Adult Social Care Case Management System - Direct Award from GCA Framework

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council seeks to award a direct contract from the GCA Vertical Application Solutions Framework for a compliant Adults Social Care (ASC) case management and care recording system. The Council has a statutory obligation to maintain an assured social care system to assess, review, and manage all ASC clients and service users in the borough. The current solution has reached the end of its contract term with no further extensions available. A new solution must be in place by October 2026. The system is critical to Council operations: without it, social care services would cease to function, workers and front-line staff could not access case files, payments to social care providers (approximately £7.5 million monthly) would halt, and the Council would fail to meet its statutory duties and CQC inspection requirements. A full re-procurement and implementation would require 2-3 years, which is not feasible given the October 2026 deadline. By remaining with the incumbent supplier via direct award, the Council will avoid implementation delays, data migration complexities, and mobilisation costs, thereby reducing overall contract value and ensuring continuity of essential services.