North Yorkshire Council - Children & Young Peoples Services
Executive Members
Tuesday 10 December 2024
Parent Participation, Engagement and Co-production Procurement
Report of the Corporate Director Stuart Carlton
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To request the approval for the re-procurement exercise for Parent Participation, Engagement and Co- production across North Yorkshire.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 In 2019 the council awarded a contract for parent, participation, engagement and co-production. The purpose of the contract was to ensure that parents/carers of children and young people with SEND have the opportunity to express their views and influence SEND service delivery.
2.2 The contract ends on 31 March 2025, therefore we are seeking approval to go out to tender to procure for a provider to deliver this service.
2.3 Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 states that the local authority must gather views, wishes and feelings as well as recognising the importance of participation. Supporting an independent parent care forum has been a key part of the local area partnership arrangements to facilitate this.
2.4 In Yorkshire and Humber, it is common practice for local area partnerships to have organised Parent Carer Forums (PCFs) to support families with children and young people with SEND and constructively engage with partners to facilitate coproduction. All of the below local areas have PCFs in place:
· York: Parent Carer Forum York
· East Riding of Yorkshire: East Riding Parent Carer Forum
· Leeds: Leeds Parent Carer Forum
· Sheffield: Sheffield Parent Carer Forum
· Hull: Hull Parent Carer Forum
3.0 ISSUE
3.1 The tender process will be in accordance with the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules and the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or the Procurement Act 2023 with support from the central procurement team.
4.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
4.1 The Council plan 2024-2028 states that
We want families to be empowered and resilient and networks such as schools, support organisations and the voluntary and community sector to understand and help address issues so that people can access appropriate support when they need it.
This is linked to the Priority:
· To work with communities and partners in the voluntary sector to develop enriching activities and support for children, young people and families.
4.2 The Local Area SEND Strategy 2023-2026 states that part of the vision is to work with the parent/carer forum. It will also use parent and carer voice to measure the success of the local area partnerships work to support children with SEND.
An ambition of the SEND Strategy is to ensure children and young people and parents/carers are fully involved in decision making at individual and strategic level.
Priority 2 - Working together - Improving communication, co-production and engagement states:
“Good communication is important so that children and young people, parents and carers feel listened to, their views inform decisions and that transparency develops trust across all partners. Parents have told us that clear communication is of high importance.”
5.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
5.1 Alternate options include not procuring the service, this will mean the contract will expire and the service will conclude on the 31st March 2025.
5.2 If the Local Area Partnership were to not procure a contract for parent participation, engagement and co-production it would leave parent/carer feedback without co-ordination. There are currently around 35 small parent/carer support groups across the whole of North Yorkshire, which focus on different areas of need and support.
5.3 If the council were not to re-procure a central PCF there would be multiple challenges for the Local Area Partnership to overcome. It is of Strategic importance to have a coordinated and constructive input into coproduction and the Local Area Partnerships governance arrangements. This would be challenging without a central PCF. Coordination of input from other Parent and Carer support groups would require officer time, and therefore financial resource, in place of the investment in a recognised PCF.
6.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1 The current contract in place had an anticipated annual contract value of £33,120, therefore the total anticipated value of the contract was £165,600 across 5 years. With inflation taken into account over that period the anticipated annual cost for a similar model would be c.£40,000.
6.2 Parent Carer Forums (PCFs) in England are typically funded through a combination of sources:
1. Government Grants: The Department for Education (DfE) provides grants to support the work of PCFs. These grants help cover operational costs, such as staffing, events, and training.
2. Local Authority Funding: Some local authorities provide additional funding to support the activities of PCFs. This can include funding for specific projects or ongoing support for the forum's activities.
3. Charitable Funding: PCFs may also receive funding from charitable organizations and trusts that support children with SEND and their families.
4. Fundraising Activities: Many PCFs engage in fundraising activities to generate additional income. This can include events, sponsorships, and donations from the community.
6.3 The current parent participation, engagement and co-production contract is held by Parent Carer Voice (PCV), they are funded by North Yorkshire Council, Department for Education, NHS Humber and North Yorkshire, fund raising and additional grants. In 2023/24 Parent Carer Voice received a total of £85,147.
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Funding partner |
Contribution |
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North Yorkshire Council |
39% |
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North Yorkshire Council – EBSA Project |
25% |
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DfE |
21% |
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Contact a Family |
12% |
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NHS Humber and North Yorkshire |
4% |
6.4 Other councils fund their Parent Carer Forums in the same way. 73% of councils in the Yorkshire and Humber region contribute to their Parent Carer Forum, on average £39,000 per year in 2023-24.
