That the Statutory Scrutiny Officer has submitted the referral to the Secretary of State to call-in the proposal to serve notice to end the Agreement for the Integrated Care Model in Torbay, on behalf of Torbay Council.

The Sub?Board agreed that, although local resolution was preferred, the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust’s proposal to end the Section 75 Agreement in March 2026 was likely to result in substantial changes to Torbay’s integrated community health and adult social care services, and that no adequate evidence had been provided to show otherwise.  The Trust maintains that no duty to consult applies, but neither the ICB nor Torbay Council’s Director of Adults and Community Services shares this view, and the ICB has stated it cannot assess the impact without an impact assessment.  As the examples cited by the Trust relate only to single?service arrangements and were not comparable to Torbay’s fully integrated model, and as there was insufficient time for meaningful consultation before the notice would take effect, the Sub?Board determined (unanimously) that a referral to the Secretary of State was required before the Trust makes its final decision on 5 March 2026.

None.

This decision will be implemented immediately.

In accordance with the decision of the Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board meeting on 4 February 2026, the Statutory Scrutiny Officer has submitted a referral to the Secretary of State regarding the proposal by the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to serve notice to end the Agreement for the Integrated Care Model in Torbay, with Torbay Council and NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (ICB) for the delivery of community health and adult social care services in Torbay.

None.