Purpose

The Government funded HAF Programme was due to
end on 31st March 2025. The Council has received funding from the
Department for Education (DfE) to deliver the HAF Programme in
Lincolnshire during Easter, Summer and Christmas school holidays
and this funding was also due to end on 31st March 2025.
•On 20th January 2025 the DfE announced a one-year extension
of the HAF programme, which the DfE have subsequently indicated
that the funding for Lincolnshire will be £2,841,850.
However, the formal grant determination letter is not anticipated
to be received from the DfE until the end of February 2025.
•The purpose of the HAF funding is to provide holiday
provision, including healthy food, enriching and physical
activities free of charge to Lincolnshire school-aged children and
young people (CYP) from Reception to Year 11 who are eligible for
and receive benefits related free school meals (FSM).
•The Council’s Children’s Services Directorate
Leadership Team (DLT) and Children’s Services Exec DLT agreed
to the procurement of a HAF Booking System platform in order to
reduce the administrative burden for HAF and support the Council to
grow HAF provision in Lincolnshire. This was procured via a Request
for Quotation (RFQ) process and following an evaluation of the RFQs
received was awarded to Wonde Ltd (now novated to Evouchers Ltd).
The agreement commenced 27th June 2022 and is due to end on 31st
March 2025 (after invoking an 18 month extension allowed for in the
existing agreement). The total value of the agreement to the 31st
March 2025 is £52,600 excluding VAT (£61,120 including
VAT).
•The Council’s HAF Booking System provides an online
cloud-based commercial off-the-shelf booking and management system
for the Lincolnshire HAF programme, in order for providers to
advertise their HAF provision and parents/carers of eligible
children to book their children onto the provision being
offered.
•The HAF Booking System is integral to the successful
operation of the HAF Programme and is able to integrate with
Lincolnshire schools and academies’ management information
systems in order to generate vouchers for eligible CYP through
which parents/carers can access the system and book their children
onto provision.
•In order for a HAF Booking System to be utilised for Easter
2025 delivery HAF providers will need to upload their information
onto the system by early March. Due to the late notification of
further HAF funding, there is insufficient time to undertake a
further RFQ process.
•Market research has shown that there is a Crown Commercial
Service Digital Marketplace G-Cloud 14 (HAF Booking Systems
category) that the Council could call off from. However, this would
be at a higher cost to the Council than the cost of extending the
existing agreement with Evouchers Ltd. This would not therefore be
best value of money for both the Council and eligible CYP and would
not be the best use of the HAF grant funding.
•Therefore, an urgent/emergency requirement has arisen in
order to ensure the continued successful delivery of the HAF
Programme in Lincolnshire for a further year.
•The value of the exception and the total contract value with
the exception is below the Public Contract Regulations threshold
and therefore the exception to extend is in relation to the
Council’s Contract Procurement and Procedure Rules which for
a contract value of over £10,000 (including VAT) would
normally require a RFQ process.

Decision

That approval is given by the Executive
Director of Children’s Services for an exception to the
Council’s Contract and Procurement Procedure Rules to enable
an extension of the existing agreement with Evouchers Limited (Ltd)
from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026 for the provision of a
Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Booking System. The value of the
exception is £19,200 excluding VAT (or £23,040
including VAT).