Community Meals Contract AGENDA NO · through WRVS will support the voluntary sector. Caring for...

Community Meals Contract AGENDA NO:

Cabinet Date 22nd October 2008

Community & Adult care Councillor Tony Hicks

Key Decision Yes

Background Documents

None

Main Consultees • Gloucestershire Service Users Forum

• The Gloucestershire Voluntary and Community Sector Social Care Strategy Group

• Adult Social Care Fieldwork and Homecare

• Lunch club organisers

Planned Dates Consultation was undertaken during the development of the service specification as set out in the report.

Divisional Councillor

All

Officer Mark Branton – Director of Strategic Commissioning and Performance Telephone (01452) 425105 – E-Mail [email protected] John Feege – Purchasing Officer Telephone (01452) 425597 - E-Mail [email protected]

Purpose of Report

To seek approval to award to the Community Meals contract to WRVS

Recommendations It is recommended that Cabinet approve the award of a five year contract for the provision of Community Meals to WRVS.

Resource Implications

Although the total cost is subject to the overall number of meals provided with the cost per meal reducing as the total number increases, the estimated cost is some £430,000 per annum. This is within the existing budget and thus includes delivery of the MTFS savings target of £50,000 per annum. The savings will be achieved from incorporating a number of the existing interim service arrangements into the overall contract and will not impact on quality which will be assured through the standards built into the contract specification and monitoring arrangements.

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mailto:[email protected]


MAIN REPORT CONTENTS Background

1) Gloucestershire County Council currently provides a hot meals service to in excess

of 1,000 service users per week who would otherwise have difficulty in preparing a nutritious meal of their own. The majority of those using the service are older people. The service has a key role in supporting people to live in their own home, supports social inclusion through lunch clubs and is often supplemented by other support services such as domiciliary care or day centre attendance.

2) The current Community Meals Service is supplied to service users in their own

homes and at lunch clubs and day centres by Initial Catering and delivered by WRVS. The current contract with Initial Catering was extended for this year and expires on 31 March 2009.

3) A review of the existing service took place in 2007. The aim was to support

independent living through the delivery of a consistent meals service across the County on a 7-days per week basis, which would achieve best value for the Council. The needs of service users were identified through consultation and were incorporated in to the service specification.

4) The review also identified limitations and risks with the existing service model,

solutions to which have also been included in the contract. These included:

• The weekend service is non-contracted with low service capacity and diverse arrangements.

• The service covers the majority of town centres but is not always available in more rural areas such as the North Cotswolds or the Forest of Dean.

• Only hot meals are provided which have to be delivered at a particular fixed time and must be eaten at the time of delivery. This contrasts with developments elsewhere where a frozen meal delivery service option has been added to provide greater choice.

• There are currently no ethnically sensitive meal options provided through the contract.

5) The Contract for Community meals was advertised in Summer 2008 on the OJEC

web site which resulted in three submissions, all from organisations with a track record of delivery elsewhere: WRVS, Apetito & Sodexo. A panel comprising of relevant staff, including specialist staff working with minority ethnic communities, evaluated each tender against set criteria covering price and quality issues (over and above those set as a minimum within the contract specification). The outcome of this evaluation was that WRVS was the highest ranked tenderer.

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6) The new service would include the following: • A hot meal service available to individual service users in their own homes, 365

days per year. • The option of bulk delivery of frozen meals to the service user for eating at their

own convenience. • The provision of equipment (where none exists) for the Service User to store

(freezer) and regenerate (microwave) at their convenience. • A service that can meet the needs of lunch clubs and day centres. • The provision of meals, to national standards, which will meet service users’

nutritional, dietary and cultural needs. • There are also extra options of delivering breakfast & tea to service users. • WRVS are also developing a ‘Good neighbours scheme’ in Gloucestershire to

provide low-level support to enable people to remain within their own homes and communities for longer.

Options

To summarise there are 2 basic options available:

1) To award the Community Meals contract to WRVS. 2) To change the specification or contract terms and re-tender the contract.

