Purpose

To approve the delivery of Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies Parenting Service.

Decision

An open procurement procedure was undertaken in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and the Council's Contract Procedure Rules. Tenders received were evaluated against the published quality and price criteria. The successful tender achieved the highest overall evaluation score and was assessed as the Most Advantageous Tender, demonstrating the best combination of quality, value for money and ability to deliver the required service outcomes. The decision to award the contract supports the continued delivery of the Provision of Best Start Hubs and Healthy Babies Parenting Services and represents the most advantageous outcome for the Council.

We have seen significant efficacy of the delivery of parenting services in Manchester. The current commissioning specification will allow this approach to be extended across the city within each of our neighbourhoods and will contribute to organisational and national expectations around the provision of services for expectant and new parents.  Through this commission, we will meet the requirements of the DfE Family Hub grant allocation.

Extending the existing contract was considered to maintain continuity of service. However, this option was rejected as it would not provide a compliant long-term solution and would not test the market to determine whether improved service delivery, innovation and value for money could be achieved.

Insourcing was also considered. This option was not taken forward as it would require the Council to establish the necessary capacity, expertise and infrastructure to deliver the service directly. Following consideration of the operational and resource implications, external delivery through a competitive procurement process was considered the most appropriate delivery model.

Undertaking a new competitive procurement process was selected as the preferred option as it enabled the Council to test the market, promote competition, and identify the Most Advantageous Tender in accordance with the published evaluation criteria.