Review of Angus Council tendering process urged

AN ANGUS councillor has called for an investigation into the tendering process that saw a lucrative mental health services contract awarded to an Edinburgh-based company.

Forfar SNP councillor Glennis Middleton called for the review after the council’s social work and health committee agreed to award the three-year contract to Penumbra yesterday.

Penumbra, which has provided various services across Scotland since 1985, will deliver employment, education and training services as well as daily living, recreation and leisure support as part of the £750,000 contract.

It was one of four companies invited to tender for the contract after the council told current service provider Angus Mental Health Association (AMHA) it no longer fulfilled the criteria.

Two of those companies – Community Integrated Care and Mental Health Matters – subsequently withdrew from the tendering process without submitting a bid.

Penumbra will begin providing services from September 20 with AMHA set to wind up on September 30.

Mrs Middleton, a vocal supporter of AMHA throughout the tendering process, said: “I have called for a review of the financial regulations to be carried out, which should address the 30:70 quality:price split. I think that is the wrong split because the quality of the service is the most important thing.

“I asked the convener if she would support within that review an investigation into the welfare services tendering process and whether we needed to tender for welfare services at all. It was my understanding that ministers had said welfare services did not necessarily have to go to tender and that it was up to individual councils.”

She added: “There was confusion today because the advice from the director was that if it was a new service then it must go out to tender but this was an existing service that was taken away from AMHA.”

Social work and health convener Alison Andrews said the Penumbra bid was chosen after a detailed tendering process that looked at both quality and price.

Mrs Andrews said: “Our priority has always been to deliver high-quality services for those people in Angus with mental health problems. In addition, the award of this contract will ensure that best value is achieved by these support services. We are confident that these new services will deliver on our priorities and also make the most of the skills and expertise of our volunteers.”

The review will be presented at the next full meeting of the council in June.