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Local Authority |
Contribution |
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Sheffield City Council |
£45,000 |
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Lincolnshire County Council |
£55,000 |
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East Riding of Yorkshire Council |
£22,000 |
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Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council |
£50,000 |
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Calderdale Council |
£14,000 |
7.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 The procurement exercise will be undertaken by the Council’s Procurement and Contract Management Service.
7.2 This is a key decision and was added on the forward plan in November 2024.
7.3 Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 states that the local authority must gather views, wishes and feeling as well as recognising the importance of participation.
7.4 The SEND Code of Practice 2015 also states that local authorities are actively encouraged to work with Parent Carer Forums.
8.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
8.1 An Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) has been carried out to consider the impact of this review and this can be found at Appendix A. There are no concerns raised by the EIA.
8.2 The Equalities duty is ongoing and will be reviewed throughout the planning, review, and procurement stages as well as prior to the award of any contracts.
9.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
9.1 A Climate Change Impact Assessment (CCIA) has been carried out to consider the impact of this review and this can be found at Appendix B. No concerns are raised by the CCIA.
9.2 This will be reviewed throughout the planning, review and procurement stages as well as prior to the award of any contacts.
10.0 POLICY IMPLICATIONS
10.1 The procurement of a Parent Participation, Engagement and Co-production contract adheres to the SEND Strategy. There are no other policy implications.
11.0 HUMAN RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS
11.1 The Council envisages that the staff working on the current service may transfer to the Provider or its subcontractors, under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) along with the Services.
12.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
12.1 The procurement process for Parent Participation, Engagement and Co-Production is recommended as gaining the views, opinions and thoughts of parents and carers across North Yorkshire is an integral part of both the Council Plan and the Local Area SEND Strategy.
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13.0 |
RECOMMENDATION
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To re-procure a contract for Parent Participation, Engagement and Co-Production for North Yorkshire Council from the 1 April 2025.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Equality Impact Assessment
Appendix B – Climate Change Impact Assessment
Stuart Carlton
Corporate Director – Children and Young People’s Services
County Hall
Northallerton
10 Dec 2024
Report Author – Wendy Butterfield, Lead SEND Development Officer
Presenter of Report – Chris Reynolds, Head of SEND Strategic Planning and resources
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT IF ANY REPORTS / APPENDICES INCLUDE SIGNATURES THESE MUST BE REMOVED / DELETED PRIOR TO SENDING REPORTS / APPENDICES TO DEMOCRATIC SERVICES. Appendices should include an Equality Impact Assessment and a Climate Impact Assessment where appropriate
APPENDIX A
Equality impact assessment (EIA) form: evidencing paying due regard to protected characteristics
(Form updated October 2023)
Parent Participation, Engagement and Co-Production Procurement
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If you would like this information in another language or format such as Braille, large print or audio, please contact the Communications Unit on 01609 53 2013 or email communications@northyorks.gov.uk.
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Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) are public documents. EIAs accompanying reports going to County Councillors for decisions are published with the committee papers on our website and are available in hard copy at the relevant meeting. To help people to find completed EIAs we also publish them in the Equality and Diversity section of our website. This will help people to see for themselves how we have paid due regard in order to meet statutory requirements.
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Name of Directorate and Service Area |
CYPS - Inclusion
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Lead Officer and contact details |
Chris Reynolds, Head of SEND Provision and Resources
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Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the EIA |
Wendy Butterfield, Lead SEND Development Officer
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How will you pay due regard? e.g. working group, individual officer |
Individual officer to review
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When did the due regard process start? |
November 2024
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Section 1. Please describe briefly what this EIA is about. (e.g. are you starting a new service, changing how you do something, stopping doing something?)
This EIA considers the implications of a parent participation, engagement and co-production group with North Yorkshire Council.
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Section 2. Why is this being proposed? What are the aims? What does the authority hope to achieve by it? (e.g. to save money, meet increased demand, do things in a better way.)
The purpose of the contract was to ensure that parents/carers of children and young people with SEND have the opportunity to express their views and influence SEND service delivery.
Section 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 states that the local authority must gather views, wishes and feeling as well as recognising the importance of participation.
The SEND Code of Practice 2015 also states that local authorities are actively encouraged to work with Parent Carer Forums.
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Section 3. What will change? What will be different for customers and/or staff?
There will be improved services for parents and carers to increase engagement, be represented at Council meetings, influence services and continue collaborating and co-production.
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Section 4. Involvement and consultation (What involvement and consultation has been done regarding the proposal and what are the results? What consultation will be needed and how will it be done?)
