The meeting of the Hackney Procurement Board on Friday 31 January 2025 considered a report about the procurement of consultancy services to support the council's Transformation Programme. The meeting was not open to the public.

Transformation Consultancy Support

The most significant item on the agenda was a proposal to authorise the procurement of consultancy services “to accelerate [the council's] transformation work on prevention and demand management across [its] demand-led service areas”.

The report submitted to the Board stated that the first phase of the procurement exercise would seek to appoint a consultant through a mini-competition using the Bloom framework. The intention is that the successful bidder will produce high level business cases with the aim of identifying “significant financial savings” in the council's Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care, Homelessness and Education services.

Should the first phase of work be deemed successful, the council may directly award a second contract to the appointed consultant to implement their recommendations. The report stated that:

Both phases will be detailed in the specification, with phase two being subject to a separate direct award process. Both phases of work will be brought to the Council’s Cabinet Procurement & Insourcing Committee in Spring 2025.

— Final HPB Business Case Report Prevention Demand Management, 7.1

The report gave no details about the nature of the savings that the council is seeking, but stated that:

The intention is to build upon work that has already been undertaken, particularly where prevention and early intervention could potentially reduce or delay the need for residents to access our services.

— Final HPB Business Case Report Prevention Demand Management, 7.1

The report proposed that the contract be funded by the flexible use of capital receipts. This would require the approval of a report to Full Council in February 2025.

The report noted that Hackney Council, like many councils in the UK, is facing a difficult financial situation. It forecasts an in-year overspend in 2024/25 of £38.21m after mitigations, and cumulative budget gaps over the life of the Medium Term Financial Plan.

The report claimed that:

This position is unsustainable and places undue pressure on the use of reserves. It is therefore imperative that the Council identifies ways of reducing cost and preventing and reducing demand. This proposal will deliver business cases with significant financial savings to support the budget gap over the coming years.

— Final HPB Business Case Report Prevention Demand Management, 7.8

Hackney Procurement Board Timetable

The Board noted its meeting schedule for 2025. Meetings are scheduled to take place on:

• 11 February 2025
• 11 March 2025
• 8 April 2025
• 13 May 2025

It is not known whether this schedule was discussed or agreed by the Board.