provision, as the Housing with Care model could, for some customers, lead to cost efficiencies. Services available through a framework would provide additional opportunities to place more customers in Housing with Care schemes, maintaining their independence, whilst supporting commitments to cost efficiency programmes within Social Care.

In response to a question from Councillor Sarah Boad regarding the feasibility of delivering more schemes over the next three to five years, Councillor Bell stated that she did believe it was feasible to do so as they could be provided on Council land/premises or delivered by the private sector and supported by the Council. 

Resolved:

That Cabinet authorises:

The Executive Director for People, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health, to commence a procurement process in partnership with NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board for the provision of a framework for care services in Housing with Care schemes.

The Executive Director for People to enter into all relevant contracts for the provision of a framework for care services in Housing with Care schemes on Terms and conditions acceptable to the Executive Director for Resources.

The continuation of direct award arrangements for care contracts in new schemes that will open before the new framework is in place and which become necessary during the lifetime of the framework for the reasons set out in this report.