Risk Assessment

WRVS have a proven track record of delivering community meals contracts elsewhere together with a longstanding relationship with the service in Gloucestershire so are considered to be well placed to take over the running of this service and deliver the required developments and quality of service specified. The estimated costs are based on a growing number of frozen meals being provided over the 5-year contract term with the aim to achieve a 70% hot and 30% frozen split, in line with authorities with similar hot & frozen meal services. We would work towards this end split from year 2 of the new contract subject to individuals expressing a preference for this option and it meeting their needs. The other potential risk is if a significant number of service users decide to switch to ‘Direct Payments’ or “Personal Budgets” as their preferred option and then choose to purchase their meals from a different provider then the Council’s meal requirement could diminish. This will make the service more expensive per meal provided, as the costs will be calculated on the lower meal volume/higher cost end of the spectrum. In both cases the potential reductions are likely to be offset by an increasing number of people being supported in their own homes or through community activity which will increase the overall demand.

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Officer Advice It is recommended that the Community Meals contract is awarded to WRVS, as the highest scored submission and recognising that the service has been developed as set out in paragraph six above.

Consultation Feedback

The new service specification was developed through consultation with service user groups and other stakeholders.

Performance Management/Follow-up

The contract will be subject to a robust performance monitoring process covering key targets and standards. Contract monitoring arrangements will be based on agreed ‘Key Performance Indicators’. The new service provider will also be tasked with conducting regular customer satisfaction surveys. The results will be shared with the Council.

Environmental impact

WRVS have a clear environmental policy, which seeks to reduce greenhouse emissions and promote recycling. They have indicated their intention to reduce food miles and their proposal is based on moving from our existing fleet of mainly unleaded vehicles to those based on diesel and LPG.

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Report Title Community Meals Contract

Statutory Authority Gloucestershire County Council

Relevant County Council policy

NA

Resource Implications Although the total cost is subject to the overall number of meals provided with the cost per meal reducing as the total number increases, the estimated cost is some £430,000 per annum. This is within the existing budget and thus includes delivery of the MTFS savings target of £50,000 per annum. The savings will be achieved from incorporating a number of the existing interim service arrangements into the overall contract and will not impact on quality which will be assured through the quality standards built into the contract specification and monitoring arrangements.

Sustainability checklist:

Partnerships The new Community Meals service will be operated through a close working partnership between WRVS and the Council.

Decision Making and Involvement

Service Users’ Groups were involved in the development of the new service specification. In addition service users were involved in the meal evaluation of each Provider who tendered for the contract.

Economy and Employment The contract will have a positive influence on jobs in the area and through WRVS will support the voluntary sector.

Caring for people The Community Meals contract supports C&ACD Level 2 Objective 1 that ‘there is an increase in the proportion of older people supported at home’

Built Environment The new contract will result in existing operations moving from their Day Centres bases to two WRVS managed sites.

Landscape N/A

Education and Information N/A

Equality Impact Assessment (EIA)

Has an EIA been completed? Yes Was a differential impact identified? No A copy of the full EIA can be accessed via http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=18422 Alternatively a hard copy is available for inspection from Jane Cleaver, Democratic Services Unit (e-mail [email protected]) and will be attached to the signed copy of the minutes.

Human rights Implications There are no human rights implications.


Consultation Arrangements

The new Community Meals service specification was developed through consultation with service user groups and stakeholders.

