Reopening the Home Care Support Framework (Flexible Framework)

Description

The Council's Home Care Framework commenced on 1st April 2022 and will expire 30th September 2027. In line with the Framework terms and conditions, the decision was taken to reopen the Framework to new providers to meet to meet demand. The service is intended to support individuals aged 18+ who live within Bracknell Forest and meet the eligibility threshold for care and support as set out in the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014 for the Care Act 2014. Individuals will have a range of care needs, including complex and challenging behaviours. Home Care is the provision of personal care and practical support necessary to maintain an individual’s health, well-being, hygiene, and safety. The service allows people to remain in their own homes and maintain both their independence and quality of life, helping to prevent more costly solutions such as residential care. The service includes activities such as personal care and discharge to assess and supports the reablement of individuals following hospital admission. Whilst the service is available to eligible people 18+ the provision is primarily and foremost a regulated activity for people 65+, delivered by CQC registered providers. Lot 1: The previously advertised flexible framework which commenced on 1 April 2022 allows for re-opening to new Providers. In accordance with its terms, the Framework was reopened for New Entrants to be admitted under the same requirements as the original tender exercise. This procurement has been undertaken in line with the original Home Care Framework tender, and in line with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015). Providers were required to complete a Selection Questionnaire which included compliance questions, minimum entry requirements, quality/technical questions and contract examples/references. The quality evaluation was undertaken by Council Officers including Commissioning and Adult Social Care. The Home Care Framework operates a fixed pricing model, therefore the evaluation of tenders was weighted 100% on quality. Independent credit references were sought to assess the applicants financial standing as part of the due diligence process. The Tender was conducted via the Councils e-tendering portal (ProContract). The contract opportunity was published on 17th November 2025 and open for 28 days closed on 15th December 2025. At the point of tender there were 10 Providers on the Framework. Providers already appointed to the Framework were not required to resubmit to remain on the Framework. The Framework will be used by the Council as a means to advertise, tender and award ‘call-off agreements’ for services that have common characteristics e.g. packages of care. The Council is making use of the allowances of the Light Touch Regime of the Public Contracts Regulations allowing for the procurement procedures to be run in a way that does not conform to standard procedures so long as the principles of transparency and equal treatment are maintained. For inclusion to the Framework bidders were required to meet the minimum entry criteria as detailed in the tender documents. The estimated value of new packages to be awarded via the Framework from January 2026 until the expiry (30th September 2027) is estimated to be in the region of £250K. This is an anticipated value that is subject to demand and could increase dependent on service requirements. Appointment to the Framework does not guarantee any volume of work. For inclusion to the Framework bidders were required to meet the minimum entry criteria as detailed in the tender documents. The estimated value of new packages to be awarded via the Framework from January 2026 until the expiry (30th September 2027) is estimated to be in the region of £250K. This is an anticipated value that is subject to demand and could increase dependent on service requirements. Appointment to the Framework does not guarantee any volume of work. The bids were evaluated by an evaluation panel consisting of Council Officers from Strategic Commissioning, Access to Resources and Adult Social Care. All members of the evaluation panel conducted independent evaluation and scoring of each qualifying bid. The evaluation panel then convened to conduct a moderation process facilitated by Corporate Procurement. This was to enable a comprehensive discussion and consensus to be reached on the scoring for each question within each bid and the agreed narrative to support these scores.