Adult Social Care and Public Health Sub- Committee
Agenda Item 23
Subject: Young People’s Substance Use Support Service Contract
Date of meeting: 12th September 2023
Report of: Executive Director Adult Social Care and Health
Contact Officer: Name: Sarah Colombo
Tel: 07827233577
Email: sarah.colombo@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Wards affected: All
For general release
1. Purpose of the report and policy context
1.1 To request agreement from the committee to contract with Oasis Project for the delivery of specialist substance use treatment and support for children young people and families.
1.2 The funding for this work is to augment substance misuse treatment and support under the national Combatting Drugs Strategy.
2. Recommendations
2.1 That Committee agrees that the Council now enters into a formal written contract with Oasis Project to deliver treatment and for substance use issues support to children young people and families.
3. Context and background information
Background
3.1 Brighton & Hove City Council was awarded 3 year funding in 2022 under the government’s From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The funding provides for additional treatment and support for adults and children and young people with substance use issues.
3.2 The funding for the adult element of the proposal is being delivered via a variation to the existing contract for adult substance misuse services delivered by Change Grow Live and commissioned by the Council’s Public Health team.
3.3 The children and young people’s element of the Brighton & Hove proposal was developed by the Council’s Adolescent Service which delivers to children and young people and Oasis Project which delivers to children young people and parents.
3.4 The city’s Combatting Drugs Partnership approved the delivery of the children, young people and families services by Oasis Project and the council’s adolescent service.
3.5 The Oasis Project part of the funding was intended to be delivered via a variation to a contract Families Children & Learning hold with Oasis Project. However due to commissioning capacity issues this was not progressed and Oasis Project has therefore been funded out of contract from the part year project start in October 2022.
3.6 Oasis Project has been delivering the additional funded roles to an agreed specification developed with Public Health and the Adolescent Service.
3.7 Public Health is therefore seeking agreement to provide a written contract to provide a secure framework for the delivery of these additional roles in Oasis Project covering the three year period from October 2022 to March 2025.
4. Analysis and consideration of alternative options
4.1 The total 3 Year contract value for the Oasis Project additional roles is £639,686 of which Year 1 part-year funding was £127,634.
4.2 The Oasis team work closely alongside ru-ok? with the new roles providing therapy and for those approaching 19 yrs specific transition support practitioners.
4.3 Oasis Project is a long established provider in this area of work specialising in work with children and young people and families; with an excellent pedigree of joint working and delivery of time-limited programmes such as the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents programme.
4.4 There are no other locally delivered treatment and support services specialising in young people and families and as such Oasis Project is a key partner in the system wide approach to these needs.
4.5 An external provider commissioned via a competitive tender would not have the social value, history of joint work or local relationships with the wider system that are a key part of successful delivery.
5. Community engagement and consultation
5.1 The programme of work is delivered within the Drugs strategy guidance for local delivery partners - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Ru-ok? and Oasis Project used service intelligence to inform the additional roles based on years of experience working with young people who access their services.
6. Conclusion
6.1 Oasis Project has reported on the first full operational period (Q4 22/23 and Q1 23/24) evidencing engagement and work with young people to the agreed specification.
6.2 Given Oasis Project has been delivering well to this specification for 10 months there is every indication that it will continue to deliver as required to in the remaining period of the contract to March 2025.
7. Financial implications
7.1 The contract with Oasis Project for the delivery of specialist substance use treatment and support for young people, is funded by the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Programme Grant within Public Health.
7.2 The Council’s allocation of the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Programme Grant is £1.872m in 2023/24 and the indicative allocation for 2024/25 is £3.613m.
7.3 On the basis that the contract provided by Brighton Oasis is extended to March 2025, and the total 3-year contract value is £0.640m, this can be funded within the grant allocation.
Name of finance officer consulted: Sophie Warburton Date consulted 15/08/2023
8. Legal implications
8.1 The value of this contract is under the threshold for the light touch
regime. Light touch regime contracts are a category of service contracts including certain social, health and education contracts, into which this contract falls. As the value of the contract is below the value threshold the requirements to carry out a procurement which complies with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 do not apply.
8.2 Officers have not carried out a tendering process which complies with
the Contract Standing Orders (CSOs) and therefore a Waiver of the CSOs is required.
Name of lawyer consulted: Eleanor Richards Date consulted 17/08/2023
9. Equalities implications
9.1 The specialist service that Oasis Project provides is available to all young people whose level of need qualifies for the service. The service has a long track record of working with care experienced and looked after children.
10. Sustainability implications
10.1 These services are delivered by city based teams with local offices and a creche in the city centre with good access by sustainable public transport.
11. Other Implications
Social Value and procurement implications
11.1 Oasis Project as a long standing local provider of high quality specialist services and works closely with local authority, health and the community and voluntary sector.
Crime & disorder implications:
11.2 The provision in this proposed contract of specialist treatment and support to young people with substance use issues contributes to the wider prevention of crime and disorder agenda
Public health implications:
11.3 Working to prevent young people becoming entrenched in substance use and delivering that with an understanding of the role of the family and community in supporting recovery directly contributes to reducing health inequalities.
Supporting Documentation
Appendix
1. Oasis Project Service description, roles and latest performance