Purpose

This report seeks agreement for a waiver to Lambeth’s Contract Standing Orders (paragraph 8.2) to enable the direct award of a contract to Newton Consulting for the provision of consultancy services to establish the Future of Prevention programme in Lambeth. Newton Consulting is coordinating this programme nationally and Lambeth Council is enrolling, alongside other local authorities, as an early adopter. The programme focuses on utilising predictive analytics to develop targeted, proactive prevention approaches to improve outcomes for older residents and reduce future demand on adult social care services.

Direct award is proposed on the basis that Newton Consulting is offering a specialist service tailored to a local authority context and providing a connection to the Xantura OneView platform. The artificial intelligence-powered platform, tested in a pilot local authority, draws upon health and social care data to identify people at risk of a fall ensuring preventative interventions are targeted in the most beneficial way. There are limited competitors for such a product and value for money from this contract is rooted in immediate access to tested and mature predictive analytics capability.

Decision

1)    To approve a waiver to the council’s Contract Standing Orders (paragraph 8.2) for the direct award of a contract to Newton Consulting for consultancy services relating to the Future of Prevention programme, up to the value of £100,000 commencing in April 2026.