Decision details

The Chair welcomed Clare Platt, Head of Service Health, Equity, Welfare and Partnerships, to the meeting.

A report was presented informing the Committee that as part of the savings within the Public Health Service a number of externally procured services had been highlighted as areas where savings could be made. The report provided an update on progress toward achieving those savings and set out the steps being taken to deliver the savings which were yet to be delivered.

A cumulative savings of £11.792mwas included in the current plans to be delivered by March 2018. The savings would be delivered by a mixture of re-procurement of whole services, contract variations and through decommissioning a number of historic Public Health Services which were part of the Primary Care Trust (PCT) legacy prior to 2014 when the responsibility for Public Health transferred to LCC. 

The Substance Misuse, Tobacco, Sexual Health and Healthy Lifestyles contracts had all been re-procured within a reduced financial envelope, budget monitoring showed a pressure in 2016/17 of approximately £0.911m due to delays in the Substance Misuse re-procurement, however this would be achieved in full in 2017/18.

Regarding the Healthy Child Programme, due to a number of issues relating to the services for children, young people and families, there had been a delay in being able to carry out this full procurement exercise.

In February 2017 a decision was taken by the Deputy Leader, the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, and the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People to offer a 1 year contract extension to the current providers. A full procurement exercise, including the achievement of remaining savings of £1.7m would be completed by April 2018.

There was a risk to LCC being able to deliver the savings of £1.7m in 2017/18 if the current provider was unwilling or unable to work within the new reduced financial envelope.

Questions and comments by the Committee in relation to the report were as follows:

·  The Committee was informed that the team of Public Health officers within the commissioning element of contracts was 16 altogether, responsible for around £60m of commissioned services.

·  Regarding re-procurement under the new financial envelope there were concerns that in trying to make the £11.792m savings, the Public Health team would lose ground on the objectives it was trying to achieve. Difficult decisions were being made by officers as to where work priorities were. There were opportunities to make efficiency savings. Decisions made were on the basis of supporting Health and Wellbeing outcomes.

·  The issues around the delay of the Substance Misuse re-procurement was to do with the fact it was a complex area of work and the volume of activity.

·  The main area for finding savings going forward was the Healthy Child Programme. This was another complex piece of work due to trying to fit in with the provision LCC provided at the front line.

·  Delivery of savings had not been comprised by the delay in the Substance Misuse re-procurement and the Public Health team was now ahead of target on the delivery of savings.

Resolved:

1.  The Committee note the contents of the report

2.  An update report come to the Scrutiny Committee later in the year.