Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
Imosphere FACE Assessment Toolset and Formulate Solution
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Chief Officer Decision Notice Page 1 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk Chief Officer Decision Notice For non-key decisions Notice is hereby given that the following Chief Officer Decision has been made, as delegated by the Cabinet/Cabinet Member or under their delegated authority in the Council’s Constitution. 1. NOTICE FOR PUBLICATION Title of decision Imosphere FACE Assessment Toolset and Formulate Solution Name and Title of Chief Officer(s) making the decision Matthew Wallbridge, Chief Operating Officer Directorate Corporate Services Reference No. 1488 Date of decision 16 July 2025 Relevant Ward N/A Details of Decision Taken Decision That the Chief Officer agrees to accept the direct award from Imosphere Ltd for the provision of the FACE Assessment Toolset and Formulate Solution to the London Borough of Hillingdon for a 2+1-year period, effective from 1 August 202 5 to 31 July 2028 and at a cost of £184,783. Reason for decision The current contract with Imosphere expires 1 August 2025 for the Functional Analysis of Care Environments (FACE) Assessments, which are embedded within the System C Adults Social Care system and CareCalc which is a web-based platform that is used in conjunction with the Children Social Care system. They are used to determine the eligibility of financial support and services that a resident is entitled to. These tools enable social work teams to continue using the systems for eligible assessments and financial management which is a statutory duty of the Council. The renewal of the Imosphere contract will provide continuity of service delivery and ensure less disruption to our residents. It will also ensure that the Council remains compliant with the Care Act and adheres to the legislation that it details by provid ing a robust framework to evidence how personal budgets (financial support for care services) are derived and stand up to potential legal challenges. There is no other off-the-shelf alternative that is compatible with the Council’s System C social care systems. The Imosphere toolset is a nationally recognised solution. Chief Officer Decision Notice Page 2 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk Benefits The Imosphere solution offers a range of benefits tailored to the needs of individuals receiving care, practitioners delivering support, and local authorities managing services and budgets. For people with care needs, the solution brings clarity and transparency to the financial aspects of care planning. I ndividuals are better equipped to make informed decisions about their care. Moreover, the system ensures that funding is allocated based on assessed needs and desired outcomes, rather than arbitrary cost c onsiderations, reinforcing fairness and trust in the process. For practitioners, the solution provides a structured and evidence-based framework that enhances confidence in decision- making. They can focus more on the individual’s needs and less on navigating financial constraints. This allows for more meaningful, person- centred interactions and supports with the creation and evolution of subsequent care plans . The tool’s robust methodology ensures consistency and accountability, helping practitioners feel supported in their professional judgments. For the council, the solution supports strategic financial planning and budgetary control, offering valuable insights that can feed into future commissioning decisions. By standardising the approach to resource allocation, it helps eliminate discrepancies in care costs for individuals with similar needs. Additionally, it enables benchmarking across different service user groups, providing data- driven insights that can guide service improvement. Proposal The cost of the recommended contract extension includes a discount applied which provides significant cost savings . Officers have additionally negotiated a reduced uplift. Hillingdon Council aims to be an efficient, well -run, digitally enabled council, working with partners to deliver services that improve the lives of all residents. Becoming a digital council fundamentally improves the resident, visitor, business, and staff experience through simpler, better services and tools. The strategy outlines steps to enhance service delivery to residents by utilising technology. The core ambition is to put residents first by enabling them to access services quickly and at their conve nience, while also delivering more efficient and effective processes for council staff. The Digital Strategy sets out five priorities: building services online by default to meet residents' expectations for seamless, device- accessible services; better data for informed decision- making to understand resident needs; moderni sing infrastructure and systems for reliable, integrated, cloud- based architecture; building digital capability and inclusion by upskilling employees and supporting residents' access to Chief Officer Decision Notice Page 3 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk digital devices; and