Haringey Council has awarded an urgent contract for its Integrated Community Equipment Service to a new provider, ensuring the continued supply of essential equipment to residents. The decision, approved by Councillor Das Neves, Cabinet Member, comes after the previous provider, Nottinghamshire Rehab Ltd (trading as NRS Healthcare), entered compulsory liquidation on 1 August 2025.

The Integrated Community Equipment Service provides vital equipment to adults and children living at home, supporting their independence and facilitating early discharge from hospital. This includes items such as raised toilet seats, grab rails, specialist beds, hoists, and pressure care equipment.

The new contract, worth up to £4.5 million for the first year, will run for two years with the option to extend for an additional year. It commences on 19 September 2025. The council has also approved £62,500 to cover Haringey's share of mobilisation costs. The decision was made during a Cabinet Member Signing meeting on Thursday, 18 September 2025, as documented in the Public reports pack.

The new contract will be managed via a consortium with seven other London boroughs, known as the North London Equipment Partnership (NLEP). According to the Public reports pack, the chosen provider offered to work collaboratively with this new Consortium to develop and mobilise at pace a complete community equipment service (i.e. full breadth of service offer).

Several options were considered before awarding the contract, including:

  • Doing nothing, which was rejected due to the risk of harm to residents.
  • Developing an in-house offer, deemed unfeasible due to insufficient resources and time.
  • Competitive procurement, ruled out due to the lengthy process (at least 18 months).
  • Utilising an existing framework agreement, for which no suitable frameworks were identified.

The recommended option was a direct award to a provider that is a Local Authority Trading Company. While the specific name of the company is not provided in the public report, as it is mentioned in the exempt report, the council has confirmed that it is a Local Authority Trading Company.

The urgency of the decision was highlighted in the meeting's report:

These urgent decisions are sought due to the need to ensure continuity of provision of Community Equipment services for residents, to ensure they are kept safe and fulfil the council's statutory responsibilities.

The report also noted the risks of not securing a reliable supplier, including the detrimental impact on residents' health and safety and the potential inability for residents to return home safely from hospital.

Fiona Alderman, Director of Legal & Governance, confirmed that the council was relying on the urgency provisions set out in Section 41 and Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 to make a direct award to the proposed provider.