Purpose

This report requests permission to commence a recommissioning and tender exercise leading to the award of a new Overnight and Related Short Breaks Service from 1st of April 2026. The commissioning of this service enables the Council to meet its statutory duty under the Children & Families Care Act 2014.

Decision

DECISION:

1. Approves the recommissioning of the Overnight and Related Short Breaks Service for disabled children and young people (CYP), for a four-year term (3+1) from the 1st of November 2026 to the 31st of October 2030 at a combined value of £5,574,376 (£1,393,594 p.a).
2. Approves a contract extension of 6-months (from 1st of April 2026 - 31st of October 2026) of the existing contract in order to accommodate the revised process that was agreed at MAB on 25 June 2025, i.e, to return to Cabinet prior to contract award (see 3.5). This is to ensure service continuity during the interim period and will be at a cost of £580,664, although cost may be affected by inflation and the London Living Wage (LLW).
3. Notes the specific equalities considerations as set out in Paragraph 4.1.

Reasons for the decision

The current contracts for the provision of Overnight and Related short Breaks for disabled children and young people (CYP) are due to expire on 31st March 2026.

A decision from the Mayor and Cabinet is required to ensure that the Overnight and Related Short Breaks Service contract is recommissioned in line with the proposed procurement timeline and start of new contract.

This will ensure a seamless continuity and high-quality services for our most vulnerable children and young people and their families. This is a statutory service, and the Council has a legal responsibility to ensure its delivery.

Alternative options considered

Transition to spot purchasing services when the contract ends. This option

comes with several risks and issues.

The cost of spot purchasing will be considerably greater, and will also be

difficult to track, monitor and forecast spend making it an inefficient and

unsustainable option.

There is a shortfall in available providers, and a lack of suitable residential provision within the borough. Although Tower Hamlets is fortunate to have two local provisions, they are also accessed by neighbouring boroughs under spot arrangements. Moving to spot purchasing would place the Council in direct competition with these boroughs which could jeopardise service access for our families, and cause delays and longer waiting times for services.

Delivering off-contract brings its own associated risks in that the Council will

not be able contract manage as closely as we do commissioned providers, which could put the quality and safety of service at risk. It also limits our opportunities to build relationships with providers and develop specialist services for our children.

The cost of the service could be reduced by changing the offer so that children and families do not receive as much support as they do under the current arrangements. This is likely to meet considerable opposition from families who value the opportunity for their children to receive specialist care outside the home and the impact will be that some children will come into the care of the local authority due to the parental capacity to cope without respite. The current cost of a ‘looked after child’ in residential care for one week is a minimum of £10,500 which equates to £535,500 per annum, whereas the commissioned rate for this service is estimated to be between £3,228 - £3,276 (Mon- Fri) which is significantly lower.

Consideration was given to in-sourcing and bringing the entire service in-house. However, based on the cost modelling, this would not represent good value for money for the Council. The resources needed to deliver the service in-house will be significantly more expensive due to the high staffing costs involved, and the more affordable option would be to continue with the existing arrangement of outsourcing the provision. Furthermore, given the shortage of available Council premises, it will be a challenge to deliver the Lot 2 Complex Needs provision.

Stopping the service altogether is not an option as it is a statutory obligation on the local authority.