Issue - meetings

Background:

This report sought permission to commence the procurement of short breaks contracts for disabled children.

Medway Council had a legal obligation to provide or commission short breaks for disabled children and their carers. Short breaks were enjoyable activities for children and young people with disabilities, which also provided a break for the parents and other adults with caring responsibilities. The Council procured 23 short break services from a range of providers (currently 20) to deliver the short breaks programme in Medway and the list of projects was set out in an exempt appendix.

It was noted that a review of short breaks services had recently concluded and a Short Break Policy for Disabled Children and Young People in Medway 2014-2019 had been developed.  Recommendations to approve the policy and the delegation to officers to commence the Short Break implementation plan were agreed by Cabinet on 30 September 2014.

The report set out details of the associated procurement process, dependencies and obligations. The procurement project outputs/outcomes were also explored; together with details of the market conditions, proposed procurement process and details of the potential risks and the plans to mitigate them.

This Gateway 1 report had been approved for submission to the Cabinet after review and discussion by the Children & Adults Directorate Management Team and Procurement Board.

An exempt appendix contained key financial analysis information and a Diversity Impact Assessment was tabled at the meeting (within Supplementary Agenda No. 3).

It was noted that 28 clear days’ notice of this item had not been provided, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements)(Meetings and Access to Information)(England) Regulations 2012. The Chairman of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee had however agreed, in accordance with the provisions of the 2012 Regulations, that this matter was both urgent and could not be reasonably deferred until the next Cabinet meeting on 13 January 2015 because of the need to commence the procurement process as soon as possible in line with the procurement timeline.

Reasons:

Medway Council has a legal obligation to provide or commission short breaks for disabled children and their carers. Short breaks are enjoyable activities for children and young people with disabilities, which also provide a break for the parents and other adults with caring responsibilities.