Decision Maker:

Outcome: Abandoned

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: February 2, 2026

Purpose:

Content: RESOLVED: To approve the award to Provider 1 of a single supplier framework contract for the provision of  Early Years Catering services commencing on 1st June 2026 with an initial term of 3 years and the option to extend by a further 1 year at the Council’s discretion. The maximum value of the contract over four years will be £2,792,522 (excluding permitted uplifts over the lifetime of the contract).   Reasons For Decision   An Early Years Catering service was previously procured by Hackney Education to enable Children Centres in Hackney to fulfill the requirement to offer a healthy balanced diet for children under 5 in line with government guidelines. This arrangement was coming to an end and there was a need to reprocure the service in order to ensure its continued provision.   The service complies with the School Food Trust recommendations for food and drink for under 5s, and the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering which relate to sustainable food procurement   Six of the Children’s & Families Hub Centres are managed directly by the Council and 2 are managed by linked schools. Each centre has its own call-off from the framework forming individual contracts with the provider.   Catering services were provided to the following Children’s & Families Hub Centres and Nursery Schools, and the new framework will continue to provide catering for these settings:-   ·  Ann Tayler Children and Family Hub (Council) ·  Clapton Park Children's Centre (Council) ·  Comberton Children's Centre (Council) ·  Fernbank Children's Centre (Primary School - Jubilee) ·  Hillside Children's Centre (Council) ·  Linden Children and Family Hub (Council) ·  Woodberry Down Children and Family Hub (Council) ·  Comet Nursery School (Maintained Nursery School).   The current provider has worked well with the Children’s Centres & Nurseries to accommodate the needs of the children by providing varied healthy balanced menus ensuring allergen requirements and special diets are met accordingly   Since the Business Case report was approved by CPIC, Hub Officers & External Catering Consultants have completed a competitive tender process with the support of the Procurement Senior Category Manager for Education.   A Pipeline Notice was published on the 31st January 2025, and a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice  was published on 14th April 2025 so bidders could be notified when the tender was published, with 14 organisations registering their interest in the upcoming opportunity. The tender was published on the 1st October 2025 with a return date of 3rd November 2025 with 2 organisations expressing an interest in the opportunity.   Following the completion of a tender exercise Cabinet Insourcing and Procurement Committee is recommended to award the framework to one provider who has extensive experience in Early Years Catering and can manage multi-sites.   The framework contract will be 3 years as long as the required KPIs are being met. The contract will be fixed for 3 years which includes the London Living Wage, if the contract is extended for a further 12 months the CPI will be applied.   Alternative Options Considered and Rejected   OPTION 1 - Do Nothing: this was considered and rejected as the centres need to provide catering services to the community to meet their obligations to parents who pay for a service.  The Council has a declared commitment to support children and young people, the Centres provide a hub for local families to meet, engage and get support from a range of services, and providing meals to under 5s is a core part of this offer.   OPTION 2 - Insourcing: At this time bringing the service back in house is not recommended. A comprehensive options appraisal was completed and considered alongside the preceding Business Case report.The options appraisal noted that bringing the service inhouse would bring increased costs, so would not represent value for money compared to continuing to use an external provider.  Children’s Centre management do not have the expertise required to manage the service. This means that new posts would need to be recruited to (a Catering Manager and Quality Assurance Manager) to directly manage an inhouse catering service, creating additional costs.   Purchasing of food would cost more as the Children’s Centres would not have the purchasing power and economies of scale of an external provider.  There would also be additional risks around ensuring compliance with food safety legislation and health and safety legislation to ensure a safe service.    Hackney Education is currently seeking to meet a savings target of £4 million within Children’s Centres by 2026/27.  Bringing the catering provision inhouse at a time of a number of significant changes to the Children’s Centres and at a time when significant savings would be extremely challenging.  Lack of economies of scale, lack of a suitably experienced operations team and lack of a support infrastructure to manage the service safely and effectively would require significant resources to address. Consequently this option was not recommended as it would not represent value for money   At the CPIC meeting on 2nd March 2025 the preferred option of a competitive procurement process to award a framework contract was approved.  However Officers committed to revisit the position on insourcing. At the end of the second year of the framework Officers will review whether circumstances have changed to make insourcing the Catering provision a viable option and will bring an updated statement to CPIC.