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Report to: |
Lead Member for Adult Social Care & Health |
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Date of meeting: |
28 September 2022 |
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By: |
Director of Adult Social Care and Health |
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Further extension of the current Integrated Lifestyle Service (ILS) contract |
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Purpose: |
To seek Lead Member approval for request to extend the current ILS contract for a further eight months with the existing provider.
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The Lead Member is recommended to approve the Modification Request Form to extend the current ILS contract for a further eight months with the existing provider, at a value of £1,377,009.
1.1. The ILS provides evidence-based support and help to enable people across East Sussex to make changes to their lifestyle to improve their health. The service is branded One You East Sussex and it operates as a one –stop shop service, with tailored packages of support allowing people to address all of their risk factors (smoking, excess weight, physical inactivity, poor diet and excessive alcohol consumption) through a single service, and in a way that is most likely to work for them.
1.2. The service is universally available to people aged 16 and over (12 and over for stop smoking support). However, it is targeted towards areas and communities where prevalence of risk factors is highest and experience of health inequalities are significant.
1.3. The contract to provide the ILS was awarded to Thrive Tribe Ltd in May 2017, who commenced delivery on the 8 August 2017. The contract period is 4 years, with the option to extend for a further two years. The value of the contract is currently £2,065,513 per annum.
1.5 The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant direct and indirect impacts on the physical and psychological health of local residents, some of which continue to impact the health of the local population. The pandemic has also altered the world we live in and the way individuals live their lives, to include how individuals engage with health services.
1.6 These factors, combined with the disruption to service delivery caused by COVID-19 has resulted in the need to review the scope and resource input required for this commissioned service. As this review process has taken some time to complete it is not now possible to meet the existing timelines to have a new contract commence in August 2023. An eight-month extension to the existing ILS contract would provide the time to complete the revised service specification, including public consultation, and ensure that a new contract is ready to commence at the beginning of the 2024/25 financial year.
1.7 Approval to extend the current ILS contract for a further eight months with the existing provider is considered a key decision as the expenditure is above £500,000 per annum and the extension sits outside of the existing procurement framework.
· The current provider is well established, having delivered the ILS since 2017. They have a good track record of delivering activity and quality outcomes, prior to the pandemic. Procurement of a new contract for the eight-month period would come at considerable cost to ESCC, and it is unlikely that we would be able to identify another provider with an offer which is superior to our existing provider.
· Extending the contract with the existing provider for eight months would ensure continuity of service until the new contract commences in April 2024. Whereas procurement of a new contract would potentially require a break in service with a new provider needing to set up new systems, transfer staff, undertake service promotion and establish new referral pathways before being able to commence delivery. It is likely that this mobilisation would take most of the eight-month period.
· Procurement of another organisation to provide this service would be likely to cause confusion within key referring organisations, such as primary care, and result in considerable additional time and cost in terms of relationship development. Whereas referring organisations already have established and trusted relationships with the current provider.
2.2 Modifications to contracts are allowable in specific circumstances under Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The recommendation to approve the request for approval to extend the current ILS contract for a further eight months with the existing provider is in line with the specific circumstances that allow modifications to contracts as set out by this regulation and as agreed with ESCC’s Legal Services and Procurement.
3 Conclusion and recommendations
3.1 The rationale for extending the current ILS contract, and the reasons for extending it with
the existing provider are clear and represent best value for ESCC. The Lead Member is
therefore asked to:
CHIEF OFFICER NAME Mark Stainton
Chief Officer Role Director of Adult Social Care and Health
Contact Officer: Nicola Blake
Health Improvement Principal (Health Checks and Health Behaviours)
Tel. No: 07824 085355
Email: nicola.blake@eastsussex.gov.uk
All Members
Background documents and appendices
None