Purpose

To approve capital expenditure to source a
building from which a single provider, commissioned through a
competitive tender exercise, will deliver a registered overnight
and outreach short breaks service within Herefordshire. This will
increase local sufficiency in line with Herefordshire's Improvement
Plan for Children and Families, and Placement Sufficiency Strategy
for Children and Young People.

Decision

Existing capital funds totalling
£424,000 approved to purchase a building for phase 2 of
Children Home development 2025/26 are repurposed in line with
assessed need to purchase a building delivering overnight short
breaks for children and young people 0- 18 with a disability

Alternative options considered

Do nothing. This is not recommended. There
continues to be a challenge in securing sufficient provision of
both overnight short breaks and home
based support for disabled children & young people in
Herefordshire. Current options for spot purchasing are failing to
secure local, quality and affordable provision for some families.
Options to secure commissioned provision have been identified
within market engagement and present a viable opportunity to
support more families and the council to meet its statutory duties.
2. The council to purchase a property and deliver a registered
overnight service as an in house
provision from said property. At this stage, this option is not
recommended as the council does not have the structures or officer
capacity in place to operate registered children’s homes. 3.
To tender for an accommodation with care provision. This is not
recommended as market engagement suggests providers do not have an
appetite for this level of risk. Having a council owned property
ensures at the end of any contract we can maintain provision either
indirectly or via a further procurement.