A radical new model for the purchase of residential and foster care services for children and young people in care is needed, one which supports good-quality care for vulnerable children, is designed for these services and supports value for money. Waiting until the outcome of current reviews into the system is unrealistic because the situation now is critical.
Current procurement legislation is inappropriate and failing authorities, providers and children.
The law is a major factor in the inability of authorities to commission and procure high-quality external provision at an affordable cost, though it is not the only reason.
The suggestions in the green paper Transforming Public Procurement are generic and flawed. The consultation model is for procurement of these services to be absorbed into a new and supposedly less bureaucratic approach for all procurement. It seems to be based on the existing model for social care in the public contracts regulations 2015 (PCR), which introduced extensive regulation for social care for the first time. Replicating this as a future model is the antitheses of the green paper's expressed goal to “speed up and simplify… procurement processes”.
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