Decision

The
Director of Children’s Services has decided to approve the
direct award of a contract to Polaris Children’s Services
Limited in the sum of £109,999.98 for a period of 6 months
from 1st May 2025 – 31st October 2025 for the provision of
Therapeutic Support for Children Looked After
(CLA). 
 

Reasons for the decision

The
decision to re-tender for the service that provides Mental Health
and Wellbeing support for CLA in Wirral was approved via a Key
Decision Officer Decision Notice in October 2024.
 
A
procurement exercise was initiated in December 2024.  However, following an unsatisfactory response to
the tender process it has been agreed that it is not in the
Council’s best interests to proceed to award.
 
A
further process will be initiated as soon as possible. This will be
run under the provisions of the Procurement Act 2023.  It is hoped that the new process will allow the
Local Authority to engage some of the flexibilities offered by
those provisions.
 
To
accommodate delays in the tender process the existing contract
delivered by Polaris Children’s Services was extended for a
period of 1 month commencing 1st April 2025 at a cost of
£18,333.33.
 
To
allow the Local Authority sufficient time to initiate and undertake
the new procurement process it has been agreed that the council
will need to continue with the current service model delivered by
Polaris Children’s Services for a further period of 6 months
commencing 1st May 2025 at a cost of
£109,999.98.
 
The
short term renewal of the current
arrangements with Polaris Children’s Services Limited is
necessary to avoid a gap in service and to ensure continuity of
support for young people in care receiving therapeutic
interventions.
 
The
corporate parenting responsibilities of the Council include having
a duty under section 22(3)(a) of the Children Act 1989 to safeguard
and promote the welfare of Children Looked After.  This obligation includes the physical, emotional
and mental health of the Child Looked After and acting on any early
signs of health issues.
 
The
Council’s Children Looked After and Care Leavers Strategy
22-25 identifies emotional and physical health and wellbeing as a
priority.
The
direct award of this contract has been sanctioned by the Head of
Procurement as an exception to the Council’s Contract
Procedure Rules as set out in the Council’s constitution at
Part 4, Section 6 Contract Procedure Rules sections 12.4.1 b)
compatibility issues such that procurement from another source
would be uneconomic given the investment in previous infrastructure
and 12.4.1 c) a waiver of the rules would be in the interests of
the Council, be lawful, and provide value for money.

Alternative options considered

Not to commission a
short term contract.  Rejected as the council would be in breach of its
statutory requirement to safeguard and promote the welfare of
Looked After Children.
 
To commission a
short-term contract of a different duration. -  Rejected as there is a desire to test the
market.  The proposed duration
is considered to be the optimum length
to enable a more interactive and relevant procurement process (as
sanctioned by the Procurement Act 2023), to be run.