Appendix 1

Children and Young People’s Services Contract Management Performance Framework

Introduction

The Council will achieve its strategic objectives through high quality, timely and cost-effective services. External services will be delivered through strong relationships with suppliers who are proactively managed by the council’s contract managers and in full knowledge of the risks involved.

Contract management is increasingly important as the Council delivers services via its enabling role. The current economic climate poses particular challenges for contract management given the heightened risk of contract and service failure resulting from pressure to reduce prices. These are recognised in the strategic risk register and, the new corporate priorities which include the aim ‘continue to improve contractor performance.’

A Contract Management Strategy has been prepared and approved by the Council. It aims to share best practice and implement improvements Council wide in order to establish common high standards across the organisation.

The five objectives of the strategy are to

  1. Develop, agree and introduce a comprehensive framework for contract management across the council.
  1. Improve the evidence of contracts being well managed – improve the quality of corporate governance in contracting.
  1. Create corporate capacity and expertise in contract management, to provide a cross-council support structure, drive the strategy and oversee change.
  1. Improve and make more consistent the overall standard of contract management in the council; raise the level of practice in contract management to that of the best.
  1. Develop and introduce a framework against which the success of contract management can be regularly assessed by the council.

Background

The Council’s Contract Management Strategy refers to the need to improve governance and performance management; in particular it refers to the following principles that this framework addresses.

  • all contract managers should broadly follow standardised, consistent processes council-wide;
  • risks should be proactively identified and managed;
  • there should be improved ownership of contract management;
  • there must be clear reporting lines and responsibilities;
  • there should be clear relationships between the council and every supplier, at an appropriate level;
  • a performance management framework should assure the council (at different levels) that contracts are being well-managed;

This framework has been produced with the help and guidance of the Council’s Commercial and Contracts Manager, and incorporates the basic contents of the corporate framework. It is only intended as a brief summary of the management and reporting arrangements in CYPS. Much more detailed guidance and information is being provided on the Council’s intranet at

The framework is based on the 2008 Good Practice Contract Management Framework, published jointly by the Office of Government Commerce and the National Audit Office.

The framework is designed to help measure and evaluate both the service outcomes of the contract and the actual practice of contract management.

The Framework

Key areas

This framework describes 14 areas of contract management, in 5 categories. But not all of these areas are relevant to every contract. The activities undertaken should be proportionate to both contract risk and contract value. Contract managers should begin by agreeing with their line manager an appropriate level of activity and monitoring. So, for a complex, high risk and high value contract, it is likely that there will be comprehensive activity and monitoring across all 14 areas. But for a straightforward, low risk and low value contract, it would be more appropriate to concentrate on areas 1 to 9. Much more guidance is provided on the council’s intranet – this includes a methodology for assessing the inherent risks in a contract and how these may be translated into a proportionate approach to contract management and monitoring.

The full range of contract management activities which contract managers should select from to manage, monitor and report are shown below. Those in bold represent the ones used in the OGC / NAO framework.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT / 1. Service outcomes / 1. Service quality
2. Value for money
3. Timeliness
2. Contract structure and resources / 4. Preparation, planning and governance
5. People
6. Administration
3. Contract delivery / 7. Relationships and communications
8. Performance arrangements
9. Payments and incentives
10. Risk management
4. Contract development / 11. Contract development
12. Supplier development
5. Strategic contract management / 13. Supplier relationship management
14. Market management

Guidance, descriptors and checklists have been provided to assist managers in understanding the key components of each of these areas in relation to both how contracts should be managed and how performance can be evaluated.

In addition, CYPS representatives sit on the Contract Management Champions Group; they are:-

  • Louise Malik, Service Leader (Resources)
  • Lynda Mitchell, Commissioning & Contract Manager

Timing and Reporting Levels

Contract managers are responsible for managing contracts and this framework should be used in a proportionate way for all contracts. This means that contracts should be managed in a way which relates to value, risk and complexity. Contract managers should complete a quarterly performance sheet proportionate to these criteria, discuss and agree it with their line manager.

Heads of Service are responsible for ensuring that proper contract management is in place in their areas and this framework is being used and that issues are escalated to SLT where appropriate.

SLT wishes to have visibility of performance in relation to a number of key contracts and, on a quarterly basis will wish to review that performance. The contracts that SLT will review are not fixed and will depend on:

  • the number of red RAG ratings (3 or more);
  • the overall contract value; and
  • the prevailing contract risk rating.

It is likely that those contracts that SLT will review will be a small sub-set of the following main contracts in CYPS. As such, it is expected that the contract managers will complete a performance summary sheet each quarter for each of these contracts.