Equality Impact Assessment Form &

Guidance Notes

Equalities Team Updated February 2007

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Contents

Page What is an Equality Impact Assessment? 3

Where does an Equality Impact Assessment come from? 3

What is meant by "Impact"? 3

When should an Equality Impact Assessment be carried out? 4

Initial Screening 4

Full Impact 5

Equality Impact Assessment process flow chart 7

Equality Impact Assessment Form 9

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What is an Equality Impact Assessment? The purpose of an Equality Impact Assessment is to improve the work of Gloucestershire County Council by making sure it does not discriminate and that, where possible, it promotes equality. It is a way to make sure individuals and teams think carefully about the likely impact of their work on equality target groups and take action to improve policies, services, strategies, procedures and functions. It involves anticipating the consequences of the above on the target groups and making sure that, as far as possible, any negative consequences are eliminated or minimised and opportunities for promoting equality are maximised. Where does an Equality Impact Assessment come from? Equality Impact Assessments originate from the Race Relations (amendment) Act 2000, the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, as well as the Equality Standard for Local Government (ESLG), all of which place obligations on local authorities and public sector organisations to carry out impact assessments. The Equality Standard is a Best Value Performance Indicator and as such is audited in the same way as any other BVPI. The Equality Standard has been developed as a tool to enable authorities to mainstream gender, race and disability into policy and practice at all levels. For Gloucestershire County Council this has also been extended to cover age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. The County Council's process is therefore aimed at assessing the impact of policies, services, strategies, functions or projects across the six equality groups. What is meant by "Impact"? The County Council will look at two possible impacts in its assessment: (A) A negative or adverse impact: This is an impact that could disadvantage one or more equality groups. This disadvantage may be differential, where the negative impact on one particular group of individuals or one equality group is likely to be greater than on another. The Equality Impact Assessment provides an opportunity to assess this. For example: an event that was held in a building with no induction loop facilities would have a negative or adverse impact on some attendees with a hearing impairment. (B) A positive impact. An impact that could have a positive impact on one or more equality target groups, or improve equal opportunities and/or relationships between groups. This positive impact may be differential, where the positive impact on one

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particular group of individuals or one equality group is likely to be greater than on another. For example: A targeted training programme for black and minority ethnic women, would have a positive differential impact on black and minority ethnic women compared with its impact on white women and all men. It would not, however, necessarily have an adverse impact on white women or men. When should an Equality Impact Assessment be carried out? An equality impact assessment should be carried out when: (a) Developing a new policy, service, strategy, procedure or function (b) Reviewing existing policies. (c) A policy, service, procedure, function or strategy has been identified as requiring an Equality Impact Assessment by partnership working, directorates, Chief Officers Management Team or Elected Members. All managers are responsible for incorporating equalities into their policies, procedures, services, functions or strategies, and for assessing the equalities impacts. This should be a continuous cycle, starting at the very beginning of the process. If there is any doubt as to whether a policy, service, strategy, procedure or function requires initial screening, managers should contact the Equalities Team or their Directorate Fairness and Diversity Champion. The Equality Impact Assessment consists of two parts: (a) The initial screening process. (b) The more thorough full assessment if the initial screening has identified an adverse / negative impact. This part of the Equality Impact Assessment form should be completed during the development or review stage before approval for the policy, service, strategy, procedure or function. Once initial screening has been completed, a full assessment is only required if: (a) Any equality group was identified as being disadvantaged or negatively impacted by the policy / strategy / project etc (b) The impact was assessed as of high significance. (c) The impact was not intentional and/or illegal, i.e. discriminatory under anti discrimination legislation. Completing an Equality Impact Assessment is similar to a risk assessment as it involves predicting and assessing the implications of a policy, service, strategy, procedure or function on a wide range of people with different needs. Furthermore, this should not be carried out in isolation, but with the support and advice of others. Effective consultation with stakeholders is a key ingredient in conducting Equality Impact Assessments.

