The Cabinet Member Signing meeting on Tuesday 21 April 2026 was scheduled to discuss a variation to extend service agreements for the provision of Bundled Hours Home Support and Reablement services. The meeting was also set to cover standard procedural items such as filming at meetings, apologies for absence, declarations of interest, urgent business, and deputations, petitions, or questions.

Variation to Extend Service Agreements for Home Support and Reablement

A key item scheduled for discussion was the proposed variation to extend service agreements with Verity Healthcare Limited and Care Sante Limited for the provision of Bundled Hours Home Support and Reablement services. The report pack indicated that the extension would be for a maximum of ten months, from 1 March 2026 to 31 December 2026.

The report pack stated that the purpose of this extension was to ensure the continuity of care for service users, mitigate the risks associated with a premature transition to alternative service providers, and allow the Council sufficient time to complete its ongoing review of current Home Support and Reablement services. It also aimed to facilitate a tender process before the implementation of a new contract.

The recommendations outlined in the report pack included the retrospective approval of Contract Standing Orders 0.08 and 2.02(b). It also proposed varying the service agreements with Care Sante Limited for the East Locality and Verity Healthcare Limited for the West Locality. The proposed extension would increase the total cost of the service agreement with Care Sante Limited from £2,750,938 to £4,058,906, and for Verity Healthcare Limited from £1,930,066 to £2,895,098, compared to their original award in February 2021. The report pack also noted a previous variation in August 2025 for Verity Healthcare Limited, approved under delegated authority.

The report pack detailed that the reason for the proposed extension was to avoid duplicating effort, resources, and costs associated with initiating a separate procurement exercise for a short-term period. It suggested that a separate procurement process at this stage would divert resources from the recommissioning programme and cause significant disruption to client care. The proposed extension was stated to remain within the 50% threshold permitted under Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, ensuring compliance with procurement legislation. Extending with the current providers was presented as a way to maintain continuity of service delivery for vulnerable service users during the recommissioning period. The report pack also highlighted that both service providers have the capacity to accept further referrals with short response times if their service agreements are extended.

Alternative options considered in the report pack included Do nothing, which would have undermined progress and risked continuity of care; providing the service in-house, which was deemed unable to meet demand and not cost-effective; purchasing through the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), which was considered unsuitable due to delays and lack of volume certainty; and going out to tender immediately, which was deemed premature given the imminent expiry of current contracts and insufficient time for design and procurement.

The report pack provided background information on the Bundled Hours Home Support and Reablement Service model, introduced in 2020 to address systemic issues in service delivery. It mentioned previous extensions to these agreements, including a six-month extension in December 2023 and a further eighteen-month extension approved in February 2024. The current report sought approval to execute an option to vary two of these agreements for a further ten months. The report also noted that a review of the Home Support and Reablement Service model had been completed, and the programme was progressing towards a competitive tender exercise.

The report pack indicated that the service specification incorporates a locality-based delivery model that contributes to carbon emission reduction and climate change mitigation. It also stated that service agreements include requirements for providers to support their workers in reducing travel and using alternative transport.

Statutory officers' comments were included, with Finance confirming that the costs of the proposed extension would be contained within the Adult Social Care placement budget for 2026/27. Strategic Procurement noted that the proposed variation satisfied Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, citing significant operational and technical risks, duplication of cost and resource, and practical constraints as reasons for not undertaking a new procurement process. Legal confirmed that the Director of Legal and Governance (Monitoring Officer) saw no legal reasons preventing the approval of the recommendations. The Equality section stated that the decision to extend the contract would have a positive impact, advancing equality of opportunity for those with protected characteristics, particularly adults with physical disabilities or mental health disorders and older people.

The report pack also referenced a previous Cabinet Report from 6 February 2024 concerning the extension of contracts for the provision of bundled hours home support and reablement services.