Provision of Buckinghamshire Help to Live at Home (Domiciliary Care) Services.

Contracts

• Contract 032474-2023-2015/S 137-253060-1 · ALL CARE (GB) LIMITED, PRIMECARE SUPPORT LIMITED, Westminster Homecare Ltd

  Signed

  30 Sept 2023

  Value

  £67,908,642

  Status

  active

  • Change Extension of the contract end date by 18 months to 31/03/2025. The original contract end date was 30/09/2023., Need for modification brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority/entity could not foresee: • Unexpected changes to Government plans for the Adult Social Care reforms - Initially the Council had aligned the launch of a new Dynamic Purchasing Vehicle (DPV) to the direction of travel set out in the Government's plans for Adult Social Care reform. As such, the Council anticipated using the Fair Cost of Care Grant as part of the budget to fund packages commissioned through the DPV. However, the 2022 Autumn Statement announced delays to the roll out of the reforms and changes to the funding that Councils would receive. The Council had anticipated £5.6m funding through the Fair Cost of Care Grant. However, the replacement funding, which was finally announced in December 2022 provided the Council with a much smaller allocation of £4m. Given this significant change, budgets for the DPV needed to be remodelled and confirmed through the Council's budget setting process in February 2023. The Tender therefore couldn't be published before this. • Destabilising factor of the CCG transition to Integrated Care Board (ICB) which impacted on ability to negotiate an integrated contract - Whilst the change in governance was foreseen the length of the impact was unforeseen. Decisions that had been made previously under the CCG governance arrangements had to be reviewed at a time when the new ICB governance structures were not yet fully established. This led to protracted decision making and delay. • Review of Continuing Healthcare (CHC) provision - Following the establishment of the new ICB, there was a decision by the ICB to review how care was purchased across the Integrated Care System for adults eligible for CHC. This impacted on decision making as to whether CHC was to be included in the DPV, which in turn affected finalising the DPV model and tender documentation. This was exacerbated by the above issue (bullet 2). A final position on this was not achieved until January 2023. The Tender therefore couldn't be published before this. • Destabilisation of the care market following the pandemic and subsequent economic challenges: The instability in the market and significant financial pressures on providers has meant that the procurement model and pricing structure had to be considered in this context which required additional research, engagement and sign off in order to design a DPV that is fit for purpose in the current market. Initial plans for the home care DPV had to be put on hold during the pandemic to manage the crisis response.

Dispute resolution & review bodies

• High CourtReview body London