Purpose

Lincolnshire County Council runs an
‘Outstanding’ Secure Unit at Sleaford, Lincolnshire,
providing eleven justice beds under contract with the MoJ, and
offering one welfare bed to the Department for Education
(DfE).

The current contract runs until 31 December 2025 and the MoJ is
tendering for a new contract with existing suppliers of Secure Unit
Accommodation services. The new contract will run from 1 January
2026 to 31 December 2032.

The above decision references relate to several papers submitted to
Executive Councillor for Children’s Services, Community
Safety and Procurement or the Executive, following scrutiny at the
Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee. These
included an Outline Business Case for a new-build Secure Unit on a
new site in Sleaford that denoted the reliance on the contract with
the MoJ for the delivery of the justice beds within the financial
modelling for the new build.

Recommendations on the above papers included that the Executive
“Delegates to the Director of Resources in consultation with
the Executive Councillor for Children's Services, Community Safety,
Procurement and Migration authority to take all decisions necessary
to progress the procurement up to and including determination of
the final form contract and the award and execution of that
contract and other documentation necessary to deliver the
procurement.”

Decision

Approval for Lincolnshire County Council to
submit a bid to the Invitation to Tender for Secure
Children’s Homes Accommodation Services being advertised by
the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)