Decision details

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Commissioning Support and Business Intelligence on proposals to commence a procurement exercise for the provision of a Pre-Paid Card service. The report also included details on the outcome of the Pre-Paid Card pilot and proposals for the subsequent implementation of a Pre-Paid Card service should approval be given to procure.

Decision Made: That:

(1)       approval be given to the commencement of a procurement exercise for a Pre-Paid Card service for a period of three years, plus two one-year extension options, utilising an existing framework operated by Surrey County Council as the mechanism to procure the service;

(2)       the criteria for the evaluation of tenders received in the procurement exercise be approved;

(3)       the Cabinet Member – Adult Social Care be granted delegated authority to award a contract, following the procurement exercise;

(4)       Officers be authorised to include other Liverpool City Region Local Authorities in the procurement exercise, subject to them having secured the necessary agreement to participate;

(5)       Officers be authorised to provide the commissioning and procurement support, set out in paragraph 5.2 of the report, to other Liverpool City Region Local Authorities who may wish to implement a Pre-Paid Card Service in the future;

(6)       with regard to the implementation of a Pre-Paid Card service for Direct Payments recipients, approval be given to:

(a)  service users not been charged for the use of a Pre-Paid Card, aside from them being charged for the costs associated with replacing any lost or stolen cards;

(b)  the use of a Pre-Paid Card becoming the ‘default’ mechanism used by Sefton Council to make and administer Direct Payments;

(c)   all existing Direct Payment Service Users been engaged with regard to transferring their Direct Payment onto a Pre-Paid Card within an agreed timeframe;

(d)  A project team been established to manage the change detailed in point (c) above; and

(7)       Officers be authorised to investigate and if appropriate implement Pre-Paid Cards for use in other Council service areas.

Reasons for Decision:

The Council had undertaken a successful pilot of a Pre-Paid Card service, in relation to Social Care Direct Payments, which had highlighted significant benefits both to Sefton Council and to Service Users, together with ensuring that the actions detailed within the Direct Payments Strategic Plan (approved by Cabinet on 4 February 2016) are met. Following this Pilot it was recommended that a procurement exercise be undertaken, utilising an existing framework in place (operated by Surrey County Council), for the commissioning of a permanent Pre-Paid Card service in Sefton.

The existing framework would be used as it contains providers/suppliers who operate in the market and who would tender for services as part of an alternative procurement exercise.  Sefton would also be able to utilise existing tendered costs within the framework.  In addition, should other Liverpool City Region Local Authorities be in a position to also procure a Pre-Paid Card service at the same time as Sefton, then they can be included in the procurement exercise and also realise the benefits of the framework.

The framework also offers benefits with respect to Sefton being able to utilise existing agreements and processes for the evaluation of tenders.  The framework also allows scope for Sefton to amend the service specification and tender evaluation criteria in order to ensure that any Pre-Paid Card service procured meets Sefton’s requirements.

In addition, the pilot has identified that Pre-Paid cards could be implemented in other service areas, aside from Adults and Children’s Direct Payments, which in turn may deliver greater efficiencies and improved ways of working.  Such areas could include;

• Respite
• Carers payments
• Care Leavers payments
• Foster Care payments
• Emergency and discretionary payments
• Expenses and Petty Cash
• Council Tax
• Housing Benefit

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The following options were considered and rejected;

1.    Maintaining the status quo – this was not considered a viable option due to issues identified with existing systems and working practices.  The Pre-Paid Card pilot has highlighted significant benefits and outcomes for both Sefton Council and Service Users.

2.    Commissioning via a Sefton only formal tender exercise (above EU spend threshold) – this option was rejected as it has been identified that any procurement exercise would attract the same suppliers currently on the Surrey County Council framework and therefore would not offer any significant benefits, including cost savings as tendered supplier rates are unlikely to be lower than those detailed within the framework.

3.    Commissioning via the establishment of a Framework with other Liverpool City Region (LCR) Local Authorities – at this present time this is not considered a viable option as not all Liverpool City Region authorities have received approval via their own decision making processes to implement a Pre-Paid Card service.  As with option 2 above, this exercise would be unlikely to attract any suppliers who are not currently part of the Surrey County Council Framework.