Issue - meetings

Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, sought Cabinet approval to competitively tender and award a contract for the delivery of Community Drug and Alcohol Services for Adults from 1st April 2024.

Having considered all of the information, Cabinet noted the report and

RESOLVED to:

Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Leader of the Council to:

1.    Conduct a competitive procurement process in respect of a contract for the supply of community drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services for adults. The proposed contract shall continue for an initial period of five years and include options to extend its term either for a further period of four years on its fifth anniversary, or two further periods of two years on its fifth and seventh anniversaries respectively (i.e., 5+4 years or 5+2+2 years).

2.    Award such contract to the preferred tenderer; and

3.    Determine whether to exercise the options to extend the term of such contract for a further period of four years on its fifth anniversary or (as appropriate) two further periods of two years on its fifth and seventh anniversaries respectively

Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, sought Cabinet approval to competitively tender and award a contract for the delivery of Community Drug and Alcohol Services for Adults from 1st April 2024. He clarified that the County Council was responsible for the commissioning of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services for Gloucestershire, and was required, as a condition of the Public Health Grant, to take steps to improve the take up of, and any outcomes from, its drug and alcohol misuse treatment services.

Cllr Hawthorne informed members that, locally, crime survey data had estimated approximately 32,000 adults reporting drug use within the previous year, with an estimated 5,509 individuals experiencing alcohol dependence. In terms of problem drug use there were an estimated 2,849 heroin and crack users in the county, including 2,414 heroin users.

The current contract for the supply of community drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services for adults was due to expire on 31 March 2024, (services for children/young people are commissioned separately). To allow the continued delivery of the service beyond this date, Cabinet was asked to delegate responsibility to the Director of Public Health, together with the lead Cabinet Member, to competitively tender for the service.

Members noted that the proposed length of the contract was nine years, with break clauses at 5 years and seven years. The service specification of the contract would remain largely the same as the current specification. The proposed value of the new contract was £5.8M per annum, drawn from the Public Health Grant, equating to £52.2M over the lifetime of the contract. This did not include funding from the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant, (monies allocated to local areas by the government between 2022 – 2025). 

Having considered all of the information, Cabinet noted the report and

RESOLVED to:

Delegate authority to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Leader of the Council to:

1.    Conduct a competitive procurement process in respect of a contract for the supply of community drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services for adults. The proposed contract shall continue for an initial period of five years and include options to extend its term either for a further period of four years on its fifth anniversary, or two further periods of two years on its fifth and seventh anniversaries respectively (i.e., 5+4 years or 5+2+2 years).

2.    Award such contract to the preferred tenderer; and

3.    Determine whether to exercise the options to extend the term of such contract for a further period of four years on its fifth anniversary or (as appropriate) two further periods of two years on its fifth and seventh anniversaries respectively.