The Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee (CPIC) met on 7 April 2025, to discuss contract variations, the creation of a Dynamic Purchasing System, a business case for scaffolding and roofing, and transformation consultancy support. Councillor Robert Chapman, Cabinet Member for Finance, Insourcing and Customer Service, chaired the meeting. The committee approved a contract variation for the City and Hackney Integrated Substance Misuse Service, approved the appointment of providers to the Emergency Accommodation Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), approved the procurement of roofing and scaffolding services, and approved the award of a contract for consultancy services for Phase One to accelerate work on prevention and demand management.

Here's a breakdown of the key topics discussed:

City and Hackney Integrated Substance Misuse Service

The committee approved a contract variation of £2.5 million excluding VAT for the Hackney and City Integrated Drug and Alcohol Service, which is currently valued at £29 million. They also agreed to delegate authority to the Director of Public Health to award £2.5 million for the 2026/27 financial year, pending confirmation of grant funding from central government. The revised maximum potential contract value, including the variation, will be £34 million.

The report before the committee, S459 Substance Misuse Service - CPIC Contract Variation Report April 2025, noted that since 2021, Hackney has received grant funding from central government to help reduce harms related to drug and alcohol use. This funding has been used to deliver new services and enhance the core treatment service provided by Turning Point¹.

The report stated that the funding has delivered strong outcomes, such as increasing the number of people in treatment and the proportion of prison leavers continuing to receive support.

The report also detailed alternative options that were considered and rejected, including completing a full procurement process, insourcing the service, and not accepting the grant funding. It was determined that these options were not feasible due to time constraints, complexity, and the risk of not being able to respond effectively to increasing drug-related deaths and harms.

The report outlined key performance indicators (KPIs) for the service, including increasing the number of people in treatment, increasing continuity of care from prison, increasing residential rehabilitation and inpatient detoxification, and increasing the percentage of individuals accessing treatment and making significant improvements.

Emergency Accommodation Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS)

The committee approved the appointment of providers to the Emergency Accommodation Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). The DPS will commence on 5 May 2025, for a period of up to three years (2+1), with a total maximum expenditure of £4.38 million. The committee also agreed to delegate authority to the Assistant Director of Adults Social Care Commissioning to admit any future providers who meet the evaluation criteria.

The report before the committee, S468 Emergency Accommodation - CPIC Contract Award Report, stated that Hackney Adult Social Care (ASC) spends approximately £1.4 million per year on hotel, guest house, and B&B accommodation. The proposed DPS will help Hackney achieve reduced fixed rates and reduce costs for the council.

The DPS will include a list of accredited emergency accommodation providers, ensuring quality, safety, and value for money. It will also provide a greater choice of accommodation types to meet clients' needs and ensure that Hackney obtains the best value and maintains a sustainable market.

To be eligible to join the DPS, providers were required to demonstrate that they had appropriate insurance cover, evidenced audited accounts, met health and safety, building and fire regulations, and met various sustainable initiatives.

The report also outlined key performance indicators (KPIs) for the individual awards under the DPS, including emergency repairs, non-essential repairs, booking confirmations, customer satisfaction, and Wi-Fi outage.

Direct Labour Organisation (DLO) Enabling Scaffolding & Roofing Contract

The committee approved the procurement of roofing and scaffolding services. This will be split into two lots:

• Lot 1: Two specialist roofing and scaffolding contractors to work directly for Building Maintenance, with a contract value of approximately £1.7 million per year and a total value of approximately £6.8 million over the maximum contract term.
• Lot 2: One specialist contractor to perform scaffolding inspections, with a value of approximately £250,000 per year and a total value of approximately £1 million over the maximum contract term.

The committee agreed to delegate authority to the Group Director, Climate Homes and Economy to award and enter into the contracts.

The report before the committee, S470 CPIC Business Case DLO Enabling Scaffolding Roofing Contract 2, stated that the DLO does not have the required specialist skill set, resources, or storage capacity for scaffolding and complex roofing jobs. Continuing the relationship with specialist contractors would ensure that the DLO has a direct contract with a specialist provider and not an indirect relationship with a main contractor.

The tenders will be evaluated based on 60% price, 30% quality, and 10% social value. The highest-ranked bidder in Lot 2 will be awarded the contract, while the volume of work in Lot 1 will be allocated to the two highest-ranked bidders, with the highest-ranked bidder receiving 60% of the borough coverage and the next-highest scoring bidder receiving 40%.

The report also outlined the benefits of this approach, including providing a secondary contractor to assist in works, providing backup when quality may become an issue, providing additional resource capacity if needed, providing an opportunity for SME contractors, and reducing the risk if a contractor were to become liquidated.

Transformation Consultancy Support - Prevention & Demand Management

The committee approved the award of a contract for consultancy services for Phase One to accelerate work on prevention and demand management across the council’s demand-led service areas to Provider B. The contract is valued at £523,122 exclusive of VAT (£627,746 inclusive of VAT). The committee also delegated authority to the Group Director, Chief Executive’s Directorate to award the Phase Two services to Provider B, by use of a compliant direct award process.

The report before the committee, S477 FINAL CPIC Contract Award Report PDM, stated that the council faces significant financial challenges and that this contract is part of the council’s Transformation Programme to deliver £21 million in savings. The provider will work with the council to accelerate its work on prevention and demand management across its demand-led service areas, including adult social care, children’s social care, homelessness, and education (specifically SEND).

The report also outlined the social value benefits of the contract, including a 6-week placement for a care leaver, a readiness for work initiative for unemployed people, volunteer hours from staff members, and support for local sporting VCSEs².

Update on Council Housing Development Projects

The committee received an update on the recent award of contracts for construction works for four council housing development projects. This was a non-key decision item for information only.

The projects covered in the report, CPIC Contract Briefing Report - Recent Procurement of Council Housing Developments - Apr 2025, were:

• Colville Estate Regeneration Phase 2C
• Fairbank Estate
• Frampton Park Estate
• Pedro Street

The report provided information on the progress of each project, including any variations to the contracts, the contractors involved, and the anticipated completion dates.