Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Public Health indicating that on 31March 2023, existing contracts for the 0-19 Healthy Children Programme provided by Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust, and Sefton’s Young People and Family Substance Use Service, provided by Addaction, would expire.

The purpose of the report was to seek approval to complete a tender exercise to re-procure Sefton’s 0-19 Healthy Child Programme; and this would include a revised specification aligned to the latest Children’s Policy drivers, including the updated National Healthy Child Programme, latest evidence and local need.

The replacement contracts for both services to be reprocured would be for a 5-year core period, with the option to extend for up to 2 (individual) periods of 12 months.

Both tender exercises would be required to follow a Find a Tender Service (FTS) Light- Touch Regime Open Procedure, as part of this process; approval was sought for the Director of Public Health in consultation with the Cabinet Member - Health and Wellbeing to be given delegated authority to award the contract at the end of the tender process.

Delegated authority was also sought for the Director of Public Health, in conjunction with the Cabinet Member – Health and Wellbeing, to award the remaining subsequent extension options if any future extensions of this contract were deemed appropriate and offered value for money.

Development of the evolving Sefton Partnership and the Health and Care Bill becoming law on 1 July 2022 might impact on the service redesign and recommissioning model. For example, this might mean a change in budget arrangements and the potential delivery model involving partners across the Sefton Health and Care system. Any developments in the model going forward would be overseen by the Sefton Partnership with Public Health leadership and the Cabinet was asked to note this.

Links to appropriate guidance were contained within the report.

Decision Made:

That

(1)      the Director of Public Health be authorised to conduct a Find a Tender Service (FTS) Light Touch Regime tender exercise for the Sefton 0-19 Healthy Child Programme Service to run for a period of five years from 1April 2023 with the option of two further one-year extensions;

(2)      the Director of Public Health be authorised to conduct a FTS Light Touch Regime tender exercise for the Sefton Young People and Family Substance Use Service to run for a period of five years from 1 April 2023 with the option of two further one-year extensions; and

(3)      the Director of Public Health in consultation with the Cabinet Member - Health and Wellbeing be granted delegated authority to award the contracts resulting from the procurement and to award any extension thereof.

Reasons for the Decision:

1.    The current contracts would expire on 31 March 2022.

2.    The Local Authority has a Statutory duty to deliver Public Health Services for children under the age of 5 years old.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

1)     To work with the existing Providers to further develop services to meet the new specification and emerging needs of Children, Young People and Families in Sefton. 

Establishment of the ‘Provider Selection Regime’ is subject to Parliamentary approval and final formulation of the regulations by government. Therefore, the Council is bound by existing procurement legislation.

The current procurement system for healthcare services is governed by two pieces of legislation.

·       The Public Contracts Regulations (PCR 2015)

·       The Procurement, Patient Choice, and Competition Regulations 2013 (PPCCR2013),

2) Cease service delivery

Rejected based on reputational and financial risk to the authority by the potential failure to perform its statutory duty to deliver public health services for children 0-5 years. Furthermore, the lack of universal service and specialist provision for children, young people and families, would have a significant negative impact on health and wellbeing and increase safeguarding risk.