Provision of Domiciliary Care Services in the Wester Health & Social Care Trust

Award outcome

Description

Reference VII.2.2 continued: Extension of Contract Period:PREVIOUS MODIFICATIONS STARTING WITH THE OLDEST AND ENDING WITH THE MOST RECENT PRIOR TO MODIFICATION 5MODIFICATION 1 Description of the modifications DoH Direction Reasons for modification Regulation 72(1)(c)(i) PCR 2015 is satisfied as the need for modification has been brought about by external circumstances, which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen when the Trust awarded these contracts back in 2016. DoH directed for the financial year 23/24: Reversal of the £0.08 per hour in respect of the reversal of the National Insurance Levy referred to in the Trust’s letter of 14.08.23, bringing the hourly rate to £18.00 per hour; and An increase from £18.00 to £18.54 per hour. With effect from 01.04.23 the Hourly Rate is increased to £18.54 from 01.04.23 until 31.03.24. The service, being a domiciliary care service, is unchanged. As such the modification does not alter the overall nature of the Contract and therefore satisfies Regulation 72(1)(c)(ii). Regulation 72(1)(c)(iii) is met in that the increase in price for Lot 4 does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract. The increase in price for Lot 4 is £257080 and the value of the original Contracts for Lot 4 is £8553925. Increase in price Updated total contract value before the modifications: £10988436 Total contract value after the modifications: £11245516.MODIFICATION 2 Duration of the contract in months: 93 Description of the modifications Extension to Contract Period and DoH Direction Reasons for modification Regulation 72(1)(c)(i) PCR 2015 is satisfied as the need for modification has been brought about by external circumstances, which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen when the Trust awarded these contracts back in 2016. Extension of Contract Period The Trust is preparing to re-tender this Service. This re-procurement exercise has been delayed as a result of the matters detailed in the Trust’s letter dated 23.02.23, as well as unforeseen DoH direction relating to the HSC financial position, which impacts upon the re-procurement process. As such, new contracts under the re-procurement exercise will not be awarded and the service transitioned and commenced thereunder before the expiry of the current Contracts in Lot 4 on 01.02.25. In order to ensure the continued and uninterrupted service delivery of this critical front line service in the interim, the Trust issued a letter dated 20.02.24 to amend the Contract Period in Contracts in Lot 4 to include one further period of extension of 9 months commencing on 01.02.25 and expiring on 31.10.25. DoH Direction DoH directed for the financial year 23/24: Reversal of the £0.08 per hour in respect of the reversal of the National Insurance Levy referred to in the Trust’s letter of 14.08.23, bringing the hourly rate to £18.00 per hour; and An increase from £18.00 to £18.54 per hour. With effect from 20.02.24, the Hourly Rate is increased to £18.54 per hour from 01.03.23 – 31.03.24. The service, being a domiciliary care service, is unchanged. As such the modification does not alter the overall nature of the Contract and therefore satisfies Regulation 72(1)(c)(ii). Regulation 72(1)(c)(iii) is met in that the increase in price for Lot 4 does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract. The increase in price for Lot 4 is £1662789 and the value of the original Contracts for Lot 4 is £8553925. Increase in price Updated total contract value before the modifications: £11245516 Total contract value after the modifications: £12908305.MODIFICATION 3 Description of the modifications DoH Direction Reasons for modification Regulation 72(1)(c)(i) PCR 2015 is satisfied in respect of this modification as the need for modification has been brought about by external circumstances, which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen when the Trust awarded these contracts back in 2016. DoH directed for the financial year 24/25: In observance of the important role of Providers and their requirements as an employer, funding is provided by DoH to address the requirements of the National Living Wage increase, effective from 01.04.24. The DoH has directed that the Trust increase the Hourly Rate under the Contract from £18.54 to £20.01 per hour for 24/25, with effect from 01.04.24. The DoH direction states: “It would be expected that this increase would be used to support wage rates within the sector and therefore support sustainability and capacity for this vital service.” With effect from 01.04.24, the Hourly Rate is increased to £20.01 per hour from 01.04.24 until 31.03.25. In observation of inflationary pressures, the DoH has also