Decision details

Cllr Tariq introduced the report highlighting that the Care at Home service supports the vulnerable people of Bury with their assessed needs under the Care Act 2014.  This includes support with personal care, moving and handling, nutrition and hydration, and medication.   The Council spend on Care at Home in 2025/26 was c.£12.426m, the service supports approximately 700 people each day and delivers circa 10,000 hours of home care each week. 

Councillor Rydeheard questioned what protections are in place to protect against any significant in estimated costs due to it being an activity based contract.

Adrian Crook, Director of Community Commissioning confirmed that there are internal governance monitoring boards which take place monthly.  These are responsible for monitoring the spend against the contract.

Decision(s)

Cabinet

-       Delegated the authority to contract awards to the Director of Adult Social Services and Community Commissioning and the Executive Director of Health and Adult Care.

-       Delegated finalisation and sealing of the contracts to the Director of Law and Democratic Services in consultation with the Director of Adult Social Services and Community Commissioning and the Executive Director of Health and Adult Care.

Reasons for decision(s)

-       The Council has a legal duty to follow Procurement Law and fair purchasing processes and must complete a re-tender process to ensure compliance with the legislation (Procurement Act 2023).  Additional benefits include a new contract and service specification with updated quality requirements enabling us to ensure high standards for the customers, clearer key performance indicators for robust contract monitoring, and a broader scope for innovation.

Alternative options considered and rejected

-       Alternative options are not applicable due to Procurement Law and the requirement to complete a re-tender exercise (Procurement Act 2023). Should the Council decide to do nothing, we would risk being non-compliant with the legislation.