Issue - meetings

(a)  To retender the Newcastle Housing Advice Service Contract for a 3 year contract with an option to extend for a further 3 years subject to satisfactory performance and funding.

(b)   That Cabinet approve the proposal to accept variants bids as part of the retendering of the Newcastle Housing Advice Service Contract.

(c)   That Cabinet require the successful contractor to work with the Council to enhance the customer journey in future years of the contract.

(d)   That the Executive Director for Regeneration and Development is authorised in consultation with the Portfolio Holder to finalise the specification/service outline.

(e)  That once details of the relevant bids have been received they are shared with the relevant scrutiny committee to help ensure that the important parts of the contract are protected before any contract is awarded.

The delivery of a housing advice, homelessness and housing register service was a statutory function, which meant that the Council had to provide assistance to assist individuals and families who were homeless or threatened with homelessness who applied for help. The report set out the options available for the provision of the Council’s statutory homelessness, housing advice and housing register services for April 2014 onwards when the current extended contract expired.

In line with the Council’s overarching aim to seek at least 10% savings from all newly commissioned contracts, it was anticipated that the future budget for the service would be reduced from £300,000 to £270,000, therefore it was necessary for the Council to consider ways to deliver the service in more efficient ways. The report outlined the options available and highlighted how the retendering process would enable future delivery of the service to be brought in within the desired budget when the current contract expired at the end of March 2014.

Resolved: (a)           To retender the Newcastle Housing Advice Service Contract for a 3 year contract with an option to extend for a further 3 years subject to satisfactory performance and funding.

(b)   That Cabinet approve the proposal to accept variants bids as part of the retendering of the Newcastle Housing Advice Service Contract.

(c)   That Cabinet require the successful contractor to work with the Council to enhance the customer journey in future years of the contract.

(d)   That the Executive Director for Regeneration and Development is authorised in consultation with the Portfolio Holder to finalise the specification/service outline.

(e)  That once details of the relevant bids have been received they are shared with the relevant scrutiny committee to help ensure that the important parts of the contract are protected before any contract is awarded.