Decision details

The current shared arrangement with Rotherham MBC has com to an end. Options have been discussed with the Procurement Team and going out to market to set up a new DPS for Doncaster Council has been assessed as the preferred option. This would initially take account of the training needs for Adults Health and Well Being and LOCYP, but would be set up with sufficient flexibility to allow for the addition of further categories to meet the needs of other Directorates as and when the need arises.

To establish a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) to facilitate the procurement where required of education and training. The first tranche will be for Adult Social Work/Care, with an approx spend of £80k-£100k per annum and Learning and Opportunities: Children and Young People (LOCYP) for which a separate ODR will be submitted.

Option 1 - Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) Managed Service - This option was put to both Doncaster Council and Rotherham MBC by YPO, but it is understood that the development of the YPO framework has stalled due to YPO priorities, so this option is not now available.
Option 2 - Joint DPS with Rotherham MBC - Rotherham have indicated that they do not wish to pursue this option.
Option 3 - Procurement exercise to appoint a 'Managed Service Provider' - After consideration it is felt that large organisations lack the social care expertise to provide the required services and smaller social care providers may not have the depth and breadth to meet all our training requirements. There is also the issue of cost; a managed service would incur a management charge.
Option 4 - Undertake quotation exercise for all training - This is felt to be too resource intensive and may not meet aggregation requirements.
Option 5 - Do nothing - This is not a valid option as there is a need to ensure the social work and social care workforce have the skills and knowledge to support the residents of Doncaster.