The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Health and Wellbeing which provided details of proposals to extend the Stop Smoking Service for a further 12 months, by exercising a plus one year option within the current contract; and to award the remaining subsequent extension options if any future extensions of this contract are deemed appropriate and offer value for money.
Decision Made: That
(1) approval be given for the Head of Health and Wellbeing to exercise a plus one year extension to the Sefton Stop Smoking Service contract; and
(2) the Head of Health and Wellbeing be granted delegated authority in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, to award future contract extensions within the existing contract term.
Reasons for Decision:
The current contract is from April 2017 to March 2019, with the option to extend for a further 3 x 12 month periods. Approval is sought by Cabinet to extend the current commission of the Stop Smoking Service by one additional twelve months to March 2020. This would enable further review of the service and allow for development of action around smoking in pregnancy, which will influence whether the contract should be varied or recommissioned after this period.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
1. Full re-procurement of the service; this option is rejected because the service has been operational for less than 2 years. During that time, there has been significant improvements made to the delivery model, focusing on the most vulnerable people in the population. The service needs time to embed and continue its development to tackle smoking in pregnancy, which is a public health priority.
2. To extend the contract for a further 2 or 3 years by exercising the additional options within the current contract. This option is rejected because of the continued review around smoking priorities, and the possible need to vary the contract to reflect those priorities.