Purpose

To approve procurement of digital telecare equipment, a replacement alarm receiving centre to support monitoring, emergency response and out-of-hours services

Decision

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

·       APPROVES the procurement of digital telecare equipment required to support the transition from analogue to digital telecare services ahead of the national PSTN switch-off.

·       APPROVES the procurement of a replacement Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) system required to support the continued delivery of telecare monitoring, emergency response and out-of-hours services.

·       RECOMMENDS that Council approve supplementary capital funding of £270,000 to support the delivery of the digital telecare programme.

·       NOTES that £180,000 of Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding has been identified to support the replacement of equipment for eligible Bracknell Forest residents and approved by the Executive Director: People, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adults, Economy & Regeneration in alignment with the council’s scheme of delegation.

·       AWARD delegated authority to the Executive Director: People, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adults, Economy & Regeneration, to approve both contract awards.

·       NOTES that the programme is required to ensure continuity of a safety-critical service ahead of the national PSTN switch off by 31st January 2027.

Reasons for the decision

Digital Telecare Alarms:

The Council has a statutory duty under the Care Act 2014 to prevent, reduce, and delay the need for care and support. Forestcare delivers a key preventative service that supports vulnerable residents to remain independent and reduces demand on higher-cost care services.

The national PSTN switch-off scheduled for 31 January 2027 means that existing analogue telecare equipment will no longer operate reliably and will leave residents at risk of declining health. The council is therefore required to transition to a digital telecare solution to ensure continuity of this safety-critical service.

The proposed procurement approach enables the Council to deliver a compliant and timely transition to a digital telecare model, improving system reliability, supporting service resilience, and maintain operational delivery for over 3,500 directly supported service users.

The investment supports the transition from analogue to digital telecare ahead of the national PSTN switch-off.

The proposed charging structure has been developed to recover the direct costs associated with the digital transition whilst minimising the risk of customer attrition.

The charging model introduces a differentiated weekly rate of:

·       £6.19 per week for Bracknell Forest residents

·       £7.20 per week for non-Bracknell / external customers

The Bracknell Forest resident’s charge reflects the recovery of ongoing digital connectivity costs.

The non-Bracknell / external customer charge reflects recovery of both digital connectivity costs and replacement equipment costs.

Financial position and impact

Forestcare currently operates with a gross annual budget of approximately £2.03m and forecast annual income of approximately £1.74m, resulting in a forecast deficit of approximately £288k.

The proposed digital model introduces additional annual costs of approximately £198k, comprising:

·       £144k SIM connectivity costs

·       £54k indicative capital financing costs

The revised charging structure generates additional annual income of approximately

£198k. This results in a net annual improvement of approximately £120 per annum, broadly offsetting the cost of the digital transition.

The proposal therefore enables the Council to deliver the required digital transition whilst recovering the direct costs associated with the programme.

A whole service review of Forestcare's long-term sustainability, including service costs, operating model, pricing strategy and commercial opportunities, will be undertaken separately.

Further detail is contained within the confidential supporting information paper Appendix A.

Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding will be used to support the capital cost of equipment for eligible Bracknell Forest residents. As a result, the proposed charging model applies a differentiated approach, with a lower weekly charge applied to Bracknell Forest residents to reflect that they are not required to contribute towards capital equipment costs funded through grant.

This ensures that residents are treated equitably, supporting recovery of the direct costs associated with the digital transition.

The revised charging structure has been designed to recover the direct costs associated with the digital transition. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that customer attrition represents the principal financial risk, with any reduction in customer numbers reducing both existing income and the additional income generated through the revised charging structure.

A separate Forestcare sustainability review will be undertaken to consider the wider financial position of the service, including operating model, pricing strategy, commercial opportunities and long-term financial sustainability.

Alarm Receiving Centre

The Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) system underpins all the telecare monitoring, emergency response, and out-of-hours services delivered by Forestcare and is essential to the safe operation of the service.

The current contract ends on 23rd May 2027. A contract is needed to ensure continuity of care, safety and quality of the service from 24th May 2027.

The ARC represents a safety-critical system, and its continued effective operation is necessary to ensure that alarms are received, triaged, and responded to appropriately, supporting safeguarding responsibilities and service delivery. This ensures people get the right help at the right time.

The proposed procurement approach enables the Council to ensure that the ARC system remains fit for purpose, represents value for money, and continues to meet operational, technical, and regulatory requirements.

Together, the Digital Telecare Alarms and ARC procurements ensure continuity of a critical preventative service, maintain support to vulnerable residents, and protect the Council from significantly higher financial and operational risks associated with service failure.

Alternative options considered

A range of alternative options have been considered in developing the proposed approach

Option 1 – Do nothing / retain analogue systems This option would involve continuing with the existing analogue telecare model. This is not viable due to the national PSTN switch-off, which will render analogue equipment unreliable and ultimately unsupported by 31 January 2027. This option would result in significant service failure and safeguarding risks and has therefore been discounted.

Option 2 – Full open procurement for all elements, A full competitive procurement for both digital telecare equipment and the ARC system was considered. However, given the fixed national deadline and the operational risks associated with large-scale service migration, this approach was assessed as introducing unnecessary delay and increased risk to service continuity.

Option 3 – Preferred approach (recommended) The recommended approach is a direct award for digital telecare equipment (reflecting standardised requirements) and a further competition for the ARC system (reflecting system complexity). This provides a balanced, proportionate approach that enables timely delivery, value for money, and appropriate evaluation of the ARC system.