York Council tries to clear up £6 million contract confusion

We reported in February that the York Council had let social care contracts worth over £1.3 million pa. We questioned then whether the contracts had been properly advertised, whether they represented value for money and how their success would be monitored.

In a Freedom of Information response, the Council has sought to justify its actions

The number of tenders – advertised through Yortender & OJEU – received for each contract was low.

The details are:

  1. Supported Lodgings – 1 tender. Awarded to Safe and Sound Homes (SASH).
  2. Family Support – 4 tenders. Awarded to The Cyrenians (Community Links) This contract is worth £480,000 over 3 years
  3. Older People and People with Physical Disabilities – 3 tenders. Awarded to Yorkshire Housing Ltd.

In total the tenders are worth £6.6 million over a period of 5 years.

The Council has declined to indicate the value of the individual tenders it received.

All contracts were awarded on 15th September 2016 according to the contracts register. However, the decisions were only published in February 2017 (after the contracts had started). The Council itself says that the contracts were awarded, under delegated authority, by Council officials. The was no member involvement after the Executive meeting on 28th April 2016. The Council claims the awards were decided on the following dates

a) 28th Aug 2016

b) 6th January 2017

c) 15th September 2016

It declines to say why the decisions were not recorded in the decisions register until as long as 4 months later.

It has also declined to make available the minutes of any bodies which considered the contracts nor will it say to which publicly accountable body the outputs against target will be reported.

The required outcomes, for two of the contracts, are expressed only in very general terms. They are more specific for the family support contract (see below)

Contrary to the impression given at the Council’s Executive meeting, the potential service providers were apparently not required to provide their “vision” for the service and its customers.

York social workers praised

 

A peer review of adult safeguarding has praised City of York Council’s ‘amazing’ front line staff, highlighting their ‘can do attitude’ and motivation in providing quality services for residents and making safeguarding personal.

The review, which took place between 23 and 25 January, was requested by the council to assess how York might improve the outcomes for people accessing social care services, in particular how the council and partners promote safeguarding.

The specific scope of the work was to receive:

  • An external view of direction of travel and progress made to transform adult social care in York
  • Recognition of the journey towards implementation of making safeguarding personal and scope for improvement
  • Confirmation and challenge of the self assessment and how York might:
    • Further improve health and well being outcomes for individuals
    • Promote the future sustainability of the health and social care system

As well as praising council staff the report features positive feedback on partnership arrangements, mentioning that the safeguarding board was well represented with ‘extremely committed partners’ adding that they were ‘envious’ of many of the partnerships in place.  (more…)

Muddle over Council contracts

There is some evidence that the award of some contracts – particularly in Social Care – is becoming more transparent. Three have been listed on the Council’s web site this week. They concern:

Unfortunately the information provided is largely opaque. There is no indication of the cost of the contracts, the required outcomes nor the way in which success will be measured.

Lack of attention to detail means that the annex for the “Advocacy” hub refers to the requirements for the “Sensory” hub.

The City is getting a few too many hubs and not enough spokes we think!

Separately, the Police have tweeted to say that a York Neighbourhood Support Team of North Yorkshire Police has been formed. Hope this is a step back towards identifiable community policing and a step away from centralised “hubs”. like the ineffective – at sub-urban level – anti social behaviour unit at West Offices.

Bid to save Carlton Tavern

Carlton Tavern

The York Council is to consider a bid by a local group who want the Carlton Tavern listed as an “asset of community value”.

The application will be considered on 10th April by the Council’s Executive Leader.

If successful, the listing would mean that the local community would have 6 months to raise the necessary funds to purchase the building.

Plans were announced last week to turn the Acomb Road building, which is currently a pub, into an elderly person care home.

Separately the Councils Executive on Thursday is to  consider the  conditions for the sale of the Oakhaven care home site.

As previously reported the Council has already agreed to sell the site to Ashley Homes at a private meeting.

The decision was apparently taken under delegated powers but is now set to be rubber stamped by the Councils Executive.

Mystery shopping’ survey rates council’s Adult Social Care services as ‘excellent’

City of York Council’s frontline customer contact teams in adult social care have been rated as being ‘excellent’ overall by an independent survey.

The mystery shopping report has praised access to social care advice, information and services as ‘excellent’, which is the highest available. The rating was only awarded to two of fifteen local authorities in the Yorkshire and Humber area, meaning York is among the best in the region.

The mystery shopping survey was carried out on behalf of the Yorkshire and Humberside Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, with representatives posing as customers contacting the adult social care team.

Between November 2016 and January 2017 the assessment tested telephone, website, face to face, through the main council reception, out of main office hours services to seek advice on a range of issues.

Out of the six channels assessed, three were rated as ‘excellent’ and three assessed as ‘good’. The website, safeguarding access and out of hours services were rated as ‘excellent’ with reception, face to face and telephone services being rated as ‘good’.
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Another big York Council contract let in behind closed doors decision

£1 million plus contract for social care started on 1st February 2017 – authorised last week

In April 2016, the York Council considered a major shake-up in its housing support programme. The service had been costing York taxpayers over £2.5 million a year.

