Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration introduced a report on the proposal for the Council to join an existing commissioning partnership, known as the West London Alliance (WLA), for the provision of Independent Fostering Agency services and Children's Residential Home placements.

The WLA was an existing partnership between the seven West London Councils of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow and Hillingdon.  One of the key pillars of collaboration in the WLA was the Children’s Programme which related to strategic commissioning, procurement and contract management services, aimed at providing a more efficient and effective approach to service delivery and market engagement. 

It was noted that the Council’s budget for residential and agency foster care placements in 2018/19 was circa £6.3m, with the majority of residential placements made by Barking and Dagenham being spot-purchased at an average cost was £3,800 per week. 

In response to a question from the Cabinet Member for Equalities and Diversity regarding the level of saving expected to be achieved under the WLA arrangements, the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration commented that while the level of saving was not expected to be significant, due to the scarcity of suitable accommodation, joining the WLA would help to drive up quality standards and achieve some efficiencies as a consequence of being part of a larger commissioning body. 

The Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Approve the entering into of an Access Agreement with the West London Alliance (WLA) and call-off from the WLA Dynamic Purchasing Vehicle, in accordance with the Council’s Contract Rules and the strategy detailed in the report; and

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Director of People and Resilience, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, the Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Law and Governance, to award and enter into the Access Agreement and all other ancillary call-off agreements upon conclusion of the procurement process when required.