Agenda item

RESOLVED:

That a contract be awarded to Central and North West London NHS Trust at a maximum value of £4,333,383.00 per year.

The contract will be for three years from 1 April 2017 with an option to extend for

a further two years, in any event the contract shall be for no more than five years in

total.

Reasons for Decisions:

The recommended contract award will deliver an evidence based Integrated Sexual Health Service (as described in paragraph 5 of this report) that meets national guidance and fulfils the Council’s duties. The service will be open access to all (universal) in line with statutory requirements and the national specification issued by the Department of Health, however there is a clear expectation that the service will be responsive to the needs of key priority groups as defined in the Surrey Sexual Health Needs Assessment. Priority groups in Surrey include sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), Black Africans and young people.

The three existing contracts for sexual health services are expiring at the end of March 2017 and cannot be further extended.

A full tender process, in compliance with the requirements of EU procurement Legislation and the Council’s Procurement Standing Orders has been completed, and the recommendation provides best value for money for the Council following a thorough evaluation process.

The service will be delivered in Surrey from local bases and will provide apprenticeship opportunities to Surrey Young People whilst delivering efficiencies for Public Health Services.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Social Care Services Scrutiny Board]

The Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Health said that the provision of sexual health services was a statutory duty of Local Authorities and that the current contract ended in March 2017.

She said that the budget for this service had been reduced following the reduction in the ring fenced public health grant distributed by the Department of Health and the Council was trying to maintain a good level of service within the financial resource available. Therefore, following a full procurement and evaluation process, this report sought approval to award a contract to Central and North West London NHS Trust for the provision of an Integrated Sexual Health Service to commence on 1 April 2017.

She drew attention to the email from Dr Tina Peers, Clinical Director of the Sexual Health Services from Virgin Care, and its attachment relating to the financial and economic impacts of restricted contraceptive and sexual health services. She confirmed that it had been circulated to the Cabinet team and acknowledged the difficult decision that the Cabinet was taking today. However, she considered that the recommended contract delivered best value for money and met the needs of service users in Surrey and, by awarding this contract the Council would secure a cashable saving of £2m per year.

Finally, she drew attention to the Equality Impact Assessment which had been attached to the report and which set out the impacts of the recommendation on each of the protected group for each service.

Other Cabinet Members made the following comments:

·         It was good news that an integrated sexual health service would be provided and that the provider was required to work in partnership across the County Council, as detailed in paragraph 6 of the submitted report.

·         Due to closer working with NHS colleagues, this report would be the first of many reports presented to Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

That a contract be awarded to Central and North West London NHS Trust at a maximum value of £4,333,383.00 per year.

The contract will be for three years from 1 April 2017 with an option to extend for

a further two years, in any event the contract shall be for no more than five years in

total.

Reasons for Decisions:

The recommended contract award will deliver an evidence based Integrated Sexual Health Service (as described in paragraph 5 of this report) that meets national guidance and fulfils the Council’s duties. The service will be open access to all (universal) in line with statutory requirements and the national specification issued by the Department of Health, however there is a clear expectation that the service will be responsive to the needs of key priority groups as defined in the Surrey Sexual Health Needs Assessment. Priority groups in Surrey include sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), Black Africans and young people.

The three existing contracts for sexual health services are expiring at the end of March 2017 and cannot be further extended.

A full tender process, in compliance with the requirements of EU procurement Legislation and the Council’s Procurement Standing Orders has been completed, and the recommendation provides best value for money for the Council following a thorough evaluation process.

The service will be delivered in Surrey from local bases and will provide apprenticeship opportunities to Surrey Young People whilst delivering efficiencies for Public Health Services.