Issue - meetings

Forward Plan Ref: 2013/172

Contact: Val Messenger, Deputy Director of Public Health Tel: (01865) 328660

Report by Director of Public Health (CMDPHVS4).

The duty of the Local Authority under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (Statutory Instrument 2013 no 351) is to "provide or make arrangements to secure the provision of, open access sexual health services in its area". The Local Authority now needs to make a policy decision to secure these services through a commissioning route, as previously, when they were the responsibility of the NHS.

Public Health has a ring fenced budget, and within this an allocation has been made for sexual health services as reported in the financial monthly monitoring reports to cabinet.

Contracts with current providers expire on 31 March 2014, so a decision is required in order to proceed with procurement arrangements. As the costs of commissioning these services are significant with regard to the revenue budget allocated to the Cabinet Member the commissioning of these services is considered a key decision.

The report sets out the policy relating to the provision of sexual health services in Oxfordshire and its financial aspects  The report itself does not contain exempt information and is available to the public. However, Annex 1 is exempt as it provides additional commercially sensitive information on the proposed service model should a commissioning decision be made.

The public should be excluded during consideration of Annex 1 to the report because its discussion in public would be likely to lead to the disclosure to members of the public present of information in the following prescribed category:

3.                  Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that such disclosure would give potential providers advance knowledge of decisions which should only be released through the formal procurement route.

The Cabinet Member for Public Health & the Voluntary Sector is RECOMMENDED to approve the commissioning of sexual health services in Oxfordshire by the Public Health Directorate in order to secure provision as mandated by the Health and Social Care Act.

The Cabinet Member for Public Health & the Voluntary Sector APPROVED the commissioning of sexual health services in Oxfordshire and to delegate to the Director of Public Health, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Public Health & the Voluntary Sector, the authority to determine tenders and contracts in order to secure provision as mandated by the Health & Social Care Act.