[Edinburgh-carecampaign] Fwd: [SWANedinburgh] Update 2nd Feb 2010

[Marlyn Tweedie]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: SWAN Edinburgh <swanedinburgh at yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 6:07 PM
Subject: [SWANedinburgh] Update 2nd Feb 2010
To: "Swan Mailing List (no flag)" <swanedinburgh at lists.noflag.org.uk>


  SWAN Update 2nd Feb 2010

1. Leaked Deloitte report
2. Some issues still to be be resolved
3. Finance meeting this Thursday 4th 2pm



1. Leaked Deloitte report
The Deloitte report into the tender process has now been leaked to the
Edinburgh Evening News. Here are the main points highlighted by the
newspaper;

• Tender process was "open to inconsistency" in scoring.
• Some of the initial procurement documentation was inconsistent,
insufficiently detailed and incomplete.
• Absence of "overarching commissioning strategy", leading to poor service
user involvement.
• Two of the seven members in the 'quality assurance' process had access to
price information.
• Price information was "inaccurate and incomplete".
• Execution of the tender process was "not as sufficiently meticulous or as
thorough as expected".
• Changes in direct payments requirements may have affected the original
business case and may necessitate "a reassessment of the way forward".


2. Some issues still to be be resolved
We are delighted with the news that tender process that we have all fought
so hard against is top be scrapped. However, we feel there are still some
important points to be made;

   - As the proposed direct payment rate of £15.04 is based on the
   successful tender bids in a process where the means of selecting bidders has
   been found to be flawed we reject this figure and any other figure based on
   the tender process.
   - Direct Payment rates should be based on need and actual cost of service
   - not on market testing - flawed or not.
   - Although we accept the need for some rationalisation we reject the need
   for any flat rate as it ignores diversity of service and individual need.
   - The Council should negotiate manageable efficiency savings with service
   providers not equating to more than 10% overall.
   - The Deloitte report should be made public
   - We would like further information on the "quality assurance process"
   and the "confidence factor"
   - Have the flaws highlighted in this process been present during the
   tender of homecare and homelessness service tenders?


Please contact the Councillors on the Finance and Resources Committee over
the next couple of days relaying these points. Find out out how to contact
them here - http://www.swanedinburgh.org.uk/campaign_9.html


3. Finance meeting this Thursday 4th 2pm
The meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee will still go ahead but
the part discussing the Deloitte report will be held in private.
Despite this it would be great if as many people as possible could come
along to celebrate the scrapping of the tender and to show we are still be
here to presssure them on the Direct Payment rate.
For more info see www.swanedinburgh.org.uk
Hope to see you Thursday.
SWAN Edinburgh

Edinburgh Support Workers' Action Network (SWAN) is a network of care and
support workers set up to fight the budget cuts and competitive tendering
being imposed by Edinburgh Council which threaten our jobs and our
service-users' quality of care.

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