The Delegated Decisions by Cabinet Member for Resources and Deputy Leader meeting on Tuesday 19 May 2026 saw a decision made regarding the maintenance and support of the council's social care systems. Councillor Neil Fawcett, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Resources, retrospectively authorised the procurement of a new support and maintenance agreement with Liquidlogic Limited.

Children and Adults Social Care System Maintenance and Support

Councillor Neil Fawcett, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Resources, retrospectively authorised the Head of IT to procure a support and maintenance agreement with Liquidlogic Limited. This agreement will be for a 3-year period, with an option to extend for a further 2 years, and will involve finalising contractual documentation in consultation with the Head of Legal and Governance and Deputy Monitoring Officer.

Liquidlogic Limited provides Oxfordshire County Council's case management system for both its Adults and Children's social care needs. The report presented to the Cabinet Member highlighted that statutory configurations and feature upgrades are exclusively provided by Liquidlogic. A 3-year contract was deemed beneficial as it would provide access to support discounts that a rolling 1-year contract would not offer, and would also establish a predictable cost model over the contract's duration. The estimated cost for the 3-year contract is £1.6 million, with a potential 5-year contract costing approximately £2.75 million.

The decision was made retrospectively because the option to renew on a 12-month basis had changed, meaning that discounts negotiated on the original contract would no longer be honoured. Without this new agreement, the council would not be eligible for roadmap updates and contract prices could increase by up to 15%. The report stated that the council's strategic direction is to continue with Liquidlogic, as any alternative software would require significant redevelopment, incurring disproportionate costs and risks. The use of these systems supports the council's fulfilment of its legal obligations under various Care Acts and Children Acts, aligning with its Fairer and Healthier ambitions outlined in the Strategic Plan. The procurement will be undertaken in accordance with the council's Contract Procedure Rules and public procurement legislation, with the contract being directly awarded to Liquidlogic Limited under the Crown Commercial Services (now Government Commercial Agency) RM6259 Vertical Application Solutions Framework.

The decision was approved and will become effective at 5 pm on Wednesday, 27 May 2026, unless called in by the appropriate Scrutiny Committee. The officer responsible for taking the agreed action is Tracey Jones, from IT Services.

The meeting also noted that there were no declarations of interest, no questions from County Councillors, and no petitions or public address received.