That Cabinet approve the decision (subject to ratification by parallel governance processes in Devon and Plymouth councils and the CCG) to award contracts for Lot 1 (Local Healthwatch) and Lot 2 (Local Health and Social Care Engagement), of the jointly commissioned services with Devon County Council and Plymouth City Council (and NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group for Lot 2) to the providers named in exempt Appendix 1 to the submitted report.

For the past two years, commissioners of social care and health services in Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council had been working towards enabling a single supplier to provide the Local Healthwatch consumer voice organisation on behalf of the three local authorities.

Completion of a joint competitive tendering process had resulted in a recommendation to award a contract (subject to approval by the parallel governance mechanisms in each commissioning organisation and the council’s own relevant due diligence processes) for the provision of Local Healthwatch (Lot 1).

Alongside the new Local Healthwatch function, commissioners in the three local authorities and the CCG were recommending the award of a contract for locally commissioned engagement on health and social care issues (Lot 2).

Alternative options were set out in the submitted report but were not discussed at the meeting.

This decision will come into force and may be implemented on Friday, 3 January 2020 unless the call-in procedure is triggered (as set out in Standing Orders in relation to Overview and Scrutiny).

The submitted report sought approval to award contracts (subject to ratification by parallel governance processes in Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council and the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)) for the provision of the Local Healthwatch and Local Health and Social Care Engagement in the County of Devon.

The new contracts would be for jointly commissioned services with Devon and Plymouth councils for both Lot 1 (Local Healthwatch) and Lot 2 (Local Health and Social Care Engagement), with the CCG also being commissioners for Lot 2.  Devon County Council would be the contracting authority on behalf of the commissioning organisations.

The contracts would commence on 1 April 2020.  The provider for Lot 1 would be required to maintain the discrete public-identities of Healthwatch Devon, Healthwatch Plymouth and Healthwatch Torbay, whilst spreading the good practice achieved to date in each local authority area across the whole county.

Councillor Stockman proposed and Councillor Long seconded a motion, as set out above which was agreed unanimously by the Cabinet.

(Note:  during consideration of this item the press and public were formally excluded from the meeting on the grounds that exempt information (as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended)) was likely to be disclosed.)

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