Issue - meetings

Report of the Strategic Director of Adult Care and Housing

Cabinet Member:     Councillor Roche (in advisory role)

Commissioner:         Myers

Recommendations:

1.    That, pursuant to Standing Order 38, the proposed contract for the Healthwatch Rotherham Service be exempt from the provisions of Standing order 48 (contracts valued at more than £50,000 should be commissioned) .

2.    That a two year contract be directly awarded to Healthwatch Rotherham from the 1 April 2017, with an option to extend this contract for a further one year.

Consideration was given to a report which sought approval to award the contract for the provision of the Healthwatch service for a two year period from 1 April 2017.

It was noted that Healthwatch Rotherham was the local consumer champion for patients, service users and the public, covering both health and social care. Local authorities have a statutory duty to commission a local independent Healthwatch organisation, which in turn has a set of statutory activities to undertake. Those statutory activities included gathering local views and making these known to providers and commissioners, monitoring and scrutinising the quality of provision of local services, and a seat on the local Health and Wellbeing Board.

It was reported that the contract with Healthwatch Rotherham was due to end on the 31 March 2017.  There was little evidence to suggest that the market had changed from when the service was originally commissioned. Therefore, it was unlikely that there would be another provider that could deliver a local Healthwatch service with the same level of experience and local knowledge who had built up good working relationships with both the local statutory and voluntary sector organisations.  It was considered that conducting a competitive tendering process would not be the best use of resources. 

It was noted that the Healthwatch Rotherham service was performing well and had been recognised both locally and nationally, as such.

Commissioner Myers agreed:–

(1)  That, pursuant to Standing Order 38, the proposed contract for the Healthwatch Rotherham Service be exempt from the provisions of Standing order 48 (contracts valued at more than £50,000 should be commissioned).

(2)  That a two year contract be directly awarded to Healthwatch Rotherham from the 1 April 2017, with an option to extend this contract for a further one year.