Purpose

Please see table in Box 3 of the attached
Officer Decision Record, detailing a request for uplifts from a
Provider who delivers provision for out of authority education and
care placement. This request is for the year from 1st April
2023.
Terms of this uplift were agreed through negotiations which took
place between Lee Golze, (Assistant Director: Partnerships, Early
Intervention & Localities) and Mark Bowes (Witherslack
Commercial Director).
The uplift request relates to cost of spot purchased placement. For
these placements the contract with the providers states that;
‘The Provider may in assessing their need for an
annual,
inflationary, fee request consider information derived from a
number of sources such as RPI/Teachers Pay award, but at all times
must pay due heed to working in partnership with Local Authorities
to attain Value for Money and to achieve efficiency
improvements’. Both
parties will have regard to the actual costs incurred by the
Provider. If the Provider proposes to increase the Price and/or
Additional Service Fee, then such increases must be demonstrated by
the Provider as being justified.
Providers have demonstrated to the Council justification for such
increases citing various reasons which generally relate to
unavoidable cost pressures of inflation, National Living Wage
increase, National Insurance increase and pension costs.

See attached Officer Decision Record for details regarding
Financial information.

Content

To agree the annual uplift request from
Witherslack Group for an increase to Education and Care provision
for a number of Doncaster placements.