Maintaining an independent SEND Mediation and Dispute Resolution Service is a statutory requirement for Halton Borough Council.
From 1st September 2014, local authorities must make available the following arrangements, which are independent of the local authority and are impartial and confidential: -
• A Disagreement Resolution Service
• A Mediation Service, and information about mediation provision so that parents and young people can choose to participate in mediation before a possible appeal
The current service is delivered by Collis Mediation Ltd and ends 30th November 2025.
Collis Mediation is a member of the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) Board of Directors and is represented on the DfE steering group informing the Change Program and Improvement Plan, and a CMC approved SEND Mediator Training Provider.
Following discussions with Halton Council’s Procurement Team, two options were identified for consideration with the option to award a contract to Collis Mediation for 3 years with +1 year +1 year extension opportunities recommended by the Heads of Service on 23rd June 2025, and subsequently endorsed by the Leadership Team on 1st July 2025 for progression to the Executive Board. It is proposed that the projected annual budget of £70,000 (with VAT £84,000) is allocated from the High Needs Block (8160).
There have been some delays due to our liaison with Finance around confirming the exact budget line we should identify, and this has taken longer than expected, hence the urgency of this decision to remain within contracted period and to maintain our statutory duties.
Quality assurance and audit of the provider show that they are currently performing extremely well, not just for Halton, but many other regions due to the expertise and local connections. In addition, the service is cost effective and demonstrates additional social value, in the form of:
• Collis Mediation has not uplifted the costs during the period of the contract and has confirmed that these costs would be maintained if the Council re-awards the Agreement to provide services. Additionally the provider is signed up to the Early Payment Scheme.
• The provider also offers an Outside of Mediation Service, essentially working to resolve matters before the formal mediation meeting at a discounted cost, which can also help to reduce stress factors for families.
• The quality of the provider is good; during the previous round of procurement in 2022, Collis Mediation was the only provider of seven applicants that achieved the standard quality benchmark or above in all the quality questions.
• Collis has maintained 100% compliance with the statutory timescales and key performance indicators in the contract.
• Information sharing is good with weekly reporting and an in-depth quarterly performance report which is also used to feedback on key performance indicators to the Department for Education.
• Mediation requests have increased in Halton, which is in-line with the national picture. However, the incumbent provider has managed the increase well and been able to seamlessly resource additional requests.