Decision details

Exemption from tendering requirements under the Contract Procedure Rules. See CPRs 19.8 - 19.10.

To make one direct contract award to: The Endorphins Group from 1st June 2024 to 31st March 2027 with the opportunity to extend to 31st March 2029.

I.         Community short breaks service in Oxfordshire has previously offered holiday activities in South Oxfordshire in Abingdon and Wantage areas and if this is not provided, families will not be able to access Short Breaks services in these areas.

II.       Oxfordshire County Council has had significant feedback from families in South Oxfordshire expressing their dissatisfaction in the lack of Short Break provision available following the tender process.

III.     Oxfordshire County Council is facing increasing scrutiny from families, members of the public, the press and MPs with mounting pressure to offer a service replacing what was previously available in the south of the county.

IV.    To limit the reputational damage to Oxfordshire County Council through preventing a break in service for disabled children in this locality area.

V.      The recent community short breaks procurement awarded a number of contracts across 4 Lots to 7 providers. One of the successful providers, awarded a contract for Lot 2 – weekend and holiday activities for all disabled children and young people, has withdrawn from this lot leaving a gap in service.

VI.    There is no suitable second ranked provider for this Lot in the required location and after seeking procurement advice, and as there is no alternative suitable provider, the procurement process can be deemed as ‘failed’.

VII.   The Endorphins Group are a new provider to Oxfordshire as part of the community short breaks tender and were awarded a contract for Lot 2 in another locality. They have mobilised a service successfully in a short time scale and are keen to extend their offer of weekend and holiday activities across South Oxfordshire.

If the direct contract award is not approved, there will continue to be a gap in provision for families in the South Oxfordshire area.

1.     Risks to disabled children: The Council would not be able to fulfil the statutory sufficiency duty to provide all year-round childcare for families with a disabled child/children and families in this geographical area would be at a disadvantage as they wouldn’t have a service they could access.

2.     Legal risks: failure to provide suitable services for those to whom we owe a duty may have serious legal consequences.

3.     Reputational risks: failure to meet our legal and social responsibilities to meet the needs of our most needy and vulnerable children and young people may cause a loss of reputation for the County Council and could attract media interest where there are specific incidences that may be attributed to failures in this service.