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At the screening stage, you should be assessing obvious negative / positive impact or gaps in knowledge about likely impact. It should be a relatively short process which makes use of previous consultation results, personal knowledge & experience, research and reports, internet searches, internal and external specialist advice, employees with previous experience of similar strategies or projects etc. In question 7 it should be noted if there is a lack of data or information concerning a particular area, but this should not be a reason to stop the process. If the likely impact on a particular group is unknown, then action needs to be taken to acquire this information. Full Impact This part provides an opportunity to assess the evidence for a possible negative impact. It ensures that research and consultation with the equality target groups has been carried out and leads to an improvement plan aiming to minimise the negative impact and, where possible, maximise the positive impact. The Equality Impact Assessment improvement plan template (see Question 14) lists any recommendations that have been identified to improve the policy, service, procedure, function or strategy as a result of the Equality Impact Assessment along with the resources and timescales needed to achieve them. Consultation involves engaging with representatives from equality groups who are likely to be affected by the. Policy, service, procedure, function or strategy. This could include engaging with employees and Members, employee networks or trade unions, other public bodies or voluntary and community groups. It is important to ensure sufficient time and resources are dedicated to the consultation process to encourage full participation, particularly by those we have traditionally failed to reach. Please refer to the Consultation Strategy, which outlines this authority's plans for consultation. Use the consultation toolkit and planning template to ensure your consultation follows good practice and protocol. http://staffnet/index.cfm?articleid=5203 The public will be able to examine completed Equality Impact Assessments if they request to see them and information about Equality Impact Assessments is available on the Gloucestershire County Council website. Publishing the results of Equality Impact Assessments is key to establishing accountability and maintaining public confidence. It will demonstrate that the County Council is committed to promoting equality, monitoring, assessing and consulting on the effects of its policies, services, strategies, procedures or functions.

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http://staffnet/index.cfm?articleid=5203

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Flowchart: The Impact Assessment Process

Initial Screening

Full Assessment

Look at policy, service, strategy, procedure or function

1. Identify main aims of policy, service, strategy, procedure or function

2. Collect Information

3. Decide if the policy, service, strategy, procedure or function is relevant

Exit Process

Not Relevant

Relevant

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1. Identify all aims of the policy, service, strategy, procedure or function

2. Consider the evidence

5 Consult formally

6 Decide whether to adopt the policy, service, strategy, procedure or function

8 Publish assessment results

3 Assess any likely impact

4 Consider alternatives

7 Make monitoring arrangements

Full Assessment

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Equality Impact Assessment Form Part 1: Initial Screening 1. Persons responsible for this assessment: Name: John Feege Telephone: 01452 42 5597

Service: Community Meals E-Mail: [email protected]

Directorate: Community & Adult Care Date of Assessment: Feb 2008

2. Name of the policy, service, strategy, procedure or function: Community Meals (formally Meals on Wheels)

Is this new or an existing one? Existing (please delete as appropriate) 3. Briefly describe its aims and objectives THE COMMUNITY MEALS SERVICE REQUIREMENT:

A meal service that allows an assessed service user the opportunity to receive a meal which can be transported to their own home. According to the assessment the meals provided will be either:

a) A meal that is hot at the point of delivery by either being transported and regenerated en route to individual homes in sealed packaging (Note – The hot service is available seven days per week, 365 days per year), or

b) Bulk delivery of frozen / or chill meals to the customer with provided equipment (where none exists) for the customer to store (freezer/fridge) and regenerate (microwave/serve-therm) at their convenience. (Note - The frozen / or chill service is not a daily delivery service)

A service that supplies the meal needs of: lunch clubs, adult opportunity centres

and day centres. To provide a meal to a high standard which meets the nutritional, dietary and

cultural needs of the customers. To provide a service in a manner which consistently reflects a high standard of

customer care. The Contract period will commence 1st April 2009

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4. Who is intended to benefit from it and in what way? All assessed service users (benefit = meals & Well being check) Lunch Club users (benefit = meal) AOC / Day Centre users (benefit = meal) All Gloucestershire residents will benefit as service will be accessible to private users who will be included within the cost / volume agreement - thus will pay a contract price

5. What outcomes are expected? Assessed needs & outcomes met thus supporting people to remain living at home

6. Have you consulted on this policy, service, strategy, procedure or function? Yes

Details of consultation A new service proposal was developed The proposal has been consulted on via the following:

1. Gloucestershire Service User Forum (a representative has also been invited to the Service Specification development & assessment criteria meeting)

2. GAVCA (Glos Hub Bulletin) 3. Lunch Club survey 4. Internal staff - Operational / Homecare meeting

7. What evidence has been used for this assessment? Responses from all of the above sources

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8. Could a particular group be affected differently in either a negative or positive way? Please evidence that you have used the Consultation toolkit and planning template http://staffnet/index.cfm?articleid=5203 - Research Plan completed (this is attached) NB – all service users will benefit as the new service will be County-Wide which it currently is not. The hot meal element of the service will be available 7 days/week which is also not available currently across the County.

