Councillor Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of the Cabinet, is scheduled to make a decision regarding the completion of a new residential children's home. This decision involves approving additional capital funding and the award of a construction contract.

New Residential Children's Home: Approval of Additional Capital Funding and Contract Award

The primary item scheduled for discussion is the New Residential Children's Home project, which requires a decision on additional capital funding and the award of a construction contract. This project, initially approved by Cabinet in March 2024, aims to create a six-bed residential children's home to increase local placement sufficiency and reduce reliance on external placements.

The report pack indicates that construction was suspended in June 2026 due to the unexpected insolvency of the appointed contractor. To complete the remaining works, an additional capital allocation of £900,000 is being sought, funded from the general fund capital budget. This would bring the total capital investment for the project to £3.796 million, an increase from the original £2.896 million. The report suggests that the projected payback period for the investment will rise from 3.4 years to 4.5 years, which remains within the five-year return period initially presented to Cabinet.

The proposed contract award is for £1,251,392 to Devcon, a company that had previously tendered for the construction work and is appointed to the Ealing Procurement Framework. The decision to award the contract to Devcon is based on a review of submissions by the Council's appointed Quantity Surveyor, which included a like-for-like comparison of costs, scope, programme, risk allocation, and contractual arrangements. Further details regarding the tender evaluation and the rationale for the recommendation are contained within an exempt appendix.

The report highlights that the new home aligns with the Council's Corporate Plan 2026-2030, A Fairer Future, by supporting community life, healthy living, and learning and opportunity for looked-after children. It also addresses the Council's statutory duties under various Children Acts. The insolvency of the original contractor has led to a delay in the home becoming operational, impacting the Council's financial and operational interests. The report states that Delaying the decision would further delay the appointment of a replacement contractor and completion of the Children's Home, with the risk of increased construction costs, deterioration of the partially completed works and continued reliance on more costly external residential placements.¹

The report also outlines key project risks, including increased project costs due to extended consultant appointments and inflation, staffing costs for employees already recruited, and potential delays in Ofsted registration. Mitigation measures include a contingency allowance within the funding request, deployment of recruited staff to existing homes for training, and proactive engagement with Ofsted.

The decision is being made under delegated authority by Councillor Shantanu Rajawat, Leader of the Council, as a Key Decision. Notice of the intention to make this Key Decision with less than 28 days' public notice was given due to the unforeseen insolvency of the contractor, which made compliance with the standard notice period impracticable.