Purpose

In accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 and its Code of Practice, the Council, through the Youth Justice Service, has a statutory duty to provide an Appropriate Adult Service for CYP who are detained in Police Custody or who attend a voluntary Police interview.

Historical procurement exercises for the provision of an Appropriate Adult Service have resulted in minimal engagement from Suppliers. The DPS Framework Agreement provided by YPO already has five (5) pre-approved Suppliers with the capability to provide an Appropriate Adult Service across the East Midlands.

Allowing this procurement will ensure the Council remains compliant with procurement regulations and its own Contract
Procurement and Procedure Rules (CPPR) and will ensure the Council continues to meet its statutory obligations.

Decision

That approval is given to run a mini-competition (Call-Off) under an existing Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) Framework Agreement led by the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) for the provision of an Appropriate Adult Service for CYP in Lincolnshire.
The Call-Off Contract will commence 1st December 2026 and be valid until 30th November 2028 with the option to extend
for a period of up to 16 Months until 31st March 2030.

Alternative options considered

Alternative Option 1 – Do Nothing
This option was discounted as the existing Appropriate Adult Service ends on 30th November 2026, meaning there would be no future provision of the service, placing the Council in breach of its statutory obligations.

Alternative Option 2 – Conduct a Request for Quotation (RFQ) This option was considered but discounted as historical RFQ’s have resulted in very few bids (previously two bids). The option to use the YPO, DPS was more favourable given there is an
existing pool of pre-approved Suppliers (five Suppliers).