Decision details

The Department for Education (DfE) have allocated funding to all Local Authorities to run a Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme throughout the Easter, Summer and Christmas 2021 school holidays.
Local authorities are to use the funding to make arrangements for holiday provision primarily aimed at children who are entitled to receive benefits-related free school meals.
Further details about the HAF Programme can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/holiday-activities-and-food-programme/holiday-activities-and-food-programme-2021
The programme will be fully grant funded and therefore there is no financial risk to the Council. Any funding not spent for this purpose will be returned to the Council and onward to the DfE.
A local consortium of providers who have been involved in the Easter provision and other similar holiday schemes have submitted a proposal and delivery plan for Summer and Christmas provision. The consortium has a Lead Provider who will be responsible for ensuring the DfE and our local standards are adhered to and implemented.
The services are categorised as “light touch” according to the Procurement Regulations 2015 and a light touch negotiated process commenced to discuss the Summer and Christmas provision. A number of requirements, in addition to those specified by the DfE, have been outlined by the Council to ensure learning from the Easter programme has been used to inform future provision
This proposal has been agreed by members of the local Holiday Activity Steering Group who will continue to work closely with providers to ensure the programme engages with and is accessible to children and young people eligible for free school meals across Bath and North East Somerset.
The Contracts Panel and Cllr Dine Romero and Cllr Richard Samuel have also been consulted and informed of the decision.

On behalf of the HAF Steering Group, the Director or Public Health and Prevention is to issue a contract via the Lead Provider to work collaboratively with a consortium of local organisations to deliver the Holiday Activity and Food programme in the Summer and Christmas school holidays in Bath and North East Somerset.

Alternative Option: Bath and North East Somerset Council contract with individual agencies to provide services that contribute towards the DfE requirements
This option was discounted as it may have prevented the ability to enable local collaborative working. The programme requires support from smaller local organisations who may not have capacity or resources to bid or enter into a formal contractual agreement.
The Council has agreed a robust monitoring framework which includes the DfE requirements and our own locally agreed standards, including safeguarding. By appointing a Lead Provider, they will:
• Work with a consortium of providers across the local authority to deliver the requirements. This has been facilitated by the Council to ensure a collaborative approach
• Ensure all participating providers meet the Council’s framework of minimum standards including safeguarding requirements and meals that meet school food standards
• Report to the Council steering group, providing monitoring data in the format specified by the Council
• Explore the possibility of pulling in wider support to enhance the programme e.g. other funding
• Encourage and support the involvement of volunteers