Content

That:
 
i.) 
A five month extension to the Domiciliary Care Framework at an
estimated value of £4.9m and a revised end date of 31 January
2026 (noting that actual call off value is variable dependent upon
demand) be approved; and,

 
ii.) 
The commencement of a tender for a new Domiciliary Care
Framework, during this extension period, with amendments to the
award criteria to mitigate any further risk of challenge be
noted.
 

Reasons for the decision

The Council has a current Domiciliary Care
Framework contract with multiple providers for packages of
Domiciliary Care. The Framework is intended to ensure a suitable
call off route for packages that cannot be placed under the
Domiciliary Care Patch contracts. The Patch contracts manage 60/70%
of demand with the Framework picking up the remainder. The current
Framework contract is due to end on 26th August
2025.
 
A tender process was undertaken for a new
Domiciliary Care framework contract with award of contract notified
to successful and unsuccessful providers. Following queries from
unsuccessful providers and review of the evaluation and award
criteria, it is clear that proceeding to award is likely to result
in formal challenges which would lead to delays in commencement of
the contract and additional costs in managing any challenges
received. Therefore, it is recommended to terminate the procurement
and retender the requirement to mitigate any further risk of
challenge to the process as far as possible.
 
To allow for the retendering process, an
extension to the current Domiciliary Care Framework contract is
sought to ensure continuity of provision during the retendering
period. A five month extension is sought during which the Framework
will be retendered for new contracts to commence in February
2026.