LONDON BOROUGH OF SUTTON APPOINTS EXOR TO ASSESS ADULT SOCIAL SERVICES SUPPLY CHAIN

New contract provides important quality controls for Adult Social Services delivered in the Borough

Leading health & safety accreditation and compliance company, Exor Management Services, has been appointed by the London Borough of Sutton to provide an appraisal service to assess its Adult Social Services supply chain.

With public sector budgets under severe pressure, local authorities have a clear imperative to ensure all external spending is properly managed and is giving their communities the best possible value.  This is particularly crucial in the area of Social Services where a wide range of external providers are typically employed to deliver a variety of services to the local community.

“The management of risk is a central issue in the procurement of goods and services in the public sector” confirmed Ian McKinnon, Managing Director, Exor Management Services.  “From financial stability and Director history, to health and safety and environmental issues, it is crucial that every aspect of a supplier’s business is on a par with a local authority’s own standards – if not exceeds them. 

“The Exor Social Services Appraisal Service provides a set of standards that local authorities can apply to each of their service providers.  Operated by our expert consultants, working in partnership with the local authority’s own Procurement team, these standards enable local authorities to monitor suppliers on an on-going basis without having to implement onerous additional checks or controls.  The result is they can free up internal resource to do the more important one to one contact with suppliers in order to identify opportunities for additional facilities and services for their local community.”

The Exor Social Services Appraisal Service was initially developed as part of a wider project funded by the London Centre of Excellence (LCE) to better manage the market for accommodation based services, initially for people with learning disabilities.  It has subsequently evolved to provide an appraisal tool for the complete range of services required in the Adult Social Services sector, from day care and transportation, to education and health services.

The London Borough of Sutton has been using the Exor Social Services Appraisal Service to assess its Adult Social Services supply chain, freeing up its own internal resources to work with suppliers on other key issues.  “The Exor service gives us the ability to manage our Adult Social Services supply chain to a high standard – but without our own team having to spend time assessing each supplier”, confirmed Colm O'Flynn
Commissioning Project Manager
Learning Disability and Mental Health
(Value for Money)
of London Borough of Sutton.

“The flexibility of the Exor service means that we can apply our own criteria in terms of business operations and performance, but we don’t have to spend an inordinate amount of time checking and re-checking suppliers. It also gives us the ability to contract with new providers with the confidence and knowledge that they meet our requirements in all key areas right from the start.”

Areas covered by the Exor Social Services Appraisal Service include:

• Financial Stability and Viability
• Corporate Governance
• Director history and business experience
• Insurances & Registrations
• Health and Safety
• Equal Opportunities
• Environmental
• Work In Occupied Dwellings

Exor’s service can be applied across a range of businesses from a Sole Trader to a Limited Charity or a multi-National Plc. All are assessed in a process that is transparent, administratively simple and rigorous and ensures that they meet the requirements of the local authority.

“The Exor Social Services Appraisal service gives local authorities the ability to ensure there is a consistent approach when dealing with service providers, assessing all parts of a supplier’s business” concluded Ian McKinnon.  “Delivered via the web, it is easy to use and can be applied to a local authority’s entire supplier database, giving procurement or commissioning officers an efficient way to certify their suppliers capabilities.”