The Executive Decision meeting of Waltham Forest Council is scheduled to discuss a proposal to commission family support hours via an open procurement framework approach. The aim is to improve the quality and oversight of family support services, and encourage competitive pricing from external providers. Councillor Kizzy Gardiner, Portfolio Lead Member for Children and Young People, is expected to make the decision.

Here are the key items that are listed on the agenda for discussion:

Family Support Procurement

The main item for discussion is the commissioning of family support hours through an open procurement process. Currently, family support is spot purchased by Children's Social Care, in accordance with the council's responsibilities under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989¹. The report pack states that Councillor Kizzy Gardiner, Portfolio Lead Member for Children and Young People, is asked to approve a proposal to commission Family Support hours via a compliant Framework approach. This is intended to provide better oversight of the quality of family support and encourage competition on price.

The report pack notes that a rise in complexity of family support cases during and since the pandemic has been mirrored across other local authorities. Family Support becomes more important in the context of the Care Reforms as Children's Services moves to more preventative models of service delivery.

The report pack outlines several options that were considered for the future delivery of family support services:

• Do nothing: Continuing to spot purchase family support services. This option was rejected due to reduced financial value and quality assurance.
• In-house service: Employing staff directly to conduct family support work. This was rejected because the costs would be higher than a commissioned service.
• Volunteer service: Recruiting volunteers to provide family support services. This option was discounted in the short term due to the high level of risk and complexity of family support cases.
• Open procurement process: Establishing an Open Framework Agreement for family support. This is the recommended option.

The report pack states that the proposed Framework Agreement will commence 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2030.

The report pack notes that the procurement of an Open Framework Agreement has been approved by the Strategic Commissioning Board (SCB) and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

The report pack states that the Framework will support the following missions from Mission Waltham Forest:

• Mission 1: Ensure every family and every child are given every opportunity
• Mission 10: A firm financial footing

The report pack states that to promote value for money, it has been agreed that providers will be evaluated on 50% Quality, 50% Price.

The report pack notes that the Framework will be funded from the existing Childrens Social Care Section 17 budget, with a contract cap set at £1,000,000 per annum (£4,000,000 in total).

The report pack states that there are two key risks associated with the recommendation:

• Existing providers may choose not to participate in the procurement exercise. Mitigation: hold a market warming exercise to collect feedback from providers.
• Lack of capacity within LBWF to provide effective contract management/management of the Framework. Mitigation: Streamline reporting requirements using a single template.

Other agenda items

The agenda for the meeting also includes:

• Apologies for absence
• Declarations of interest