Islington Council's Executive has approved a joint procurement strategy with Camden Council for short breaks for disabled children and young people. The decision, made at a meeting on Thursday, 30 July 2026, aims to enhance services and ensure more equitable access for families.
The new strategy will operate under a flexible framework for 96 months, with an estimated total value of £13.6 million for Islington Council. Authority has been delegated to the Corporate Director of Children's Services to manage the framework.
Councillor Sheila Chapman, Executive Member for Children, Young People & Families, described the initiative as a really good thing worth doing,
highlighting its benefits for young people and their families. The joint approach with Camden is intended to strengthen market capacity, attract specialist providers, and improve the sustainability and value for money of the services offered. This collaboration will also help address the increasing demand and complexity of services by strengthening provider capacity, supporting sustainable delivery, improving consistency for families accessing services across borough boundaries, enabling contract management and market-shaping activity, reducing duplication, and retaining flexibility through individual call-off arrangements.
The framework will be structured into four lots, catering to a diverse range of needs and complexities:
- Lot 1: Group-based and club activities in provider-operated venues, including after-school, weekend, and holiday schemes. Ofsted registration is required for under 8s provision, and CQC registration for those providing personal care.
- Lot 2: Individual and small-group support in the home and/or community, including 'crisis care'. No specific registrations are required if personal care is not provided.
- Lot 3: Complex one-to-one (or higher) care for children and young people with higher medical needs and/or behaviours that challenge. CQC registration is required.
- Lot 4: Short breaks support to enable young people to gain independence and prepare for adulthood. Statutory compliance depends on the nature of the commissioned activity.
The decision comes as Islington Council faces increasing demand and complexity in services for disabled children and young people, mirroring regional and national trends. The council has seen a 9% annual increase in children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
This initiative is expected to improve children and young people's wellbeing and participation in community life, while enabling parents and carers to sustain their caring roles and reduce stress. The framework also aims to prevent escalation into higher-cost support and crisis responses.
To ensure equitable access for all eligible families, the strategy incorporates a flexible framework with multiple lots, retains the cash alternative and direct payments outside of commissioning, sets consistent quality standards, and includes targeted market engagement. There will be multiple planned reopening points for the framework to ensure provider entry and sustainability. Furthermore, the service specification will be co-produced with parents and carers, who will also be involved in the evaluation process. Providers will be expected to meet social value commitments proportionate to their organisation's size and service offer.
Providers will be evaluated against a set of award criteria, with cost/price accounting for 40% and quality for 50%. Quality considerations include social value (10%), proposed approach to service delivery and personalisation (20%), safeguarding and minimising risk (10%), performance and quality assurance (10%), and measuring service outcomes (10%).
The projected timeline for implementation includes a decision date of 5 August 2026, with tenders to be published in September 2026. The award report is expected in December 2026, followed by mobilisation in February–March 2027, and a contract start date of 1 April 2027.
Success will be measured through the evaluation criteria, provider performance monitored via quarterly reviews, and resident feedback gathered through co-production and engagement. Clear mechanisms for contract management, review, and change control will also be in place.
This decision was made at the Executive meeting on 30 July 2026, as detailed in the Public reports pack and Decisions.