Key contract / service / Contractor / Contract Manager / Commissioning Team
South West Grid for Learning Managed Contract / South West Grid for Learning / Chris McFall / Emma Whitehead
SIMS / Capita One / Capita / Chris McFall / Emma Whitehead
Inclusion support for under 5s / Springboard Opportunity Group / Sheila French / Pam Kelly
Residential Placements for Disabled Children / Action for Children / Sheila French / Pam Kelly
Home Based Placements for Disabled Children / Action for Children / Sheila French / Pam Kelly
Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service / Weston Area Health Trust / Sheila French / Pam Kelly
Connexions / Learning Partnership West / Marie Horton / Pam Kelly
School Cleaning / Churchill Services / Lynda Mitchell / Lynda Mitchell
Schools meals / Edwards & Ward Ltd / Lynda Mitchell / Lynda Mitchell
Home to school transport / Terri Knowlton

In addition, there will be a process for escalating a smaller sub-set of reports to CMT depending on the degree of risk to the Council overall.

The draft timetable for reporting for 2012/13 is as follows:-

Q1 / Q2 / Q3 / Q4
Contract managers complete performance summary and review with manager / Head of Service / between / 1 Jul 2012 / 1 Oct 2012 / 1 Jan 2013 / 1 Apr 2013
and / 12 Jul 2012 / 11 Oct 2012 / 10 Jan 2013 / 11 Apr 2013
Contract managers send performance summaries for SLT chosen contracts and any contract with 3 or more red areas to Head of Resources and Performance / by / 12 Jul 2012 / 11 Oct 2012 / 10 Jan 2013 / 11 Apr 2013
Contract managers compile directorate dashboard for consideration at SLT / between / 12 Jul 2012 / 11 Oct 2012 / 10 Jan 2013 / 11 Apr 2013
and / 16 Jul 2012 / 15 Oct 2012 / 14 Jan 2013 / 15 Apr 2013
SLT consideration of Directorate dashboard / on / 26 Jun 2012 / 16 Oct 2012 / 15 Jan 2013 / 16 Apr 2013
Contract managers refine / amend dashboard in view of SLT comments / between / 17 Jul 2012 / 16 Oct 2012 / 15 Jan 2013 / 16 Apr 2013
and / 19 Jul 2012 / 18 Oct 2012 / 17 Jan 2013 / 18 Apr 2013
Dashboard sent to Corporate Performance Team for collation for CMT / by / 19 Jul 2012 / 18 Oct 2012 / 17 Jan 2013 / 18 Apr 2013

It is recognised that actual PI information (as opposed to assessments against descriptors) for the whole quarter referred to will not be available at the time of reporting. The most recent available figures should be used. For example, for quarter 1, this might be the first 2 months of the financial year; for quarter 2, it might be the first 5 months of the year, etc.

Appendix 2

Supplier (contact name & address) / Contract Name / Type of contract
National Framework for Residential Agencies / Residential placement for Looked After Children / Framework – value depends on demand
National Framework for Independent Fostering Agencies / Foster placements for Looked After Children / Framework – value depends on demand
Action for Children,
Horner Court,
637 Gloucester Road,
Horfield,
Bristol BS7 0BJ / Overnight short break (residential) placements for disabled children / Block
Action for Children,
Horner Court,
637 Gloucester Road,
Horfield,
Bristol BS7 0BJ / Overnight short break home based (specialist foster care) placements for disabled children / Block
Weston Area Health Trust & Avon and Wiltshire Partnership / CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) / Block
Barnardo's Participation co-ordination, Verona House, Filwood Road, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3RY / Supervised contact for looked after children / Block
North Somerset Crossroads
The Carers Centre
1 Graham Road
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 1YA / North Somerset Crossroads Respite Sitting Service for Parent Carers of Disabled Children and Adopted Children / Block
Weston Area Health Trust
Weston General Hospital
Grange Road
Uphill
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 4TQ / Speech and Language Therapy / Block
For All Healthy Living Centre / Children's Centre Co-ordinator (Public Health Specialism) / Block
Barnardo's, Verona House, Filwood Road, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3RY / Advocacy, Independent Visiting and Mentoring / Block
North Somerset Crossroads
The Carers Centre
1 Graham Road
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 1YA / North Somerset Crossroads Young Carers Service / Block
For All Healthy Living Company
68 Lonsdale Avenue
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 3SJ / Adult Mental Health Specialist / Block
South West Adoption Network (SWAN), The Park, Daventry Road,, Knowle, Bristol BS4 1DQ / Adoption Support Services / Block
Voluntary Action North Somerset (VANS) the Badger Centre 3-6 Wadham StreetWeston-super-MareBS23 1JY / Volunteer co-ordination in Children's Centres / Block
Bristol Playbus
24 Bright Street
Barton Hill
Bristol BS59PR / Play session at Hewish traveller site / Block
Homestart
Office Suite 6
Locking RoadBusinessPark
110 Locking Road
Weston-super-Mare
North Somerset
BS23 3HF
/ Home-Start - support to parents of children 0-5 / Block
Springboard Opportunity Group
2a Princes Road
Clevedon
Bristol
BS21 7SZ / Toy Library / Block
Cathy Carroll, 73 Upper Church Road, Weston-super-Mare, N. SomersetBS23 2HX / Independent Counselling Service for North Somerset Foster Carers and Family Link Carers / Block
Youthworkz / Activities with adopted children / Block