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Council minutes, agendas and reports

Decision details

Approval of arrangements to procure services under the Multiply initiative

Decision Maker: Corporate Director Children and Young People's Services

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

To agree a combination of direct awards, grants and limited light touch tender activity, moving to a preferred supplier model in 2023/24 to deliver the Multiply programme.

Decision:

That the Authority direct award, through a waiver, multiple elements of the ‘Multiply’ provision to a range of providers such as:

• Training providers currently in receipt of Adult Education grants
• Further Education Colleges
• Charity and Voluntary sector organisations

Reasons for the decision:

This procurement exercise is to establish multiple new contracts for the delivery ‘Multiply’ provision as this has not been previously procured. The Department for Education will provide the Authority with £2,700,000 of grant funding over a period of three years which to be spent on adult numeracy education. Some elements of this provision are currently provided by ALSS however, a number of modules are not. The identified new provision includes;
• Courses designed to help people use numeracy to manage their money, • Courses designed to increase confidence with numbers for those needing the first steps towards formal numeracy qualifications
• Numeracy activities, courses or provision developed in partnership with community organisations and other partners aimed at engaging the hardest to reach learners
• Courses aimed at people who can’t apply for certain jobs because of lack of numeracy skills and/or to encourage people to upskill in numeracy order to access a certain job/career

A number of paths to deliver this requirement have been identified, many of which could be provided by local SMEs and VCSEs. Awarding directly a contract to these groups would allow for rapid delivery of the service whilst best utilising SMEs and VCSEs in the local community.

Statutory guidance states that under section 507B of the Education Act 1996, every local authority in England must “so far as reasonably practicable, secure for qualifying young persons…access to sufficient educational and leisure-time activities which are for the improvement of their wellbeing” therefore the Authority commissions Voluntary and Direct Funded Youth clubs across the County.

Alternative options considered:

None

Publication date: 21/09/2022

Date of decision: 20/09/2022

Effective from: 29/09/2022