Purpose

To set out revisions to the previously agreed transitional arrangements for the proposed Careline/Helpline transfer in response to issues that prevented completion of transfer on the intended date of Friday 1 August 2025. It is proposed that the transfer instead takes place on or before Thursday 7 August 2025 and that expenditure assumptions from the £0.746 one-off implementation budget are adjusted accordingly. Through this report it is intended to record the basis for the decisions set out in the recommendations section below.

Decision

Option 1:
That, having consulted with the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships and with her full support, the Corporate Director – Planning and Community (in conjunction with the relevant other officers and Portfolio Holders) is authorising the following actions and otherwise will proceed to implement the decision of that Portfolio Holder in respect of “Careline/Helpline Transfer: Proposed Transition Plan, Heads of Terms and Expenditure” dated 23 July 2025 as follows:
a)to proceed to complete the Careline/Helpline transfer, broadly in accordance with the ‘Transition Plan Timetable’ (previously agreed by the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships on 23 July 2025) on or before a revised transfer date of Thursday 7 August 2025 – as reflected in the revised timetable attached at Appendix 1;
b)to authorise interim arrangements by which the combined Helpline service will use both the JonTek and UMO call-handling systems side-by-side with continued third-party call-handling support, until such time that service-user data has been fully integrated into Helpline’s JonTek system;
c)to make consequential adjustments to the ‘Breakdown of projected budgetary implications’ (previously agreed by the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships on 23 July 2025) and to proceed to administer and monitor that expenditure as necessary; and
d)to proceed, with continued support from the Council’s external legal advisors, to enter into legal agreements with Colchester Amphora Trading Limited in accordance with the revised timetable and proposed expenditure.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 - Complete the Careline/Helpline transfer on or before 7 August 2025, as recommended in the report.
Option 2 - Postpone the Careline/Helpline transfer to a later date in August.
Option 3 - Postpone the Careline/Helpline transfer to 1 September (to correspond neatly with the first day of the next month.
Option 4 - Postpone the Careline/Helpline transfer to a future unspecified date tied to the completion of the UMO to JonTek data transfer.