Issue - meetings

Forward Plan Ref: 2012/026

Contact: Ann Nursey, Lead Commissioner Learning Disability Services Tel: (01865) 323669

Report by Director for Social & Community Services ( CMDF4).

(The information contained in the Annex is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

3    –    information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

It is considered that in this case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that such disclosure would prejudice the commercial position of the parties involved.

Ridgeway Partnership (Oxfordshire Learning Disability NHS Trust) is commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council to provide both social care and specialist health services to people with learning disabilites in Oxfordshire. The total contract value is £20m per annum and they are the largest learning disability service provider in Oxfordshire.

In line with the Department of Health's policy that all NHS Trusts have to become Foundation Trusts, or become part of an existing Foundation Trust by 2014, the Strategic Health Authority is currently leading a process through which existing Foundation Trusts are bidding to acquire Ridgeway Partnership. As the main commissioner of Ridgeway's services, the Oxfordshire Lead Commissioner is a member of the project board.

On 5 July 2011 the Cabinet Member for Adult Services, through a delegated decision, agreed to include the services purchased from Ridgeway Partnership by Oxfordshire County Council in the NHS merger/acquisitions process, and on 17 January 2012 Cabinet received a report on progress and took the decision to  delegate the final approval to the Cabinet Member for Adult Services and the Cabinet Member for Finance & Property.

This report outlines the final stages of the merger/acquisition process and requests approval to proceed with the Council's contracts transferring under statutory transfer to the preferred bidder.

Due to issues of commercial confidentiality and the need for approval by the Boards of the Strategic Health Authority and Ridgeway Partnership before the preferred bidder is announced, this report does not identify the preferred bidder. Details of the final scores of the named bidders are provided in a confidential annex available to the Cabinet Member for Adult Services and the Cabinet Member for Finance & Property.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Services and the Cabinet Member for Finance & Property are RECOMMENDED to approve the transfer of the services the Council purchases to the preferred bidder, or to the reserve bidder in the event that transfer to the preferred bidder is not able to proceed.