Contracting

• Funding levels for housing support in 2008/09
• Supporting People National Contracting Framework

Funding levels for housing support in 2008/09

A half of all local authorities look set to offer no uplift (a cut in real terms) or reduce funding. This is extremely disappointing given the previous years of standstill funding and drive to make efficiency savings. It is not known at this stage what impact this will have on service levels this year. By contrast, however, 9 other local authorities are offering providers an uplift ranging from 2 to 2.5%.

Some local authorities faced large changes in SP funding up to 2007/8 which may help explain funding decisions in 2008/09. There were 9 LAs whose Supporting People grant fell by the maximum amount (18%) between 2004/05 and 2007/08. The information they gave the Unit suggests that in terms of funding housing support this year:

• 6 are offering standstill funding
• one council (Edinburgh) has announced a large cut of -7.6%
• one council (Moray) has decided to offer an uplift (2.5% on salary costs)
• one council is undecided

Not surprisingly there does seem to be some correlation between previous funding changes under Supporting People and a council's general approach to contract values for housing support services this year.

Contract arrangements

Most local authorities are still working with letters of agreement or interim contracts and are extending current arrangements up to 31.3.09 whilst they develop procurement strategies to determine how they will proceed beyond that.
Only 2 have been issuing 3 year full contracts (Argyll & Bute and South Lanarkshire) but 2 others are finalising their full contracts with a view to issuing them later in the year (Glasgow and Inverclyde).

4 local authorities have extended letters of agreements by less than a year (Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, East Renfrewshire and Perth & Kinross). In another 3 cases letters of agreement reached their end date on 31.3.08 and it is not clear that anything has been put in their place yet.

Procurement strategies

It is not clear that local authorities are using the results of the service review process to determine who they will and will not contract with on a longer term basis. This is disappointing given the importance attached to the service review process under SP and the resources used to undertake them both in terms of providers and local authorities. Procurement strategies are being developed by some local authorities but it is not clear yet to what extent tendering will feature in these. A recent letter by the Scottish Government to local authorities stated that 'housing support services can be considered to fall within part B services in the EU procurement regulations, which means that the service may not have to be tendered, particularly where there is an existing provider who is judged to be providing a good service' www.ccpscotland.org/spunit/info/documents/GuidanceontheendoftheSupportingPeopleprogramme.pdf

Helping providers respond to the prospect of tendering
The Unit is helping providers to respond to the prospect of tendering by delivering a series of one day events to explore some of the background and some of the issues tendering raises. The Unit has also developed an area on its website to make available the information resources used as part of these events and will be adding to it in due course: www.ccpscotland.org/spunit/info/housing_support_plans.php

Contract values for 2008/09: the overall picture

• 9 LAs offering uplifts ranging from 2% to 2.5%
• 11 Las offering standstill funding (a cut in real terms)
• 3 LAs offering reduction ranging from -4% to -7.6%
• 6 LAs are negotiating with services, of these 2 LA s anticipate this could involve reduction in funding
• 3 LAs have not yet made a decision

Supporting People National Contracting Framework

The Scottish Executive has finalised its Supporting People Contracting Framework [PDF] which is now available to download from their website via the above link.

Supporting People Contract

24 out of 32 councils were involved in developing the model contract.

Disclosure Scotland Checks

During the spring of 2006 Local authority solicitors have been working on the Supporting people contract and have made amendments to the clauses which deal with Disclosure checks. The revised clauses require providers to:

• gain appropriate Disclosure checks on staff and volunteers once every three years
• keep an audit trail of Disclosure checks in line with Disclosure Scotland guidelines
• carry out a risk assessment on staff

The full clause can be viewed here.

Items marked [PDF] require the free Adobe Reader to view

Uncertainties about entering into full contracts

For some time local authority SP Teams have been expressing concerns about the implications of the new Scottish procurement regulations that came into force in January 2006. This has created some uncertainty for service providers especially where they have been asked to continue to work under letters of agreement rather than a full contract.  The Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 has been introduced in Scotland to implement the European Union’s directive on procurement of services by public bodies such as local authorities. 

In May 2007 the Scottish Executive produced a guidance note to clarify the  options open to councils and usefully states that local authorities can proceed to full contracts from service review as envisaged under the original Supporting People guidance. 

The new guidance note does acknowledges that local authorities may decide to tender existing services but also states that ‘where existing services are meeting people’s needs and the feedback from services users is positive these issues should be taken into account when carrying out the procurement risk assessment and entering into contracts.  Consistency, trust and positive relationships are important to many people who use housing support services.’

You can view the guidance note here.

Length of contract and the ‘option to extend’

The model SP Contract framework does not currently include an ‘option to extend clause’.  You may decide this is something you need to consider in the light of the limited length of contracts being negotiated by many councils for housing support services under Supporting People.  Without an ‘option to extend clause’ the contract really does end on the date stated within the contract.  

There are some examples of councils including an ‘option to extend’ clause in their SP contracts.  If you would like to know more about these talk to your local authority SP team or contact Yvette Burgess at the SP Enabling Unit at: yvette.burgess@ccpscotland.org or phone 0131 346 3147

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