Provision of a 24/7 Core Wellbeing Service with Potential for Planned Care and Support Extra Care Schemes with Leeds City Council Nominations (Box Tree Court and Lady Ida Lodge)

It is considered that the grounds stated under Schedule 5 Paragraph 6 apply here as there is strong evidence that no reasonable alternative to Housing 21 providing the services exists for the following reasons:

a) There is an absence of competition on technical grounds due to Housing 21 owning and operating both the housing and care functions at both schemes. The Council's access into the schemes is through nomination rights to under half of all apartments at both schemes. It is through these nominations that individuals come into contact with the wider care services that are the subject of the direct award.

b) The onsite 24/7 background care team cover delivered by Housing 21at both schemes is a service delivered to all apartments regardless of tenure, the majority of which fall outside of the Council's nominations. While the Council stipulates its expectations of an onsite 24/7 background support service it is not funded by the Council and instead is funded by tenants via direct arrangements between Housing 21 and the tenants. This is a mandatory service and is chargeable to each apartment (regardless of statutory care need) in order to sustain a 24/7 onsite care team presence.

c) The same onsite care team can also deliver planned care and support hours and the service specification recognises Housing 21 to be the provider of choice in all instances where no other preference has been expressed by the service user. The business model of an onsite mandatory care team delivering additional hours of day-to-day personal care is what makes extra care support viable and affordable. The direct award recognises the presence of this business model as well as its necessity for service viability. It also recognises the high probability of Housing 21 being a service user's provider of choice at both schemes.