Negative Positive Evidence

Age

No issues raised -

Disability X

GlosHub feedback – service specification will require the supplier to label meals with more appropriate information. Well Being checks will be available to provide a check on service users to ensure they are able to manage their community meals safely. Addition for frozen meals will give option to eat meals when SU wants to.

Gender including Transgender

NA No issues raised

Race including Gypsy & Traveller X

Lunch club feedback – service will provide ethnic group menu options which currently do not exist

NA Religion or Belief No issues raised

NA Sexual Orientation No issues raised

Other groups (see Guidance notes) X

Ethnic lunch clubs consulted (ethnic options will be made available through this contract) / Food Vision Gloucestershire. Vegetarian & special diet options will be increased. Overall more choice & flexibility.

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9. If you have identified a negative impact in Question 8 complete this section Are there any other policies, services, strategies, procedures or functions that need to be assessed alongside this screening? If Yes, please identify which groups are affected N/A Should the policy, service, strategy, procedure or function proceed to a full Equality Impact Assessment? No If the answer is no please give reasons for this decision No group will be disadvantaged as the service is offering a County Wide service. The service is being expanded so impact on service users will be beneficial. If a service user receives a frozen/chill meal instead of a hot then this will be based on assessment of need. Equipment will also be provided through the contract. Date by which full Equality Impact Assessment is to be completed N/A

Declaration We are satisfied that an initial screening has been carried out on this policy, service, strategy, procedure or function * (delete those which do not apply) and a full Equality Impact Assessment is / is not required. We understand that the Equality Impact Assessment is required by the County Council and that we take responsibility for the completion and quality of this assessment Completed by: John Feege Date: Feb 2008 Role: Purchasing Officer Adult Services Countersigned by Head of Service Judy Kirkham Date: March 2008 Date for Review:March 2008

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Please forward an electronic copy to the Equalities Team by emailing

[email protected]

The original signed hard copy and electronic copy should be kept with your team for audit purposes. Part 2: Full Assessment 10. Summarise the negative impacts for each group(s) identified in section 8:

Use the Consultation planning template and database to help you to complete this section http://staffnet/index.cfm?articleid=5203 Merge 11 What previous consultation has taken place or will take place with each equality group either externally or internally?

12. Who was consulted and/or what research was carried out?

13. What does the consultation indicate about the negative impact?

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14. Age What changes do you propose to make to the policy, service, strategy, procedure or function as a result of research and/or consultation?

Negative Impact Changes Proposed Lead Officer Timescale

Will this remove the

negative impact? Yes/NO

Resource Implication Comments

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Disability





16

Gender including Transgender





17

Race including Gypsy and Traveller





18

Religion or belief





19

Sexual orientation





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Other groups (see Guidance notes)





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15. If there is a negative impact what will you do to promote equality and improve relations within equality groups?

16a How will you monitor/evaluate and check the policy, service, strategy, procedure or function?

16b When will it be reviewed?

Completed by:

Role:

Date Started:

Date Completed:

I am satisfied that a full Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken in respect of >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>(Name of policy, service, strategy, procedure or function) I understand that this Equality Impact Assessment is required by the County Council and we take responsibility for its completion and quality Countersigned by Head of Service Date: Date for Review: Summary report published on website and web link sent to Equalities Team

Date:

Copies to:

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Community Meals Contract AGENDA NO · through WRVS will support the voluntary sector. Caring for...

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