delivering a digital place by using technology to improve borough functions amidst challenges like population growth, automation, congestion, and the climate crisis. Hillingdon's Digital Strategy supports the new contract with Imosphere to deliver the Functional Analysis of Care Environments (FACE) Assessments, embedded within the System C Adults Social Care and CareCalc systems and upgrades. Alternative options considered and rejected Option 1 - Do Nothing: this option is not recommended as it would leave the Council with no support for the social care assessments, following the expiry of the current contract. Option 2 - Issue a tender for a replacement: Imosphere Ltd is the sole supplier able to provide this service, therefore there would be no benefit to tendering these requirements on the open market. Option 3 – Contract for a 3-year period 2025 – 2028 (paying annually), but this option is not recommended as it doesn’t provide best value. Factors considered No Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) is required at this point. This new contract supports the Digital Strategy approved by Cabinet (October 2024), which sets out a vision ‘closely aligned to service transformation and focused on leveraging technology to further enhance and streamline the Council’s business operations, alongside promoting self-service models internally and externally’. £5,270k is earmarked in the Council’s savings programme in relation to the overall investment of the Digital Strategy, rising to £5,670k by 2028/29. The vision for our Digital Strategy is ‘We will improve the way the council delivers services to residents by utilising technology. We will put residents first by enabling them to access the services they need quickly and at their own convenience, whilst also delivering more efficient and effective processes for council staff’. Report Author & Directorate Helen Vincent, Corporate Services Legal and Finance Comments Finance comments The 2+1 year contract is to be funded within approved service budgets. Finance Officer name and Title Chris Malin Head of Finance – Corporate Services and Finance Legal Comments The Council's Procurement and Contract Standing Orders ordinarily require competitive tenders to be sought before a contract is awarded. However, Standing Order 4.1 (c) enables this requirement to be waived where it is not reasonably practicable or prudent in meeting the Council’s objectives to obtain competitive tenders or quotations, as set out in the body of the report. There are no legal implications in agreeing to recommendation requested in order for the Council to meet its statutory functions. Chief Officer Decision Notice Page 4 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk Legal Officer Name and Title Neena Sharma Deputy Principal Lawyer – Contract Lawyer Contract, Property and Planning Team 16.07.2025 Appendices / report attached List here any report / appendices / e.g. tender evaluations or other documentation to be included in support of this decision Appendix A – FACE Assessments toolset background information Exempt Classification That the appendices be declared as exempt from publication as it involves the disclosure of information in accordance with Section 100(A) and paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), in that the report contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it. Cabinet Member & other Chief Officer consultation Name and Title of any other Chief Officer(s) you have consulted with and as per any delegation. N/A Name and Title of the Cabinet Member you have consulted, and as per any delegation Cabinet Member for Finance & Transformation on 25 July 2025 Any conflicts of interest declared by the Chief Officer making this decision and/or Cabinet Member who is consulted by the officer which relates to the decision - or if dispensation by the CEO was granted to them. N/A Chief Officer Decision Notice Page 5 This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk Authority for this decision Detail authority from Cabinet or under delegated authority in the Constitution / Officer Scheme of Delegations Cabinet 10 October 2024: London Borough of Hillingdon - Agenda for CABINET on Thursday, 10th October, 2024, 7.00 pm Cabinet agreed the Digital Strategy projects and expenditure and then delegated authority to the Chief Digital & Information Officer (now Chief Operating Officer) and Corporate Director of Finance (S151), in consultation with the Cabinet portfolio holder, to incur expenditure within this budget and make all necessary procurement decisions on the programmes and projects set out in the report, reporting decisions for transparency as required and to agree that any variations to specific projects within the programme for 2024/25 and 2025/26 be subject to i) being within the Strategy’s objectives, ii) being within the approved budget and associated aggregate savings for the financial year and iii) having the agreement of the Chief Digital & Information Officer and Corporate Director of Finance (S151), in consultation with the Cabinet portfolio holder. 2. APPROVAL Formal approval by Chief Officer making the decision Signed Date 16/07/25 Chief Operating Officer