Agenda and draft minutes

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The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Cabinet Member referred to the notice of filming at meetings and this information was noted.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies.

There were none.  

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear).

There was no urgent business.

There were none.

The report detailed the outcome of a procurement process conducted in accordance with Contract Standing Orders (CSO) 12.03 and Regulation 11 (Competitive Process) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

The Council sought approval to award contracts for the provision of Substance Misuse Residential Rehabilitation through a framework of suitable providers. This framework would allow residents to access appropriate rehabilitation centres based on assessed need and availability.

The procurement was subject to due process and therefore it was likely that the contract would start on 16 April 2026.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED

1. To approve the award of twenty (20) Framework Agreements to the ten (10) successful tenderers (listed in Appendix 1 – Part B (exempt information) of this report) for the provision of substance misuse residential rehabilitation services. The Framework Agreement shall run for a period of four years, commencing from 16 April 2026 to 31 March 2030.

2. To note that the maximum potential value across the Framework Agreements is £800,000. The actual value of each contract will depend on the number of placements made to each rehabilitation centre by the care manager and the number of bed nights used.

Reasons for decision

The Council had a statutory responsibility to commission substance misuse services, for which it received the ring-fenced substance misuse element of the Public Health Grant. Residential Rehabilitation is one form of evidence- based treatment. Effectively tackling addiction and helping residents recover is aligned with the Borough Plan, contributing to improved health, reduced crime, and strengthened community resilience.

The proposed awards were recommended to the providers who achieved the highest overall scores in the tender evaluation, having met all the Councils requirements.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing - The option of taking no action was rejected. Residential rehabilitation was an essential component of the borough’s statutory substance misuse treatment offer, and the Council received a ring-fenced public health grant specifically to support the provision. As part of the terms of the grant award, annually the council must agree with the funder a target number of people accessing residential rehabilitation. Failure to reach the target can lead to loss of income. Given the ongoing and significant need for intensive treatment among a proportion of residents, doing nothing would compromise treatment outcomes, limit access to evidence-based support, and fail to meet our statutory and grant-funded responsibilities.

Item 8 is likely to be subject to a motion to exclude the press and public be from the meeting as it contains exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); paras 3 and 5, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

Item 8 was subject to a motion to exclude the press and public be from the meeting as it contained exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); paras 3 and 5, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

The Cabinet Member considered the exempt information.