Agenda item

The Scrutiny Board is requested to note the Call-in request and to consider the recommendations, in the submitted report, which had been approved by Cabinet on 7^th April 2025. The report was subsequently called-in by Councillors Hamblett and Kenyon.

The Cabinet had been requested to consider a report that outlined future commissioning arrangements for the provision of Care and Support Services for people with Learning Disabilities, Complex Needs and/or Autism.

The report considered by the Cabinet on 7^th April 2025 and the minute relating to this item (no. 12) are attached.

The Chair reported that this special meeting of the Scrutiny Board had been convened to consider an item of Called-in business, from the Cabinet’s meeting held on 7^th April 2025. Councillors Hamblett and Kenyon, in accordance with the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules had called-in Minute 7 taken from the proceedings of the Cabinet’s meeting held on 7^th April 2025 – ‘Future Commissioning Arrangements for Supported Living Services for People with Learning Disabilities, Complex Needs and/or Autism.’

The grounds for the call-in, which Councillor Kenyon outlined to the Scrutiny Board meeting were that:

a.    There was not enough information in the submitted report to make the decision, adding that the cabinet minute, from the Cabinet’s 7^th April meeting, made reference to the lack of information.

b.    That Section 10 of the submitted Cabinet report: “Equality Impact, including implications for Children and Young People”, had highlighted that the report did not contain any assessment of the likelihood of changes to care provision for service users nor the impact on service users of these changes and any plans to mitigate to impact of these changes.

c.    That Section 2.2 of the submitted Cabinet report had highlighted that Service Level Agreements had yet to be agreed with landlords. As the report hints at, if these SLAs were not aligned with service delivery, then there could be a service risk and financial risk. The report should have contained reference to plans to mitigate these risks.

d.    Considering the pressures on council finances from Adult Social Care provision, the report should have contained further details, in Section 6 (Financial Implications), on “opportunities to realise potential cost reductions” and also “specialist or out of borough settings could become more expensive if existing providers didn’t form part of the framework”.

On 7^th April 2025, the Cabinet had approved a report of the Director of Adult Social Care/DASS that had advised Members that the Council’s contractual arrangements for the delivery of care and support services for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism ended in 2020. The Council had a statutory duty to deliver care and support services for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism based on assessed Care Act 2014 needs to support some of Oldham’s most vulnerable adults residing in supported living accommodation.

To meet its obligations, the Council proposes to utilise the Greater Manchester Framework for Supporting People to Live Well at Home, which is being tendered by Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) as the lead authority for the 10 GM authorities and will be available to the Council and other contracting authorities from its commencement. Tenders have been received and are being evaluated with STaR procurement advising RMBC. The estimated commencement date is 1st April 2025. The new contractual arrangements will replace the current GM Learning Disabilities and Autism Flexible Procurement System which expires on 31st March 2025.

The Council had entered into a Framework Agreement with six service providers in 2016 to deliver care and support services to eligible service users living in named properties (owned by third party landlords). The service providers were allocated to properties and all orders for services were directed to the relevant service provider attached to the relevant property. The Framework Agreements for the delivery of services for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism ended in 2020.

Where possible, the Council has been placing orders under the current Greater Manchester Learning Disabilities and Autism Flexible Procurement System, but this flexible system closed on 31st March 2025.

Therefore, to meet its statutory obligation to deliver a range of care and support services which meet assessed needs, the Council proposes to utilise the GM Framework for Supporting People to Live Well at Home, which is being tendered by RMBC and will be available to the Council and other contracting authorities from its commencement.

In accordance with the protocol for dealing with Called-in business and in consideration of the Call-in, Members of the Scrutiny Board asked questions of the Cabinet Member for Adults Health and Wellbeing, Councillor Brownridge and of the Director of Adult Social Care/DASS, who both explained the reasons for the decisions made by the Cabinet, on 7^th April 2025 and the reasons for the recommendations that were contained in the submitted report.

Members of the Scrutiny Board also asked questions of the Calling-in member who was present, Councillor Kenyon, asking him for a fuller explanation of the reasons for the Call-in.

The Scrutiny Board proceeded to consider the report in detail and afterwards the cabinet member, the Director and the calling-in Member were all given the opportunity to respond to the debate.

Resolved:

That the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Board upholds the decision of the Cabinet made on 7^th April 2025 in respect of the item: Future Commissioning Arrangements for Supported Living Services for People with Learning Disabilities, Complex Needs and/or Autism (minute 7 refers), meaning that the decision of the Cabinet takes immediate effect.