Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
Torbay Council
Town Hall, Castle Circus
Torquay
TQ1 3DR
Contact
Mr Lawrence Brown
Telephone
+44 1803208977
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKK42 - Torbay
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Direct Award for Temporary Specialist Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) Workers
Reference number
DN672038
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Torbay Council is currently unable to meet the current demand for requests for new Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) assessments and annual reviews with the capacity available. There is a national increase in Request for Statutory Assessment (RSA) requests.
The temporary appointment of specialist SEND workers for 12 months would clear the backlog and then accurately assess demand vs capacity. Legally, the Council should be making the decision to amend the EHCP within 2 weeks of receiving the Annual Review paperwork and sending out the Amended plan with that decision.
The Council has advertised to its contracted Standing List of temporary agency providers, on numerous occasions, with no response. Therefore, the Council wishes to source the four required specialist education/SEND staff directly, via an agency provider, not on the Council’s Standing List. There is an urgency to sourcing these staff due to the services’ task being statutory, and therefore there is no time available to conduct an appropriate procurement process for these temporary appointments.
Section six. Complementary information
six.6) Original notice reference
Notice number: 2023/S 000-015007
Section seven. Changes
seven.1.2) Text to be corrected in the original notice
Section number
II.1.1
Instead of
Text
Procurement of temporary specialist Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) workers
Read
Text
Direct Award for Temporary Specialist Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) Workers
Section number
II.1.4
Instead of
Text
The purpose of the project would be to clear the backlog (149 EHCP amendments significantly overdue) and then accurately assess demand vs capacity. Legally, the Council should be making the decision to amend the EHCP within 2 weeks of receiving the Annual Review paperwork and sending out the Amended plan with that decision. This was evidence in case law in 2022.
Therefore, the Council needs to appoint temporary specialist SEND Workers to undertake this work during the next 12 months.
Read
Text
The temporary appointment of specialist SEND workers for 12 months would clear the backlog and then accurately assess demand vs capacity. Legally, the Council should be making the decision to amend the EHCP within 2 weeks of receiving the Annual Review paperwork and sending out the Amended plan with that decision.
Section number
IV.1.1
Instead of
Text
New works/services, constituting a repetition of existing works/services
Read
Text
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition for technical reasons