Three housing schemes for elderly to change hands in Peterborough - creating extra costs for cash-strapped council

Three housing schemes for older people in Peterborough will no longer be run by the Longhurst Group after failed financial negotiations with the council.

Friary Court, The Pavilions and The Spinney, where residents are supported to live independently by care staff, will no longer be operated by the charitable housing association from March next year.

Peterborough City Council (PCC) says that Longhurst chose to invoke the break clause in their contract to run the schemes “due to not being able to negotiate an hourly rate that was sustainable for them” with the council.

It instead plans to hand the contract to Atlas Care Services for three years – with an option to extend for two – at a total value of just over £8.5m.

The new contract will be more expensive than the old one: PCC says that it’ll initially create a pressure of around £250,000 per year, although “costs over the lifetime of the contract should equal out”.

Further details about this figure are contained in a council report exempt from the press and public.

Contract to go directly to Atlas Care after unsuccessful bidding process

PCC’s decision-making cabinet will be asked to sign off on the contract at their next meeting on Monday, 4th December.

This would result in it being awarded to Atlas Care directly: the council says that none of the providers that bidded for the contract when it was advertised met their quality threshold and that Longhurst refused to continue running the homes even after being offered uplifted rates.

For just over £1.7m per year, the new contract is expected to ensure that there are two people on site at the three homes at all times and that care will be provided directly to residents as and when required.

But while Longhurst will no longer be running the housing schemes, it will remain the buildings’ landlord, meaning it will continue to receive regular payments for each of them from the new provider.

Atlas Care Services operates in Peterborough, North Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire. It’s rated Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).