Content

5.1

The
Head of Commissioning, Children and Families introduced the report
which sought approval for the procurement of the sub-regional
Appropriate Adult Service which will be procured by Sheffield on
behalf of Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, and Doncaster Youth
Justice Services (South Yorkshire Local Authorities). The service
will be monitored by the Sheffield City Council Children and
Families Commissioning Service on behalf of the sub-region. The
service has been delivered by the current Provider since April 2021
and the contract is due to end on 30th November 2024. The current
service provider provides the service on behalf of Sheffield,
Rotherham, Barnsley, and Doncaster Youth Justice
Services.
 

5.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Education,
Children and Families Policy Committee:-
 

Approves the re-procurement of an external provider to deliver
an Appropriate Adult Service as part of a joint commission with
Rotherham, Barnsley, and Doncaster Youth Justice Services. The
total value of the contract (including contributions from the South
Yorkshire Local Authorities) is £1,400,000. The estimated
total cost to Sheffield City Council over 4 years is
£798,000, as set out in this report.

 

5.3

Reasons for Decision

5.3.1

To
support the development of a consistent service delivery and key
services across the sub-region that supports the statutory
requirements of the youth justice teams. By the four regional youth
justices services joining together in a single contract (as joint
contracting parties each being solely responsible for their
respective service areas) for the appropriate adult service we are
ensuring best value for money and cost effectiveness, and will be
better able to achieve a higher standard of service throughout the
region which is consistent with each YJS regions delivery plan as
well as the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Plan. There is a
statutory requirement set out within the national standards for the
delivery of youth justice services which are subject to an
inspection and audit regime for the provision of an Appropriate
Adult Service, and these are as set out within the
contract.

5.3.2

To note
the contents of this report and approve the strategy for Integrated
Commissioning to commission the Appropriate Adult Service to the
sub[1]regions Youth
Justice Services.
 

5.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

5.4.1

Do
nothing is not an option, the provision of this Service is a
statutory duty for SCC.
 

5.4.2

Deliver the service
in-house – we currently do not have the expertise or capacity
to deliver the service in-house Due to time constraints for
recruitment plus the additional complexities of providing the
service for multiple local authorities, SCC does not have
sufficient capacity to provide a single service and it is not
economically viable to recruit additional resource in order to do
so. The procurement of an external provider using combined resource
across the region from all South Yorkshire councils benefits from
the economies of scale.
 

5.4.3

Procure an external
provider for SCC only – this will not allow for joined up
working across local authorities who have the same requirements
from the service. It will also restrict the ability to benefit from
economies of scale that come from multi-local authority
commissioning.
 

5.4.4

Procure an external
provider for South Yorkshire Local Authorities - this joined up
approach would maximise the interest and competition from the
market thereby generating better value for money and
efficiencies