Cllr Stephen Davies, sought Cabinet approval to initiate a tendering process for a new contract or (as appropriate) contracts for the provision of the following three categories of service: (1) a 28-day same day/emergency placement service for Looked After Children; (2) a PACE (Police and Crime Evidence Act 1984) bed fostering service; and (3) a Remand Fostering service. This would allow a new contract or contracts to be awarded as part of Gloucestershire’s Sufficiency Strategy.
Having considered all of the information, Cabinet noted the report and
RESOLVED to:
Delegate authority to the Executive Director of
Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member
for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years to:
1. Conduct a competitive procurement process in respect of a contract or (as appropriate) contracts divided into the following lots:
Lot 1: supply of up to twelve (12) emergency/28 days or fewer
foster
placements; and
Lot 2: supply of up to three (3) Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE)
beds to meet the needs of young people who have been
arrested.
Additionally, this lot will include the supply of up to another
three (3)
Remand foster carers for young people on remand to the Police or the
courts. (i.e., to supply both 3 PACE beds and 3 Remand beds)
Such lots may be awarded to the same tenderer under a single
contract or awarded to two separate tenderers under two separate
contracts. The proposed contract(s) shall continue for an initial period
of five years and include an option to extend its/their terms for a further
period of not more than two years.
2. Award such contract(s) to the preferred tenderer(s); and
3. Determine whether to exercise the option to extend the term of such
contract(s) for a further period of not more than two years on the expiry
of the initial five-year term.