This meeting of the Executive Decision of Waltham Forest Council was scheduled to discuss a direct award of contracts to Enabled Living to deliver an integrated community equipment service. The report pack sets out the rationale for this decision, and recommends that Councillor Louise Mitchell, Portfolio Lead Member for Adults and Health, approves the direct award of the contracts. The meeting was not open to the public.

Integrated Community Equipment Service

The main item scheduled for discussion was the direct award of two contracts to Enabled Living, a Local Authority Trading Company (LATCO) owned by Newham Council, to deliver an emergency Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES) for residents of Waltham Forest.

The report pack stated that the direct award of these contracts would ensure continuity of critical services following the insolvency of the current provider, NRS Healthcare, and mitigate risks to hospital discharge, admission avoidance, and community safety.

According to the report pack, NRS Healthcare formally filed for insolvency on 1 August 2025, and PwC were appointed as service managers to begin winding down the company. The London Consortium, comprised of 21 boroughs and led by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), had originally commissioned NRS Healthcare to deliver an integrated Community Equipment Service.

The report pack noted that Waltham Forest Council spent £3.2 million on ICES in 2024/25, with funding split between the council and North East London Integrated Care Board (NEL ICB).

The report pack stated that Waltham Forest Council had been working with Enabled Living to mobilise an integrated discharge hub plus model (IDH Plus), which went live on 4 August 2025. This service focused on fulfilling 15 priority orders per day for community equipment, delivery, and repairs, as well as delivering equipment to a peripheral store at Whipps Cross Hospital and processing up to 20 specialist equipment orders per month.

The report pack also stated that the council formally served notice to terminate the integrated community equipment service provided by NRS on 26 August 2025, with services ceasing on 29 August 2025. In preparation for this, the council had been working with Enabled Living to develop a further scaled-up community equipment offer.

The report pack stated that the additional service offer, due to go live with Enabled Living by 3 September, would be through direct award of a Non-Urgent Community Equipment Contract (including use of a local community equipment store) and would enable orders of up to 550 per month plus an additional 20 special orders per month to occur (20% of these orders will via the local community equipment store; click and collect model).

The report pack noted that the council requested approval to direct award Enabled Living with two contracts:

• IDH Plus Contract: Start date 4 August 2025 to 3 February 2026, with the option to extend by a further 6 months (450 orders per month plus 20 special orders).
• Non-Urgent Community Equipment Contract (IDH Extension): Start date 3 September 2025 to 11 February 2026, with the option to extend by a further 6 months (550 orders per month plus specials orders, estimate 50 per month).

The report pack stated that both contracts would include the option to terminate at an agreed date with Enabled Living in line with the go-live of a full scaled community equipment service contract which will be via direct award once full costings and mobilisation plan is delivered.

The report pack stated that there may also be the need to do a further direct award of contract to Enabled Living prior to the award of delivery for the full scaled offer for additional capacity for repairs and maintenance to community equipment.

The report pack provided the following estimated costs:

• Enabled Living delivery costs for IDH plus are £448,347 (this includes mobilisation costs of £47,000). This is for 6 months from 4 August 2025.
• IDH Extension (Non-Urgent Community Equipment Service) is £207,802 for 23 weeks.

The report pack stated that an agreement to enter into an emergency contract with Enabled Living was approved by SLT on 25 July 2025, then by the Equipment Oversight Group on 28 July 2025, and finally at an Extraordinary SCB meeting on 2 September 2025.

The report pack stated that the council chose to work with Enabled Living as they were able to rapidly mobilise urgent contingency arrangements to support with business continuity following NRS's insolvency.

The report pack stated that Enabled Living is uniquely positioned to deliver an emergency ICES service for Waltham Forest and neighbouring boroughs, and that given the urgency, limited market options, and collaborative benefits, a direct award is the most appropriate commissioning route.

The report pack listed the following expected outcomes:

• Immediate continuity of essential equipment services for hospital discharge and urgent care within Waltham Forest.
• Stabilisation of service delivery for Waltham Forest.
• Avoidance of adverse outcomes for residents and health and social care system flow.
• Capacity to deliver up to 53% of our community equipment offer whilst scale of up of the full integrated community equipment service offer is occurring.
• Foundation for longer-term commissioning strategy.
• Ensures resident safety community equipment is a vital enabler in supporting people to remain well and independent in our communities.
• Enabled Living have agreed to an open book approach and a quality improvement methodology, reviewing scale up of service frequently with clinicians and commissioners to improve and ensure best value delivered.

The report pack stated that a range of options were considered to support the recommendations, and that following the options appraisal the recommended option is direct award of the two contracts described in this report to Enabled Living.

The report pack noted that Enabled Living have been approached to provide business continuity for the four impacted NE London boroughs (Waltham Forest, City, Hackney and Tower Hamlets), and that the emergency service (IDH Plus go live 4 August 2025) focuses on hospital discharge and urgent admission avoidance in its initial phases and provides a base to support expansion of the offer.

The report pack stated that the service operates out of a warehouse in Beckton and there is potential to expand to a larger adjoining warehouse (long term lease implications).

The report pack stated that while not a statutory service in isolation, ICES supports statutory duties under:

• The Care Act 2014 (prevention and wellbeing)
• NHS discharge protocols
• Safeguarding responsibilities

The report pack stated that the new contract arrangement will be funded from the existing funding streams from both the LA and ICB that were allocated in the budget to cover the NRS contract for the full year before its termination, and that the new contracts expenditure will be part of the ongoing monitoring of community equipment service for the rest of 2025-26.

The report pack stated that Legal will support with drafting and issuing 2 separate contracts as below:

• IDH Plus Contract start date 4 August 2025 to 3 February 2026 with option to extend by further 6 months (450 orders per month plus 20 special orders)
• Non-Urgent Community Equipment Contract start date 3 September 2025 to 11 February 2026 with option to extend by further 6 months (550 orders per month plus specials orders, estimate 50 per month).

The report pack stated that as this is an emergency contract, a full Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) has not been completed at this stage, but that initial analysis indicates the service will enhance access to essential equipment for vulnerable residents, directly supporting timely hospital discharge and promoting safety within the community. It also noted that due to the emergency nature and limited scope of the service, non-urgent cases may experience delays, and that mitigating measures, including clear prioritisation protocols and proactive communication with affected residents, are being implemented to manage these risks effectively.

The report pack stated that recognising the importance of sustainability, climate-related KPIs will be developed during mobilisation, including:

• Percentage of deliveries using low-emission vehicles
• Percentage of reused or recycled equipment