Purpose

Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES) currently commissions a residential short breaks service for disabled children and young people at Beaumonds (B&NES own this property). The existing contract with Action for Children, expires in March 2027. Demand for short breaks has increased significantly, with evidence of unmet need and increasing pressure on families caring for children with complex disabilities and health needs. This report seeks approval to recommission the service through a new contract by competitive tendering, increasing capacity and investment to ensure the Council continues to meet its statutory responsibilities, support family resilience and reduce the risk of children requiring more intensive and costly care interventions.

The proposal is to procure a new residential short breaks contract from April 2027 with an increased contract value of approximately £1 million per annum to expand capacity and better meet current and forecast demand.

Decision

The Cabinet Member agrees that to procure a new contract Residential Short Breaks for Disabled Children (Beaumonds) from 1st September 2027 with an annual value of approximately £1 million, expanding capacity to better meet current and forecast demand for the service and enable the Council to meet its statutory responsibilities.

The cabinet member also agrees to an Interim contract extension to maintain continuity of provision and ensure there is no gap in service delivery for eligible families.

Reasons for the decision

Increasing capacity at Beaumonds would provide better support to eligible families and reduce wider system pressures. Overnight stays support family resilience and provide opportunities for social interaction, independence and positive experiences.

The Council has a statutory duty under the Breaks for Carers of Disabled Children Regulations 2011 to provide a range of short break services designed to assist carers to continue caring effectively and safely. It supports the Council’s duties to safeguard and promote children’s welfare, support disabled children and their families, and promote inclusion, wellbeing and family resilience

The increased contract value is required to expand capacity increasing availability and resilience to families. Investment is intended to provide a lower cost solution and to reduce reliance on higher-cost alternatives such as agency support and residential care placements and contribute to the Council’s prevention strategy.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 - Do nothing. Rejected because it would retain insufficient capacity, unmet need and pressure on families, while increasing use of more expensive care arrangements and the risk of failing to meet statutory duties.

Option 2 - Recommission at the current funding level. Rejected because the needs assessment identified unmet demand and concluded that current capacity is insufficient for future need.

Option 3 - Recommission with increased capacity, funded by reducing budgeted non-contractual expenditure. This is the preferred option because it best meets assessed need, statutory responsibilities and strategic objectives while reducing reliance on more expensive alternatives