Purpose

This report is seeking a
further extension by way of variation to the Street Outreach and
Resettlement Service from 1 August 2024 to 31 December 2025 at a
cost of £434k for a maximum aggregated contract value of
£2.05m. This extension is required to enable the
re-procurement of the service based on the outcome of a review and
a re-commission of this service provision. 

Content

For the reasons as detailed in
the Part A report, the Corporate Director for
Housing AGREED to:
 
2.1       Approve a further
extension by way of variation of the contract with Thames Reach for
the Street Outreach and Resettlement Service until 31st
December 2025, at an additional cost of £434k for a maximum
aggregated contract value of £2.05m. 
 
2.2 Note that the £434k
cost of the contract extension until 31/12/25, includes contract
charges of £190k from 1/8/24 until 31/3/25 and £244k
from 1/4/25 until 31/12/25. 
 

Reasons for the decision

The Council has a statutory
duty to support a wide range of Croydon residents who are either
homeless or at risk of homelessness as legislated within Part 7
Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act
2017). The Street Outreach and Resettlement service supports
discharge of this statutory duty, supporting delivery of Personal
Housing Plans, providing sustainment and resettlement support aimed
at preventing a return to the streets. 
 
The Outreach Service provided
by Thames Reach has been performing satisfactorily for a number of
years.  Re-procurement of this service was regrettably, and
perhaps inevitably delayed, by the commissioning of an extensive
external Review of Supported Housing within Croydon, which included
this service. One of the findings of that review was that our
specification for this service needed a complete overhaul. 
One of the many reasons for this overhaul was to establish the
emerging negative correlation between rough sleeping and
anti-social behaviour and seek to address these issues
simultaneously. This overhaul has now been realised in the revised
specification. This extension will enable us to re procure this
service in a timely manner. A Key Decision Notice was issued on
14/3/25 (0425CMHOUS), that announces our intention to re procure
this service.  
 

Alternative options considered

 
Option
Summary 
 

Pros 

Cons 

Option 1  
 
Decommission and stop the
service. 
(Not
Recommended) 

Saves costs of running the
service.  
 
Reduces risk of a non-compliant
contract 
 
 

Unable to fulfil statutory
duties required under The Homelessness Reduction Act
2017. 
 
Safeguarding issues for Croydon
residents who are either homeless or at risk of
homelessness. 

Option 2 
 
Bring the service
in-house 
  
 
(Not
recommended) 

 
Reduces risk of a non-compliant
contract. 
 
Increase control of service
delivery. 
 

 
Since this is a supported
accommodation-based service, this option is
unrealistic 

Option 3 – Extend the
existing contract until end of December2025. 
(Recommended) 

The existing providers are
performing their contractual duties satisfactorily and in line with
our specification. 
 
Continuity of
service. 
 
 

This will remain in breach of
procurement regulations until the contract is
re-procured.