Agenda item

To consider re-commissioning the Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services ensuring future delivery of support for Sandwell residents.

Resolved that:

1.1. The recommendation to re-commission Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services ensuring future delivery of support for Sandwell residents, be approved.

?

1.2. The Director of Public Health be authorised to commence a procurement process for the provision of Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services to commence 1 February 2023 for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for up to a further 2 years.

1.3 Further to recommendation 1.2, the Director of Public Health be authorised to include any future Drug Strategy monies awarded from National Government into the contract value to enable delivery of the 2021 Drug Strategy ambitions towards delivering a world class treatment system.

1.4 The Director of Public Health be authorised to award a contract and enter into a contract with the successful bidder, on terms to be agreed by the Director of Public Health, for the provision of Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services to commence on 1 February 2023 for a period of 3 years to 31 January 2026 with the option to extend up to a further 2 years (until 31st January 2028).

1.5 That an exemption to rule 8.7 of the Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules 2018/19 be made to allow a contract to be awarded to a successful tenderer in the event that the required minimum number of tenders are not received.

1.6 The Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adults, Social Care and Health, be authorised to make variations to the Contract up to a maximum of 10% of the Contract value, should they be necessitated.

1.7 The Director of Law and Governance be authorised to execute any documentation necessary to give effect to the proposals set out in 1.1 – 1.6 above for the provision of Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services.

Approval was sought for the Director of Public Health to be authorised to procure Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services, with the contract commencing from 1 February 2023 for a period of three years to 31 January 2026 with the option to extend up to a further 2 years (until 31 January 2028).

Approval was also sought for the Director of Public Health to be authorised, in relation to the above contract, to include any future Drug Strategy monies awarded from National Government into the contract value, to enable the delivery of the 2021 Drug Strategy ambitions towards a delivering a world class treatment system.

It was reported that Sandwell was among the 10 local authorities with the lowest drug related deaths in the country and had won multiple awards for its drug and alcohol treatment services. It was deemed important that this positive trend was continued and re-commissioning of the contract for these services was important in this respect.

Reason for Decision

Procurement of Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services would ensure that support for Sandwell residents continued to be available beyond the currently commissioned service which was due to end on 31 January 2023.

Whilst work to address the harms from substance misuse had resulted in some real successes for the local population, including one of the lowest drug related deaths in the country, the provision of well-delivered evidence-based community treatment provision remained integral to continuing such efforts.  Furthermore, conditions attached to use of the Public Health Grant required that local areas must: “have regard to the need to improve the take up of, and outcomes from, its drug and alcohol misuse treatment services”.

Alternative Options Considered

To not approve the procurement of Adult Drug and Alcohol Service provision beyond 31 January 2023 would impact health outcomes (not just of substance misusers themselves but the health of others through secondary harms) and further exacerbate health inequalities for the most disadvantaged groups within the borough. This would be inadvisable given the impact across the wider health and criminal justice system due to substance misuse.

Agreed:-

(1)     that approval be given to re-commission Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services ensuring future delivery of support for Sandwell residents;

?

(2)     that the Director of Public Health be authorised to commence a procurement process for the provision of Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services to commence 1 February 2023 for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for up to a further 2 years;

(3)     that in connection with Resolution (2) above, the Director of Public Health be authorised to include any future Drug Strategy monies awarded from National Government into the contract value to enable delivery of the 2021 Drug Strategy ambitions towards a delivering a world class treatment system;

(4)     that the Director of Public Health be authorised to award a contract and enter into a contract with the successful bidder, on terms to be agreed by the Director of Public Health, for the provision of Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services to commence on 1 February 2023 for a period of 3 years to 31 January 2026 with the option to extend up to a further 2 years (until 31st January 2028);

(5)     that an exemption to rule 8.7 of the Council’s Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules be made to allow a contract to be awarded to a successful tenderer in the event that the required minimum number of tenders are not received;

(6)     that the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adults, Social Care and Health, be authorised to make variations to the Contract up to a maximum of 10% of the Contract value, should they be necessitated;

(7)     that the Director of Law and Governance be authorised to execute any documentation necessary to give effect to the proposals set out in (1) – (6) above for the provision of Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services.