Agenda item

(Chairman of the Communities Select Committee) To consider the attached report (C-052-2016/17).

(1)        That, in accordance with Option Three in the report, the Council’s Careline Monitoring Service be outsourced to an external provider through a competitive tendering exercise;

(2)        That a further report be submitted to a future meeting of the Cabinet regarding:

            (a)        a restructure of Housing Older Peoples Services following the          Careline Service being outsourced; and

            (b)        future charges to users based on the cost of the outsourced             service;

(3)        That, in order to mitigate any risks to the service during the transitional period (as set out in the Risk Management Section of the report), budget provision be made as follows:

            (a)        retrospective approval be agreed under emergency budget provision for the purchase of the PNC call answering equipment funded by         a virement of £32,000 in 2016/2017 from the Non-Cost Reflective Repairs             Budget; and

            (b)        additional revenue funding of £38,000 be agreed as part of the         Housing Revenue Account budget in 2017/2018 in order to meet the costs of      the ex-gratia retention payments and any potential costs of handing over the       service to the manufacturer during periods of staff shortages.

The Chairman of the Communities Select Committee presented a report on their review of the Epping Forest Careline Monitoring Service.

The Chairman reported that, at their meeting on 21 November 2016, the Select Committee had considered a report from the Director of Communities on the following four options for the future delivery of the Careline Alarm Monitoring Service:   

            (i)         that the Careline Monitoring Service continued to be provided by the             Council under the current arrangements;

            (ii)        that an enhanced Careline Monitoring Service be provided by the    Council;

            (iii)       that the Service was monitored through another provider 24/7; or

            (iv)       that the Service was monitored through another provider overnight.

The Chairman explained that the reason why the Select Committee undertook the Review, which formed part of their agreed Work Programme, was due to the expansion of the Careline Monitoring service, with the increasing number of private sector connections and advances in technology, which was causing management and operational aspects of the service to become more complex.  In addition, the Select Committee considered the difficulties being experienced in recruiting staff due to the nature of the work and the salary level. This had led to additional pressures on existing staff that had to cover, not only vacant posts, but also annual leave and sickness absences. The Select Committee also considered the cost of the various options to the Council and users, and the possibility of funding currently received from Essex County Council being withdrawn from April 2017. 

Following detailed consideration, the Select Committee had concluded that the best option for the future delivery of the service was Option 3 and it was therefore recommended that the service be outsourced to an external provider following a competitive tendering exercise. The Select Committee further recommended that a report was submitted to a future meeting of the Cabinet on a restructure of Housing Older Peoples Services following the Careline Monitoring Service being outsourced and a review of charges to users, subject to the Cabinet agreeing the outcome of the proposed competitive tendering exercise. The Select Committee had also made a further recommendation relating to the required transitionary costs up to the point when the service was outsourced; however, the Cabinet was informed that this could now be met from existing resources and did not require additional revenue funding in the sum of £70,000 from the Housing Revenue Account as the procurement could now be undertaken through a much quicker framework agreement process.

The Housing Portfolio Holder stated that she supported the recommendations of the Select Committee as outsourcing would be the best option to preserve the future of the Careline service. The Portfolio Holder also offered her thanks to all the staff in Careline for their efforts over the years, and reiterated that the Council was proud of the service.

The Assistant Director of Communities (Housing Operations) reassured the Cabinet that the contract documents would ensure that there would be no service reductions in the future. Forming a shared service had been considered, but Careline would still be linked to a smaller Control Centre. It was felt that Careline should be linked to a larger Control Centre where there would be a minimum of eight staff on duty at all times. The Housing Portfolio Holder added that the larger organisations would have enough resources on duty to manage all eventualities.

The Cabinet welcomed the report from the Select Committee, acknowledged the excellent service that had been provided by Careline over the years, and supported the recommendations due to the requirement to have a minimum of two staff on duty at all times.

Decision:

(1)        That, in accordance with Option Three in the report, the Council’s Careline Monitoring Service be outsourced to an external provider through a competitive tendering exercise;

(2)        That a further report be submitted to a future meeting of the Cabinet regarding:

            (a)        a restructure of Housing Older Peoples Services following the          Careline Service being outsourced; and

            (b)        future charges to users based on the cost of the outsourced             service;

(3)        That, in order to mitigate any risks to the service during the transitional period (as set out in the Risk Management Section of the report), budget provision be made as follows:

            (a)        retrospective approval be agreed under emergency budget provision for the purchase of the PNC call answering equipment funded by    a virement of £32,000 in 2016/2017 from the Non-Cost Reflective Repairs      Budget; and

            (b)        additional revenue funding of £38,000 be agreed as part of the         Housing Revenue Account budget in 2017/2018 in order to meet the costs of            the ex-gratia retention payments and any potential costs of handing over the        service to the manufacturer during periods of staff shortages.

Reasons for Decision:

The Select Committee considered that outsourcing the Careline Monitoring Service to an external provider would ensure its future resilience and reduce costs to the Council and/or charges to users.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

(i)         That the Careline Monitoring Service continued to be provided by the Council under the current arrangements.

(ii)        That the Council provided an enhanced Careline Monitoring Service.

(iii)       That the service was monitored through another provider overnight.