Agenda item

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (People)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), that was also considered by the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5) at their meeting on 5^th April 2017 (their minute 55 referred), that sought approval to commission a family health and lifestyle service and an integrated adult lifestyle service and to authorise the commencement of procurement processes.

Coventry City Council commissioned a range of services that aimed to prevent poor health by improving childhood health and supporting behaviour change among at risk groups. The integration of these individual services would provide:

1.  A Family Health and Lifestyle Service: supporting children, young people and their families. This service would include Health Visiting and School Nursing and would be an integral element of the developing family hub model. The service would systematically reduce health inequalities including supporting the reduction of childhood obesity, families to be more physically active, improving childhood development and readiness for school and reducing infant mortality.

2.  An Integrated Adult Lifestyles Service: supporting adults at greatest risk of poor health including those who displayed multiple lifestyle behaviours like obesity, low levels of physical activity and poor diet and smoking, as well as other at risk groups like people with mental health conditions.

The proposal to integrate the services was based on what local Coventry people wanted from the services, following consultation with the general public, service users and wider stakeholders and the latest evidence about what works to improve quality and outcomes.

In order to properly develop an integrated approach for the Family Health and Lifestyle Service a significant amount of re-design was required. It was therefore recommended that the contract would run for five years, with two 24 month extensions available. It was also proposed that the service was procured via a competitive tender with dialogue (an approach where tenderers worked in partnership with the contracting authority to develop a suitable solution to the service specification and requirement – at the point where the contracting authority was confident that one or more of the solutions presented were sufficiently developed to meets its needs and requirement, tenderers were then invited to submit competitive bids). This procurement approach was innovative and, while it was planned for the proposed contract to be operational during Summer 2018, permission was being sought to extend existing contracts for up to 6 months until 30 September 2018 to allow for robust process.

The proposed contract for the Integrated Adult Lifestyle Service would be operational by 1 April 2018 and would be procured through a standard competitive tender. The contract would run for five years, with two 24 month extensions available.

The Cabinet noted a Briefing Note of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5), circulated at the meeting, on the outcome of their consideration of the report at their meeting on 3rd March 2017. The Board decided to endorse the recommendations in the report and made no further recommendations for Cabinet. 

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

1.  Notes that the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5) endorses the recommendations to Cabinet.

2.  Approves the proposal to extend current contracts which will be integrated into the new family health and lifestyle service for up to six months.

3.  Approves the proposal to commission a family health and lifestyle service and authorises the commencement of a procurement process via a competitive process with dialogue in line with the proposed model and timescale.

4.  Delegates authority to the Director of Public Health and the Section 151 Officer following the procurement process to award to the successful bidder and implement the contract for a family health and lifestyle service.

5.  Approves the proposal to commission an integrated adult lifestyle service and authorise the commencement of a tender process to procure in line with the proposed model and timescale.

6.  Delegates authority to the Director of Public Health and the Section 151 Officer following the procurement process to award to the successful bidder and implement the contract for an integrated adult lifestyle service.