Procurement of care and support services: best practice guidance summary - updated June 2021
Summary of best practice guidance for public bodies on procurement of care and support services. Originally published in March 2016, it has been updated to reflect changes that have occurred as a result of the UK's exit from the EU and the end of the Transition Period.
Annex: Flowchart - decision making in relation to the continuation of an existing service
1. Analyse individual needs and intended outcomes to determine the type of service required and evaluate the existing arrangements for delivering the service.
- involve people who use services and carers in defining their needs and desired outcomes and their views on service improvement and continuity
- review information from people who use services and carers, contract management and service review, regulatory bodies and commissioning strategies to evaluate existing arrangements against best value principles
- assess the needs for improvement and service continuity
- consider available resources
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2. Consider the options for delivering the service.
- should the service be provided by means of another arrangement, for example in house?
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3. Do regulations and standing orders allow the contract to be awarded without competition?
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4. Does analysis of the benefits and risks to service users and service delivery suggest that the contract should be renewed without competition?
- does consideration of the impact that a change in service provision or provider will have on people who use services and carers, continuity or service, regulatory requirements, the quality and cost of the services, the market and the workforce suggest that the contract should be renewed without competition?
A public body will want to consider the answers to all of these types of questions - and any other relevant considerations on a case-by-case basis - before reaching a decision about whether it needs to compete, or direct award, a health or social care services contract.
There is no discretion for a public body to directly award health or social care contracts that are equal to, or greater than, the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 threshold . See paragraph 9 for more details about the rules that apply at that level. A contract notice is required in all cases except where the circumstances described in regulation 33 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 apply.
Contact
Email: ScottishProcurement@gov.scot
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