Decision details

Councillor Jerry Wickham presented the report which informed the Cabinet of current contract and funding arrangements that the Council has with User Led Organisations and Healthwatch Wiltshire to engage with customers on adult care services; and sought the Cabinet’s view of the options set out below to commission the statutory Healthwatch function and the non-statutory customer engagement functions provided by User Led Organisations (ULOs) and to agree an option.

In presenting the report, Councillor Wickham gave a summary of the position of the contracts, the views expressed by the ULOs, and stated that he wished the matter to be deferred to enable further constructive discussion with partners so that an approach could be agreed.

At the invitation of the Leader, Clare Evans MBE, Chair of the Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living, addressed the meeting and stated that: the valuable work of the ULOs had given the disabled communities the confidence to make their views known, and in doing so, worked with the council over a number of years to improve policy and practice. Furthermore, she stressed the ULOs commitment to working with the council recognising the need to address financial constraints.

Councillor Crisp, Chair of the Health Select Committee, gave an overview of the debate previously held on the matter, and stated that the Committee broadly welcomed the further opportunity given to the ULOs to discuss the matter with the council and its partners.

Resolved

1.    To defer consideration of the item until the November 2017 meeting of Cabinet on the proviso that constructive dialogue takes place between commissioners in both Wiltshire Council and Wiltshire CCG together with the three User-Led Organisations (ULOs); and

2.    That the current contract is extended until 1 June 2018 and the specification for the new arrangements are developed in readiness for a tender to be issued in late November 2017

Reason for Decision

Commissioners recognise that there is scope to remove duplication and that are several activities currently funded in contracts that could be removed from future service specifications to achieve savings and provide a more focused service.