Decision details

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Adult Social Services which sought approval to award the contract for delivery of the Oldham Advocacy Hub service to a successful provider following an open procurement exercise, from 1^st November 0223 until October 2026.

The current contracts for the delivery of Advocacy Services would end on 31^st October 2023. It was essential to continue delivery of these services for some of the Borough’s most vulnerable adults and it was a statutory requirement for the Council to commission Advocacy based on an individual’s needs.

Option/alternatives considered

Option 1 - To cease all commissioning arrangements with the current providers for all areas of advocacy included in this report. 

As the majority of advocacy services are a statutory requirement, this was not a viable option and the Council must seek a new provider for these services going forward in order to maintain its statutory duty.

Option 2 - Cease commissioning arrangements for the delivery of the LDA Learning Disability Advocacy service as this is not a statutory requirement but retain the other element. The Council was proud to commission a non statutory service for residents with Learning Disabilities and feels that this is important to continue as part of a wider advocacy hub model.

Option 3 - To seek an alternative provider of advocacy services through the ongoing Procurement Process, to delegate the contract award decision to the DASS and to extend the current contractual arrangements by a further 2 months . This was the preferred option as it allowed the Council to complete the open procurement process to seek an alternative provider who was able to deliver all areas of advocacy through a Hub model approach, and to delegate the contract award decision to the Director of Adult Social Services.

RESOLVED -That the decision to award the contract to deliver the Oldham Advocacy Hub Services is delegated to the Director of Ault Services, following the completion of an open procurement exercise from 1^st November 2023 until 31^st October 2026, with the option to extend for a further 12 months.