Agenda item

Report of the Head of Commissioning Support and Business Intelligence

Further to Minute No. 80 of the meeting held on 2 November 2017 the Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Commissioning Support and Business Intelligence that sought authorisation to procure a new Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) service for a period of up to four years to deliver the Council’s statutory duties in relation to Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) young people, with an additional range of preventative actions for those at risk of becoming NEET.

Decision Made:

That:-

Reasons for the Decisions:

The Council made an application to the Government’s Life Chances Fund earlier this year which has unfortunately not been supported.  The intention had been to incorporate top-up funding from this source together with other funding from social investors to create a new IAG service offer with a Social Impact Bond at its core.  The decision on Life Chances Fund was taken at HM Government Cabinet level via Department for Culture Media and Sport and was made public in September 2018. Advice has been sought from social investment specialists and this has indicated that a longer contract duration, given the absence of Life Chances Fund finance, would make Sefton’s scheme more viable for other social investors.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

1.         Procure a contract until March 2020 in line with the decision taken by             Cabinet in November 2017

There has been significant delay in the time taken to assess the Life Chances Fund which has impacted upon the Cabinet’s previous decision, reducing the amount of time available for the introduction of a new service.  Advice has indicated that, in the absence of government funding through Life Chances Fund, a longer contract period would increase the commercial attractiveness of our procurement opportunity and provide greater scope for suppliers to deliver innovative approaches.

2.         Procure a jointly commissioned service alongside the Liverpool City             Region Local Authority partners.

This option has been considered as at least four of the Merseyside LAs have been working together on IAG commissioning for some years and their approach has led to changes in the pattern of service delivery across the sub-region. In particular, NEET data tracking/reporting and engagement /support activities have been undertaken elsewhere by in-house LA staff while careers guidance has been sourced externally. In Sefton, however we have not operated these services in-house. This option has been rejected as it would require a TUPE transfer of staff from the existing supplier into the Council, which is not deemed appropriate from a financial perspective.