The commissioning of placements for children with Education, Health and Care Plans

Please provide the following information regarding the commissioning of placements for children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in Independent and Non-Maintained Special Schools (INMSS):

1. Procurement Mechanism: Does the Council commission these placements via a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), a Framework Agreement, or purely via Spot Purchasing?

2. Access: If a DPS or Framework is in place, please provide the name of the portal used (e.g., ProContract, Adam, SProc.net), the website link for that portal, and the reference number for the contract.

3. Spot Purchasing: If the Council utilizes "Spot Purchasing" for individual placements, please provide a copy of the "Pre-Placement Quality Assurance" criteria or "Vendor Onboarding" documents required for a new school to be set up as a supplier, and contact details of those responsible.

4. Sufficiency Strategy: Please provide a link to the Council's most recent "Market Position Statement" or "SEND Sufficiency Strategy" outlining future commissioning intentions.

1. Lincolnshire County Council Children's Services uses an Open Select List to commission placements for children with EHCPs in INMSS. More information on the Open Select List can be found at:* https://professionals.lincolnshire.gov.uk/children%E2%80%99s-commissioning (see "Children's Services provider guide to the Open Select List process for independent placement referrals")

2. ProContract *(https://procontract.due-north.com/Login) was used to initiate the Open Select List in 2022 and annual re-openings in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Council has recently switched the portal used for procurements to Panacea (*https://app.panacea- software.com/lcc/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2Flcc%2F Any subsequent re-openings of this OSL in 2026 will be launched here. The initial contract reference on ProContract for Regulated placements (including INMSS) was DN621904; the most recent annual reopening reference is DN792270.

3.Please see the guidance referenced in the response to question 1 with regards to how the Open Select List process operates. This will include reference to the nature of the PreQualifying Questionnaire to join the Open Select List (see link in Paragraph 4.7). Where providers are placed off-list, it is expected that they will complete the Supplier Self-Assurance Documentation (see attached) at the point of a placement being made.

4. The link provided in the response to question 1 can be used for the former. Please see "Market Position Statements". For the latter, please see *https://lincolnshire.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=553&MId=9034&Ver=4 (Item 58)

*As such, this information is exempt from disclosure in accordance with the exemption set out at Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which provides that a public authority need not comply with a request for disclosure under the Act where that information is reasonably accessible by other means.