the issues correctly understood must be placed within the decision-making for the allocation state-aid ie it’s a condition of contracting and public procurement processes to ensure the most economically advantageous tender after and only on the condition that an existing State or public sector provision isn’t available and/or suitable ~ these procedures are prescribed, although the Public Procurement Act 2023 affords greater flexibility, the procure procedure available are suited only for highly standardised and routine services ~ this flying in the face of the urgency associative, and especially, with OAP’s.

the child simply gets lost and the standing/status of their Care Plan (and subsequent statutory reviews) is subsumed by ‘the Purchasing Authority’ obligations to the provider(s) beyond any misgivings about quality ~ both sw’s and contract officers have limited sway irrespective of the quality of care offered; it becomes a buyer-beware scenario very very quickly often presented as risk escalation in respect of the child’s behaviour management requirements.

this impacts on statutory reviewing requirements and especially so in secure reviews which can deteriorate into bidding wars for the child’s care. It’s simply wrong.

drafting contracts in these situations, if done correctly, taking anything from 6~12mths of hardboiled detail and procure writing.

the casualisation of which, through the pretence of having standardised proforma and such like, the greatest democratic deficiency of all ~ there’s no freedom of contract like at all.

the early work looking at this was staggeringly scary; on the one hand aggregated contracts massively exceed anyone’s authority ie delegated powers to spend while on the other the urgent basis for spending forces the decision-making ~ at worst one-hand washes the other and it is this dereliction of democratic decision-making that brings attention to the profit motive; the actual picture is more subtle and nuanced.

much more detail is needed here ~ and especially the information management requirements as required by Council’s delegating it’s duty of care to a third party provider.

the liabilities for which the State has responsibilities are woefully being diluted and have been for a few decades …
but then ‘we’ knew this in 2007.

thoughts ….