This proposal does not require a consultation, other than that of the procurement process.
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Section 5. What impact will this proposal have on council budgets? Will it be cost neutral, have increased cost or reduce costs?
Please explain briefly why this will be the result.
There is not expected to be any impact on the council budget as this is a contract already in place and the costings will be agreed in the procurement process.
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Section 6. How will this proposal affect people with protected characteristics? |
No impact |
Make things better |
Make things worse |
Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc. |
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Age |
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X |
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Parent/carers of young people with an EHCP will have the opportunity to be heard across their local area. |
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Disability |
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X |
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Parent/carers of young people with an EHCP will have the opportunity to be heard across their local area. |
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Sex |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND young people due to their sex. |
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Race |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to their race. |
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Gender reassignment |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to their gender reassignment. |
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Sexual orientation |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to sexual orientation |
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Religion or belief |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to religion or beliefs. |
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Pregnancy or maternity |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to pregnancy or maternity. |
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Marriage or civil partnership |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to marriage or civil partnership. |
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Section 7. How will this proposal affect people who… |
No impact |
Make things better |
Make things worse |
Why will it have this effect? Provide evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc. |
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..live in a rural area? |
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X |
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Parent/carers of young people with an EHCP will have the opportunity to be heard across their local area. |
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…have a low income? |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils due to their family receiving a low income. |
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…are carers (unpaid family or friend)? |
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X |
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Parent/carers of young people with an EHCP will have the opportunity to be heard across their local area. |
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….. are from the Armed Forces Community |
X |
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It is anticipated there would be no identifiable impact on SEND pupils who are from the Armed Forces community. |
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Section 8. Geographic impact – Please detail where the impact will be (please tick all that apply) |
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North Yorkshire wide |
X
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Craven |
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Hambleton |
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Harrogate |
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Richmondshire
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Ryedale |
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Scarborough |
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Selby |
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If you have ticked one or more areas, will specific town(s)/village(s) be particularly impacted? If so, please specify below. |
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N/A
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Section 9. Will the proposal affect anyone more because of a combination of protected characteristics? (e.g. older women or young gay men) State what you think the effect may be and why, providing evidence from engagement, consultation and/or service user data or demographic information etc.
Positive impact for those parent/carers of young people with SEND, as it will ensure their voice is heard and impacts on change.
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Section 10. Next steps to address the anticipated impact. Select one of the following options and explain why this has been chosen. (Remember: we have an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people can access services and work for us) |
Tick option chosen |
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1. No adverse impact - no major change needed to the proposal. There is no potential for discrimination or adverse impact identified. |
X |
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2. Adverse impact - adjust the proposal - The EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. We will change our proposal to reduce or remove these adverse impacts, or we will achieve our aim in another way which will not make things worse for people. |
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3. Adverse impact - continue the proposal - The EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. We cannot change our proposal to reduce or remove these adverse impacts, nor can we achieve our aim in another way which will not make things worse for people. (There must be compelling reasons for continuing with proposals which will have the most adverse impacts. Get advice from Legal Services) |
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4. Actual or potential unlawful discrimination - stop and remove the proposal – The EIA identifies actual or potential unlawful discrimination. It must be stopped. |
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Explanation of why option has been chosen. (Include any advice given by Legal Services.)
There is currently in place a Parent Participation, Engagement and Co-production group across North Yorkshire. |
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Section 11. If the proposal is to be implemented how will you find out how it is really affecting people? (How will you monitor and review the changes?)
The PPEC group will be required to report annually to the LA, providing stats for previous 12 months and proposals for development/provision of the service for the next 12 months.
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Section 12. Action plan. List any actions you need to take which have been identified in this EIA, including post implementation review to find out how the outcomes have been achieved in practice and what impacts there have actually been on people with protected characteristics. |
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Action |
Lead |
By when |
Progress |
Monitoring arrangements |
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Annual Report |
Head of Service |
Annually |
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Inclusion Management Team |
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Section 13. Summary Summarise the findings of your EIA, including impacts, recommendation in relation to addressing impacts, including any legal advice, and next steps. This summary should be used as part of the report to the decision maker.
No adverse impacts on those with protected characteristics are envisaged, and positive impacts are reflected for those with age and disability.
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Section 14. Sign off section
This full EIA was completed by:
Name: Wendy Butterfield Job title: Lead SEND Development Officer Directorate: CYPS - Inclusion Signature: W Butterfield
Completion date: 6.11.24
Authorised by relevant Assistant Director (signature):
Date:
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