Health and Adult Services

Meeting of the Corporate Director and Executive Members

Commissioning of Background Support at Esk Moors Lodge, Castleton

 12^th March 2021

1	Key purpose of the report To update HAS Executive on progress regarding the recommissioning of the background support service in Esk Moors Lodge and seek a key decision on procuring this service.
2	What type of report is this? Information/briefing item Decision required Does the report contain any confidential information?	Y Y Y
3	Report details Esk Moors Lodge Extra Care Housing scheme is located at Castleton near Whitby. Its location is within a remote rural community which is centred on the villages of Castleton and Danby and provides 14 rented apartments for people who live in or have a local connection with the area. Esk Moors Lodge opened to residents in January 2009 and was developed by Abbeyfield (Registered Social Landlord – RSL) in partnership with the County Council, Scarborough Borough Council and the local community. With 14 units Esk Moors is significantly smaller than any other Extra Care scheme in the County, however this size was deemed appropriate to meet the needs of the local community at the time of development. Due to the size of the scheme the standard funding model for Extra Care in North Yorkshire is not sustainable at Esk Moors. Under the standard model service charges levied on each occupied unit fund the provision of 24 hour background support on site, whilst this is a viable model where over 50 units are contributing, the scale of Esk Moors means an alternative approach is required. Background support at Esk Moors is therefore currently funded through a block contract with Esk Moors Caring Ltd who have held the contract since October 2017. Following a one year extension to October 2021 it is now necessary for this service to be reprocured. Options other than procurement including provision through HAS Provider Services have been considered but deemed to be unsuitable given the challenges of delivering care at this location. Background Support Services: The core element of the background support service is to ensure that the health and well-being of tenants is supported at all times and a response to emergency calls or instances where unplanned care is required is available, irrespective of the tenant’s provider of choice for their planned care. A key defining feature of Extra Care housing and what differentiates it from other of housing including sheltered housing, is the availability of the scheme based care and support around the clock, referred to here as background support. An extra care service is made up of several distinct component parts: · Housing/ Property Management: Provided by the Court /Scheme Manager and funded through Service Charge. · Background Core Support: Flexible background property, housing and care related support provided by Care/ Support Workers day and night. · Planned Support:  Flexible housing and care support time defined through individual support plans with resources allocated for individual use to meet personalised outcomes. The agreed background support model is intended to provide round the clock care and support presence within the scheme. It provides a minimum of 168 hours of on-site background core care and support in the scheme equating to a minimum of 1 person 24 hours a day 7 days a week. An effective partnership between Abbeyfield (landlord and housing provider) and the service provider is pivotal to the success of the scheme. As such the provider must ensure that a valid partnership agreement is in place between itself and Abbeyfield that will underpin this relationship by clearly setting out the roles, responsibilities and expectations of each party.
4	Significant Risks and Mitigations The location of Esk Moors Lodge in deeply rural part of the county makes securing staffing for the scheme challenging as with other similar areas. The proposed budget for the service is limited and as such there is little scope for overheads and additional costs. Both these factors suggest that the market for the service will be limited as was the case with the previous procurement in 2017 when 2 bids were received.  Market engagement is ongoing at time of writing, this will establish the level of interest in the market and directly highlight if the proposed budget is approporiate.
5	Financial implications/benefits The current budget and contract value for this service is £103,000 per year. A price / quality ratio will be applied to the procurement however it is likely that the successful tender will be for the full amount.
6	Recommendations It is proposed that the Housing Market Development team proceed with the procurement of Background Support Services at Esk Moors Lodge to commence from 1^st October 2021.

Mike Rudd

Head of Housing, Technology & Sustainability