Decision details

Agreement of a 5-year extension to the current contract for the provision of Software and Services between Staffordshire County Council and CareWorks Limited

1. On 16th February 2011 Cabinet approved to delegate the decision regarding the award of a contract for the supply and maintenance of a Social Care and Health System to the then Director of People and Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adults’ Wellbeing.

2. The OJEU process concluded in 2011, with the four main market suppliers considered through the tender process with CareDirector scoring highest on all four areas of the tender.

3. Staffordshire County Council and Careworks Limited agreed contract terms for the provision of CareDirector software and services on 29th November 2011 for Adult Social Care and Health (the “Contract”).

4. Staffordshire County Council and Careworks Limited agreed a contract change to include the provision of CareDirector software and services for Children’s Social Care on 28th August 2012.

5. There have been a number of other contract changes throughout the term of the Contract, including changes required due to various upgrades, and Careworks Limited was purchased by One Advanced Software Limited in November 2019, who have continued operating the Contract under Careworks Limited.

6. The terms and conditions of the Contract were for an Initial Term of 10 years with provision for an automatic extension of 5 years ("Extended Term") at the end of the Initial Term and at the end of each Extended Term, unless terminated with 6 months written notice before the end of the Initial Term or Extended Term.

7. If the contract is continued with the 5-year extension, the charges for the next five-year period can be increased or decreased in accordance with the percentage change in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and remain fixed for the five-year period.

8. The total cost to the Council for the 5 years extended term, including 2.5% CPI increas.

The alternative option would be to procure and implement a replacement system prior to 29th November 2021 and terminate the Contract 6 months before the end of the Initial Term to avoid the automatic 5-year extended terms and termination costs thereafter. However, there is insufficient time to provide the requisite 6 months’ notice, and advice from the Commercial Unit is that a comprehensive specification is fundamental to any procurement process, therefore the likely timescale for procurement and implementation of a replacement case management system for social care is 3-4 years. Extending the current system for 5 years provides sufficient time to complete this process.