Purpose

This report is seeking an
extension by way of variation for the Single Homeless Accommodation
and Support until 31st March 2026 at a cost of £2.86m for a
maximum aggregated contract value of £6.97m. This extension
is required to enable a review and a re-commission of this service
provision and re-procurement. 

Content

For the
reasons as detailed in the report, the Corporate Director for Housing AGREED to:
 
2.1      Approve an
extension by way of variation of the contract with
Evolve for the provision of the Single Homeless
Accommodation and Support service until
31st March 2026 at an additional cost of
£2.86m for a maximum aggregated contract value of
£6.97m.
 
2.2      Note that the original contract
was let on a one year plus one year basis and commenced 1 July 2021
and was extended by CCB (Ref 1745/22-23) until 30 June 2023. The
cost of the contract from 1/7/21 until 30/6/23 was
£2.69m.
 
2.3 
    Note that between 1 Jul
2023 and 30/6/24, 3 non-compliant payments were made to Evolve
totalling £1.43m. These payments were made to our supplier so
that they could continue to deliver essential services to our
clients, many of whom are extremely vulnerable.  In this period, Croydon commissioned an external
review of Supported Housing, including provision of the Single
Homelessness service.  This review has
now been delivered and one of its recommendations, is the
re-procurement of this service.
 
2.4      Note that the additional cost of
£2.86m calculated for the period July 1st, 2023, to March
31st, 2026.
 
2.5      Note Croydon entered into
protracted negotiations with Evolve to agree a new pricing
structure for the period of the contract extension. Evolve
initially requested an increase of £350k to cover their
additional costs, including increases to NI, however, this figure
was reduced by £75k, which represents a significant saving to
Croydon.
 
2.6      Note that this extension is
required to re-commission this service.
 

Reasons for the decision

The key points for the
recommendation are as follows:
 
Service Stability:
 

Extending the current
contract will provide stability for service users whilst future
commissioning intentions are fully discussed and
explored.

 
Fulfil the Statutory requirement:
 

The current contract
has expired. There is a statutory requirement to ensure Croydon
residents have access to the services that are provided. Extending
the current contract will enable the council to continue to
contract with Evolve to fulfil the statutory
obligation.

 
Undertake an options
appraisal:
 

Extending the current
arrangements will enable sufficient time to undertake a full
options appraisal with regards to the future commissioning
intentions and then to undertake a tendering exercise. This service
is one of several being reviewed together with the aim of ensuring
care leavers are supported.

 
 

Alternative options considered

 
Option Summary
 

Pros

Cons

Option 1 – Do nothing, -
allow the contract to expire and stop the service.
(Not
Recommended)

Saves costs of running the
service.
 
Reduced Council management
input.

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

Option 2
 
Bring the service
in-house
 
This option is (not
recommended)

 

Since this is a supported
accommodation-based service, this option is neither realistic nor
practicable.

Option 3 – Extend the
existing contract.
(Recommended)

The existing providers are
performing their contractual duties satisfactorily and in line with
our specification.
 
Continuity of
service.
 
Allow service to review its
delivery model

The service has not been
re-procured to determine whether there are more market entrants, to
improve the service and demonstrate value for money.