Decision

That authority be
delegated to the Director of Children’s Services, in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services,
to award the contracts following the subsequent successful
completion of the procurement process.

Reasons for the decision

By implementing these
contracts, legislative requirements would be met which stipulate
that the local authority undertakes a relevant procurement process
to award contracts.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing: This would
result in a continued inequitable offer and high-cost spot
purchased placements. This presented challenges with financial
forecasting along with not having the provision available to meet
the needs of children and young people due to relying on a spot
purchasing process.
 
Framework only: This
would enable Torbay Council to have more control over the provision
that was being used for children and young people who required a
package for EOTAS however would not resolve the sufficiency issue
in having placements readily available in high quality
provision.
 
Block contracts only:
This would result in increased control over the provision used
however restricted the flexibility of the EOTAS programme by
limiting the number of providers which were available and therefore
removing aspirational factors from the children and young
people’s education.