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That Council:
 
a)     
Approves the draw down of the planned use of the Flexible Use of
Capital Receipts to fund the one-off implementation costs of the
procurement of £2.2m.
 
Reasons for Decision
 
a)     
The original contracts for the existing Adult Social Care case
management system expired on 31st March 2025. Interim contracts had
been awarded to March 2027 to ensure continuity of service during
the transition. Procuring a new system ensures that the council
remains compliant with statutory requirements and avoids disruption
to critical services.

 
b)    
The new system configuration will help to streamline processes,
reduce administrative burden, improve data management, and support
better decision-making.

 
c)     
A competitive procurement process via a compliant framework ensures
that the council secures the best possible system at an optimal
price. The recommended approach balances affordability with the
need for a high-quality, fit for purpose solution, ensuring long
term value for money

 
d)    
A modern case management system enables the council to provide more
responsive and efficient support to individuals, leading to
improved care coordination, communication, and engagement.
 
e)     
The proposed procurement aligns with the Council’s corporate
plan, as well as the Adult social care strategy, reinforcing the
ambition to deliver high quality, person-centred services.
 
f)       
This procurement supports the Council’s wider goal of
becoming a modern, innovative Council through the foundations of
scalable technology and integrated service delivery.
 
Alternative Options Considered
 
a)     
The ‘do nothing’ option was ruled out as the existing
system contract expires in March 2027. Without a system in place,
the council would be unable to access case management functions,
leading to severe service disruptions, and non-compliance with
statutory duties.

 
b)    
The option to extend the current contract via a variation was also
ruled out due to contract restrictions and legal risk under the
public contract regulations 2015. To enable a planned
implementation period for a new case management system, a direct
award to the current suppliers was carried out via a procurement
compliant process for a two-year period ending in March 2027. These
contracts are now in place to enable service continuity, whilst
also providing appropriate time for training, data migration and
implementation of a new system. The timeline for this is shown
within 6.1.

 
c)     
A ‘bespoke system’ option was also rejected due to the
high costs, lengthy development timelines, and the need for an
increased ongoing maintenance.