The users of this support programmes short term services include the homeless, young people at risk (16-25 year olds including care leavers and teenage parents) offenders, mental health, substance misuse and domestic violence.

Long term services support residents with permanent needs including older people; learning disabilities and mental health.

A report to the Council’s Executive last April said,

“The approach is one of “co-design” with the Council setting some minimum requirements but requesting providers to submit proposals that identify the added value that can be provided and setting out a five-year vision for service delivery which will further enhance provision across the City”

It was expected the the new approach would save taxpayers around £750,000 a year. The new approach anticipated an increase in activity by volunteers.

At about the same time the government announced a cap on the total amount of housing benefit payable to social housing tenants. At the time this was expected to impact heavily on supported accommodation services  like hostels.

The 2016 report said,

“There is however apprehension amongst providers and partners regarding the significant service change that will take place and any resulting reductions in capacity. Some customers have also expressed anxiety over potential change of providers but this will not be known until after the outcome of the proposed “tender” exercise”.

The services put out to tender were Community Wellbeing and Support Services for:

  • Adults (including Mental Health, Homeless, substance misuse, offenders and Young People)
  • Older Persons
  • Young People – Supported Lodgings

The expected total cost of providing these services was £1.27 million (a saving of £750,000)

It had been anticipated that the contract would be awarded in September 2016 with implementation from 1st February 2017.

It appears that the contracts have only recently been authorised although they were implemented at the beginning of the month. (There is a suspicion that the responsible Council official actually agreed the contract in December).

Papers were published on the Council’s web site on Friday but reveal very little either about the cost of the new contracts or their specifications (i.e. targets, outcomes).

September 2017 specification promise

There will be a suspicion that these have only been made public as an afterthought and were possibly prompted by last week’s revelations about previous contract failures.

The three contacts awarded were:

So, substantial contracts have been let apparently without the involvement of the responsible Councillors, with no visibility of the “vision”, the number of tenders received haven’t been reported, nor has the value of the individual contracts or the expected outcome specification/targets.

Some further explanations are needed we think!

*Bizarrely the report claims that the specification for this service will not be agreed until “Sept 2017”

Customers asked for their social care views by York Council

Social careAdults receiving care and support from City of York Council will be asked for their views and experiences of the services as part of a nationwide survey throughout February and March.

The Adults’ Social Care Survey, which will be sent out by every council in England and Wales, will be used by the council to understand the experiences of people receiving its care and support services.

The survey will focus on customers’ quality of life, how well informed they are about services, their health and well-being and their levels of safety and security.

The questionnaire will go out to a total of 1232 customers, and will include adults living in residential/nursing care, people with learning disabilities living in the community or supported living units, as well as those receiving services in their own home.
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York young people in care back Care Leavers Week

New care leavers group launched
 Members of York’s Children in Care Council, Show Me That I Matter, are taking part in a national conference and will launch a care leavers group in York, both as part of Care Leavers Week. The theme of National Care Leavers’ Week 2016 is Leaving Care Around the World and runs from 20-30 October.

The council, known as SMTIM, was approached by The Prince’s Trust to speak at the London conference about the group’s poster and blog project Aspire To More, which highlights the importance of care leavers – including nationally-known authors and York residents – as role models for those in care.  (more…)

New way of working for Adult Social Care in York

Plans for a new way of working, helping people to enjoy healthy, active and independent lives across York, will be discussed at an Executive meeting on Thursday 29 September.

Social carePlans for a new way of working, helping people to enjoy healthy, active and independent lives across York, will be discussed at an Executive meeting on Thursday 29 September.

Executive will consider a report which provides an update on the progress made towards a new operating model for adult social care. The new approach aims to enable people in York to maximise control over how they manage their social care needs including greater use of community assets and support from a range of partners.

The proposals focus on providing the best support and advice for residents, by working with partners to improve health and wellbeing and help residents maintain their independence. The plans also look at ways to help communities to be resilient and self-supporting, rather than waiting for people to fall into crisis, then fitting them into fixed services.

The model, which is built on an early intervention approach, supports the council-wide vision of helping people enjoy healthy, active and independent lives and make best use of resources available, including savings to be achieved by 2019/20 totalling over £1.2million.

Key elements include:

  • Enhanced information, advice and guidance
  • Digital self service
  • Excellent customer service
  • Maximising independence by greater use of personal budgets and direct payments
  • The right service, at the right time
  • More use of assistive technology
  • Access to a broader range of supported accommodation

As well as considering the progress being made towards the new operating model, Executive will be asked to approve the proposal to procure additional support to implement it.
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York supports national survey to ‘Make Safeguarding Personal’

City of York Council’s Safeguarding Adults’ Team has supported a national survey to assess how effective its safeguarding policies are.

The authority has taken part in a ‘temperature check’ by the national organisation, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care (ADASS), to look at how effectively authorities are involving customers when making decisions about their safety and welfare.

‘Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP)’ – is a national programme which has been running since 2010. The MSP approach requires adult safeguarding practice to be person-led and outcome-focused, aiming towards resolution or recovery. It is a key part of the Care Act, new national legislation which came into force in April 2014.

City of York Council has taken part in the national ‘Making Safeguarding Personal’ pilot for the last three years.
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