Provision of Educational Psychology Advice to address backlog

The Council intends to award a contract directly to Olive Psychology under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 and Schedule 5, Paragraph 13 (Extreme and Unavoidable Urgency). This direct award is necessary to secure immediate Educational Psychology capacity to support the Council's statutory duty to complete Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments within prescribed timescales.

The requirement has arisen due to exceptional market pressures, including a shortage of qualified Educational Psychologists, increasing demand for EHCP assessments, and significant competition for available capacity. These circumstances have created an urgent operational need that cannot be addressed through a competitive procurement process within the required timescales.

Failure to secure additional capacity immediately would place the Council at significant risk of breaching statutory EHCP timescales, further reducing performance levels and delaying the identification and support of children and young people with additional needs. It would also increase the risk of regulatory scrutiny, Ombudsman complaints, compensation payments, and reputational damage.