To seek the Cabinet’s decision on the future of the Council’s Careline service having regard to:-

·      updated financial analysis for different options;

·      the exploration of proposals from third parties who, through last year’s consultation exercise, expressed an interest in taking on all or part of the service;

·      the likely strategic and practical implications of emerging proposals for Devolution and local government reorganisation;

·      the aims and objectives of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance for an integrated ‘place-based’ health system approach; and

·      the need to ensure best value and quality of service for residents and service-users in the context of an expanding and increasingly competitive private market for telecare, response and lifting services.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)     notes the content of the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.8), including the updated financial information relating to alternative options for the future of Tendring Careline, updated information on numbers of service-users and staff, the latest position in relation to third-party contracts and the consideration of third-party proposals for taking on all or part of the Careline service; 

b)     notes also the latest position in respect of proposals for local government reorganisation across Essex, including the likely replacement of County and District Councils with unitary authorities, and the potential practical implications for services such as Careline in the future;

c)      in light of the information noted as per resolutions a) and b), supports the proposal from Colchester City Council and its Helpline Service (provided through its arms-length company Amphora), based on the outcome of the evaluation set out within the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.8);

d)     agrees to the creation of a combined and expanded telecare, response and lifting service for North East Essex that aligns with the aims and of objectives of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance for an integrated health-system approach; and agrees heads of terms on the following principle conditions:

i)       it is achieved through the automatic transfer of all remaining Tendring Careline service-users to the service provided by Colchester Helpline on their existing terms of conditions and with no ongoing financial liability to Tendring District Council following that transfer;

ii)      that Colchester Helpline undertakes to guarantee service coverage to residents across all parts of the Tendring District so as to ensure that no part of the District is left without access for residents to a paid-for telecare, response and lifting service;

iii)     that Colchester Helpline’s existing average response times are maintained and where possible improved upon in providing coverage to residents in all parts of Tendring – with measures put in place, as necessary, for one or more outposts in locations providing accessibility for all parts of Tendring – and at no ongoing cost or liability to Tendring District Council; and

iv)     that Tendring Careline’s existing staff will transfer to employment within the expanded Colchester Helpline, respecting existing terms and conditions and with no ongoing financial liability to Tendring District Council resulting from that transfer.

e)     agrees in principle that the Council’s Out-of-Hours, CCTV services and monitoring for the Council’s own sheltered housing schemes will also transfer to Colchester Helpline under an outsourcing arrangement within the same timescales for achieving the proposal under resolution d), which will be considered as part of the associated negotiation and subject to separate decision(s) as necessary;

f)       that the transfer be facilitated, as early and as smoothly as possible within the 2025/26 financial year;

g)     agrees that, from the date of this decision, any new prospective Careline customers are to be signposted to Colchester Helpline as the Council’s preferred alternative trusted provider, in light of the proposal under d) above;

h)     agrees an extension to the exemption of Procurement Procedure Rules to allow the  ...  view the full decision text for item 15.