Decision details

The Director (BA) presented the report on a proposal for the extension for one year of the Contract for the Council’s Assertive Homeless Outreach Service, currently provided by Julian House, which expires on 31 March 2018.

Members were advised that the original tender had started in October 2015 for a period of 30 months until March 2018. With the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act and that fact that the Council and its partners were two months into a six month test of change as part of the Integrated Care Exeter Project on improving services to those individuals who were street homeless or vulnerably housed, it was proposed that the contract be extended to evaluate what type service best met the needs of the client group in a cost effective way.

The Leader proposed that the reasons for the exemption to the contracts regulations be as follows:-

·         To ensure the service continues beyond the contract end date; and

·         To ensure that the present contract is replaced by an arrangement that implements the relevant provisions of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and incorporates appropriate recommendations from the Integrated Care Exeter Homelessness Workstream.

This was agreed by Executive.

RESOLVED that:-

(1)       an exemption be made from the requirement under the Council’s Contract Regulations to follow a tender exercise for the provision of the Assertive Homeless Outreach Service for the following reasons;-

·                         To ensure the service continues beyond the contract end date; and

·         To ensure that the present contract is replaced by an arrangement that implements the relevant provisions of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and incorporates appropriate recommendations from the Integrated Care Exeter Homelessness Workstream; and

(2)       that the current contract with Julian House continue for a further year expiring on 31 March 2019.