Issue details

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS England, are temporarily unable to enter any contract negotiations with Wiltshire Council. This is because a level 4 state of national emergency is still in place and NHS England have been directed to cancel or put on hold all public (OJEU) procurements. NHS England have been told nationally not to enter into any contract negotiations with Provider Trusts (hospitals) to enable Trusts to focus on COVID-19 response. This has been nationally mandated to ensure NHS staff in hospitals are able to focus on treating patients, ensure that the NHS maintains a robust infrastructure to deal with COVID-19, help restore other NHS services, and enable planning to cope with increased infection rates.

It was mutually agreed that Wiltshire Council will include the NHS England specification as part of the wider integrated service contract with funding transferred from NHS England via a Section 75 agreement for this purpose. NHS England are our purchasing partner for HIV services, and an integrated service contract with them is essential. Due to NHS England now being unable to enter contract negotiations we must postpone tender to prevent the service becoming destabilised.