Accord consortium secures £7.7m contract
A CONSORTIUM including West Bromwich housing group Accord has won a £7.7m contract to manage children’s centres in Sandwell.
Health for Living, set up by the Accord Group, Black Country Housing Group, Murray Hall Community Trust and Sandwell Mind, will work with prime partner and national charity Family Actio, to run eight of the 21 children centres in Sandwell after exchanging contracts with the local authority.
The new contract will build on the strengths of the existing children’s centres, providing a range of services for children and families such as childcare, parental support and early education.
Health for Living will also expand the reach of the centres by offering services to young people and forging closer links between the children’s centres and other services such as schools, libraries, employment agencies and health bodies.
Councillor Bob Badham, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for children and families, said: “The organisations which make up Health for Living have excellent reputations and we look forward to working closely with them as they build on the successes and expand the services on offer at children’s centres.”
Last year, the consortium secured a £1.2 m contract from Sandwell PCT to roll out a confidence and well-being service to improve the mental health of residents in Sandwell.
