5. Contracts and service specifications
Coventry’s approach
Adult Social Care makes best endeavours to ensure that contractors are clear what expectations are in relation to equity of service delivery. This is evident in service specifications and tender evaluations.
Some examples of this:
Example one – Dementia Specialist Support Service
The Dementia Specialist Support Service specification includes the following:
Objective 11 – Equality, diversity, and inclusion in dementia care – the provider must be aware that dementia will affect people from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Issues of cultural and ethnic diversity may have an impact on how people experience dementia, including acceptance of the condition within their family or community. The Provider must also be aware that many of the characteristics covered in the Equality Act and wider health issues can have a significant bearing on experiences of dementia, including but not limited to a person’s sexuality, disabilities, gender, geographical location etc.
The Provider shall have in place an Equal Opportunities Policy for the recruitment, development, and care of the workforce (including volunteers).
The Provider will ensure they demonstrate a culture which values and respects all members of staff, enabling them to give a high standard of support to all service users.
Example two - Home support service
The service specification includes the following:
The Commissioner requires the Provider to build a local delivery capacity with the skills and experience necessary to respond to the wide diversity of specialist needs and preferences.
Coventry’s population is diverse in terms of ethnicity, faith, culture, and language. The Provider will demonstrate equality in all aspects of its practice and have clear policies and procedures in place. The Provider is required to develop a diverse workforce and to be part of networks that promote sensitive and appropriate service delivery and shall give due consideration to the service user’s gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background.
Example three – Communicator Guide
The tender included the following questions:
Please provide details of the experience your organisation has in delivering the services detailed in the specification, covering the following elements:
Your approach to improving outcomes and maximising independence for individuals, please provide one case study as an example/evidence of how you achieve this.
Through service delivery, how your organisation:
1. enables and ensures equal access to opportunities (as requested by the individual) and access to community services, promoting the person’s right to access services and support
2. reduces isolation, confusion and challenges within the community based on service users’ individual needs
3. enables people to have choice and control over their lives
4. please provide evidence of your organisation’s ability to work with a wide range of service user groups, cultures, and ethnicities, ensuring that approaches are tailored and respectful of the unique requirements of the individual service user. Please provide an example and/or case study
Example four – Learning Disabilities and/or Autism
As a response to a limited respite offer in the City, a new respite provision is under development with Lifepath Trust, comprising of nine beds. The scope is to be expanded to include those presenting with more challenging behaviours and physical disabilities:
• en-suite facilities for each room, providing privacy and comfort for service users
• dedicated parking, which the current facility at Ellys Road currently lacks, improving accessibility for families and staff
• a sensory room within the garden to support the needs of those with sensory processing requirements and provide a calm space if needed
The unit rates will align to current respite provision, estimated time for completion at some point during 2025 (awaiting confirmation).
To improve access to day opportunities for people with learning disabilities, the Council have worked with Fitzroy, a charitable organisation to develop a scheme which the provider has promoted with operational teams, improving uptake offering people with disabilities meaningful daytime activities and enabling carers to continue caring, thereby avoiding situations slipping into crisis and breakdown.
Kings’ Hill nursery, run by Life Path Trust, another charitable organisation in the city, is developing their café enterprise such that they will reach a position to offer paid employment for people with a learning disability thus helping to reduce inequality in access to paid work in the city.
Example 5 – Carers' Identification Projects – (Carer's Wellbeing Services)
Throughout Coventry, we have commissioned a number of Carer Identification campaigns to help people with caring responsibilities recognise their caring status and gain support. We have taken two approaches, one of targeting communities where there is underrepresentation and secondly working with areas like healthcare where we are likely to engage with people from all backgrounds and are more likely to receive support. This includes:
- 2 equality and diversity workers
- hospital liaison
- GP Carer Liaison Officer
- Mental Health Carer Liaison Officer
- working carer's worker
The Carers' Trust Heart of England has also targeted areas of Coventry where there is known deprivation and communities where there might be identifiable support needs such as social supermarkets, food hubs and community hubs. In the last year, there has been a wider presence in family hubs. The projects have targeted specific areas, such as supporting the LGBTQ+ communities, working with specific communities such as the Caribbean Centre and working in areas such as Foleshill, where we know there is a diverse population.
Part of the approach has been filming videos from Carers in their own languages to support identification within the city.
All of projects aim to aid identification of carers in places that they are more likely to access support. Research and evidence tell us that many carers only access their GP surgery for support very often for the person they are caring for. The GP liaison worker has engaged with all 60 GP surgeries over the last year, with 50% engaged with improving carer identification and further work identified to work with those who are yet to sign up.
Strengths and opportunities
There are numerous opportunities resulting from periodic recommissioning activities, where we ensure that equity is integral to the requirements. These opportunities include various commissioning and procurement exercises:
- long-term home support: Recommissioning commencing Autumn 2025.
- Housing with Care: Recommissioning, including renegotiation of contracts in Spring 2025.
- Money Management Support Service: Appointeeships and cash collection, with the next commissioning exercise in March 2027.
- Direct Payment and Money Management Services: Next recommissioning exercise in March 2028.
- Supported Living and Day Opportunities Framework: Negotiation using the Care Fund Calculator for supported living and agreed rates for Day Opportunities, with the next tendering exercise scheduled for 2026.
- Coventry and Warwickshire Community Integrated Support Services: next tendering exercise scheduled for March 2027.
- Residential Care Contracts: Across Learning Disability, Autism, and Mental Health, with tendering exercise scheduled for 2026.
While these opportunities are promising, they come with challenges. Adding requirements must be balanced carefully to avoid placing undue resource burdens on providers, which could be reflected in their pricing.