Decision details

Recommendations

1.               That the Cabinet Member for Family Services and Public Health approves:

a)                  That Appendix B is exempt from disclosure on the grounds that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information) under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

b)                  That Westminster City Council (WCC) enter into an Inter-Authority Agreement with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) which will be used to document the relationship between WCC and RBKC in relation to the Framework and Call-off Contracts.

c)                  That the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) acts as the Framework Contracting Authority and also acts as the Contracting Authority for the three call-off contracts, which includes the Children’s Contract 1A, Children’s Contract 1B and Adults Contract 2A which Westminster City Council (WCC) will access via an Inter-Authority Agreement.

d)                  For WCC to approve RBKC to award Children’s Contract 1A, Children’s Contract 1B and Adult’s Contract 2A for Passenger Transport Minibus Services on behalf of WCC and RBKC, as governed by the Inter-Authority Agreement.

e)                  To access via the Inter-Authority Agreement, Children’s Contract 1A awarded by RBKC to HATS Group Limited for the delivery of Passenger Transport Minibus Services for children and young people for the duration of five years with discretion to extend for up to a further two years. The indicative total annual contract value based on current service activity is £1,175,998 of which the cost to WCC is £643,730.

f)                   To access via the inter-authority agreement the Lot 1, Children’s Contract 1B to be awarded to by RBKC to CT Plus Community Interest Company for the delivery of Passenger Transport Minibus Services for children and young people for the duration of five years with discretion to extend for up to a further two years. The indicative total annual contract value based on current service activity is £1,908,566 of which the cost to WCC is £1,449,752.

g)                  To access via the inter-authority agreement the Adults Contract 2A to be awarded by RBKC to CT Plus Community Interest Company for the delivery of Passenger Transport Minibus Services for vulnerable adults for the duration of five years with the discretion to extend for up to a further two years. The indicative total annual contract value based on current service activity is £683,806, of which the cost to WCC is £151,655.

h)                  Approve a lifetime framework value of £35m, which includes estimated spend relating to all called-off contracts and accommodates variability in demand and inflation over a seven year period.

i)                    In order to aid efficient future decision-making, given the possibility of fluctuating demand, to approve the delegation to the Assistant Director of Integrated Commissioning to review and approve all minor contract variations (up to 10% of the contract value) to ensure compliant modification, whilst also ensuring there is no disruption of service to vulnerable service users requiring transport.

REASONS FOR DECISION

1.         The current contracts for Passenger Transport Minibus Services are due to expire in July 2019. A procurement exercise has been undertaken to identify suitable providers to deliver a new service for vulnerable adults travelling to day activities from August 2019 and eligible pupils travelling from home to school from September 2019.

2.               Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide travel assistance for children and young people with special educational needs assessed as eligible, as per the Education Act 1996. Both Councils’ Travel Assistance Policies which clearly sets out these duties.

3.               For adults, the Care Act 2014 stipulates a duty to Local Authorities to meet assessed needs, and while transport is not a prescribed provision, it may be one way of meeting people’s assessed needs and preferences relating to their personal outcomes towards independence and engagement with the community.

4.               The service will provide transport for eligible residents in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council, and an Inter-Authority Agreement between the two Councils will enable them both to operate effectively under the Framework.