Local Government and Communities Committee,

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Official Report 189KB pdf

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Petition

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<br />Petition

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Public Service Contracts (National Framework) (PE1231)

Agenda item 2 is consideration of PE1231, which has been referred to us by the Public Petitions Committee. Members have received paper LGC/S3/09/16/3, which details the action that has been taken to date by the Public Petitions Committee and contains links to relevant correspondence. An approach is suggested. Paragraphs 10 and 11 of the paper give options for handling the petition. Paragraph 10 states:

"The Committee could consider the petition as a stand-alone item."

However, the paper also states:

"the Committee will be taking evidence on 3 and 10 June 2009 on the provision of home care services for the elderly".

There is a recommendation. The paper states:

"The Committee is invited to decide whether it wishes to consider this petition as part of both its evidence sessions on home care services and its inquiry into local government finance".

I think that we would do that with the second panel of voluntary sector representatives.

Do members have any comments?

Is it fair to say that a high proportion of the contracts that are awarded by councils to voluntary sector bodies relate to care services?

Yes. There will be opportunities to consider that in a forthcoming evidence session.

I ask in the context of integrating the two matters. Is it fair to view the provision of home care services as a good indicator of public service contracting generally or is there a more significant number of contracts in other sectors that would make a free-standing inquiry on the petition more appropriate?

We will have timetable problems if we go for a free-standing approach, given the evidence sessions that we have factored into our work. There will be evidence sessions for the local government finance inquiry, and the petition would be a good fit with that, given that we have already timetabled much of it. We could address issues that are raised by the petition and share our findings with the Public Petitions Committee or any other relevant committee.

I do not have a problem with that, as long as the bodies from which we take evidence are representative of those that have the totality of contracts.

I do not think that there are any omissions. There will be voluntary sector and trade union representatives and representatives of community care providers. Perhaps the other side of the story is missing.

The committee agreed last week in principle on the various evidence sessions for the local government finance inquiry. If the committee agrees that the petition can be dealt with not just in the home care services evidence sessions but in a relevant session in the local government finance inquiry, we can ensure that the questions and those who are invited cover the totality of issues that are raised in the petition.

That sounds fine.

Do members agree to that recommendation?

Members indicated agreement.

We will now move into private session.

Meeting continued in private until 12:41.