directed a non-recurrent support package for Providers for 23/24, to support inflationary pressures. This is paid on a non-recurrent basis at an additional £0.20 per hour, effective from 01.04.23 to 31.03.24. The £0.20 per hour financial support is provided on the Guaranteed Hours and hours under the Time Specific Model paid for the period 01.04.23 to 31.03.24. Payment of this financial support was made by the Trust on 03.05.24. Here the service, being a domiciliary care service, is unchanged. As such the modification does not alter the overall nature of the Contract and therefore satisfies Regulation 72(1)(c)(ii). Regulation 72(1)(c)(iii) is met in that the increase in price for Lot 4 does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract. The increase in price for Lot 4 is £292179 and the value of the original Contracts for Lot 4 is £8,553,925. Increase in price Updated total contract value before the modifications: £12908305 Total contract value after the modifications: £13200484. MODIFICATION 4 Duration of the contract in months: 105 (93+12) Description of the modifications Extension to Contract Period and DoH Direction Reasons for modification Regulation 72(1)(c)(i) PCR 2015 is satisfied as the need for modification has been brought about by external circumstances, which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen when the Trust awarded these contracts back in 2016. Extension of Contract Period In order to ensure the continued and uninterrupted service delivery of this critical front line service the Trust issued a letter 07.03.25 to vary the Contract Period in Lot 4 Contracts to include one further period of extension of 12 months commencing on 01.11.25 and expiring on 31.10.26. The Trust has recently advertised the re-tender of this Service. The re-procurement exercise was delayed as a result of unforeseen DoH, regional HSC and NI public procurement policy as well as DoH direction relating to the HSC financial position which materially impacted upon the re-tender exercise. As such new contracts under the re-procurement exercise will not be awarded and the service transitioned and commenced thereunder before the expiry of the current Contract on 31.10.25. DoH Direction DoH directed for the financial year 24/25: In observance of the important role of Providers and their requirements as an employer, funding is provided by DoH to address the requirements of the National Living Wage increase, effective from 01.04.24. DoH has directed that the Trust increase the Hourly Rate under the Contract from £18.54 to £20.01 per hour for 24/25, with effect from 01.04.24. The DoH direction states “It would be expected that this increase would be used to support wage rates within the sector and therefore support sustainability and capacity for this vital service.” The service, being a domiciliary care service, is unchanged. As such the modification does not alter the overall nature of the Contract and therefore satisfies Regulation 72(1)(c)(ii). Regulation 72(1)(c)(iii) is met in that the increase in price for Lot 4 does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract. The increase in price for Lot 4 is £2,330,875 and the value of the original Contracts for Lot 4 is £8,553,925. Increase in price Updated total contract value before the modifications: £2,330,875 Total contract value after the modifications: £15,531,359. MODIFICATION 5 Description of the modifications DoH Direction Reasons for modification Regulation 72(1)(c)(i) PCR 2015 is satisfied as the need for modification has been brought about by external circumstances, which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen when the Trust awarded these contracts back in 2016. DoH directed for the financial year 25/26 with effect from 01.04.25: An increase from £20.01 to £21.35 per hour. DoH has confirmed this increase is intended to support wage rates within the sector, in the context of the increase to the National Living Wage, and the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contribution requirements from 01.04.25. With effect from 01.04.25, the Hourly Rate in Contracts in Lot 4 is increased to £21.35 per hour from 01.04.25 until 31.03.26. The service, being a domiciliary care service, is unchanged. As such the modification does not alter the overall nature of the Contract and satisfies Regulation 72(1)(c)(ii). Regulation 72(1)(c)(iii) is met in that the increase in price for Lot 4 does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contracts. The increase in price for Lot 4 is £327,092 and the value of the original Contracts for Lot 4 is £8553925. Increase in price Updated total contract value before the modifications: £15,531,359 Total contract value after the modifications: £15,858,451.

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