Purpose

• Lincolnshire has been part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) funded RPC Programme for a number of years, working to address conflict below the threshold of domestic abuse. There is strong evidence that conflict between parents can have a significant negative impact on children’s mental health and long-term life chances.
• Lincolnshire’s RPC programme is focused on digitally supporting families who are in conflict, which includes utilising the OnePlusOne VSP. There is a key focus on improving the quality of parent relationships, couple’s coping and co-parenting skills.
• One Plus One Marriage and Partnership Research hold the exclusive licence for the OnePlusOne RPC VSP.
• Lincolnshire has been successful in securing further DWP grant funding for the 2026/27 financial year.
• Lincolnshire County Council’s Training Framework has been designed and implemented to support the Council’s Directorates, including Children’s Services, to meet its training requirements.
• Based on the outcome of a pre-market engagement (PME) exercise, undertaken on the Council’s procurement portal (Panacea) to gauge interest in the market and where OnePlusOne were the only supplier to submit a Response, the recommended option is to make a direct award through the LCC Training Framework under Clause 2.3 (a) (ii) of the Direct Award Process, “The Council may make a direct award… (ii) where the Council wishes to or needs to purchase a specific training service or proprietary brand to meet a specific need. . .”.
• A direct award to One Plus One Marriage and Partnership Research to continue to access the OnePlusOne RPC VSP will be efficient and cost-effective for the Council and service users and will also provide consistency in support to both staff and service users.

Decision

That the Deputy Director - Children’s Services approves a Direct Award to enter into a direct contractual agreement with One Plus One Marriage and Partnership Research for the provision of a Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC) Virtual Support Platform (VSP). The direct award is made through Lincolnshire County Council’s (LCC) Training Framework and is in accordance with Clause 2.3 (a) (ii) of the Direct Award Process of the Framework.
The contract will commence from 1st September 2026 until 31st August 2027. The maximum overall value of the contractual agreement will be £10,995 excluding VAT or
£13,194 including VAT. Access to the RPC Virtual Support Platform is on an annual basis and therefore the full cost will be met from the 2026/27 financial year.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing. The current Agreement for the provision of the One Plus One software licence and support will end on 31st August 2026. The Council is a selected local authority to commission RPC provision through grant funding by the DWP. To do nothing will mean that the Council will no longer be licenced to use the One Plus One Virtual Support Platform software and could result in the Council failing to fully meet the requirements under the grant determination and may be required to return the additional RPC grant funding to the DWP. This was not considered to be a viable option.